New Orleans Pelicans: Give the Backcourt Time To Grow

What Will Make The New Orleans Pelicans Backcourt Great

When talking about the New Orleans Pelicans backcourt, it all starts with the defense. Jrue is a two-time All-Defense team member who can lock up almost any guard in the league with his combination of size and speed while Lonzo is coming into his own in that department.

That gives the New Orleans Pelicans a scary duo for opposing backcourts to face on a nightly basis.

Offensively is where both players have room to grow, while both are capable of running the New Orleans Pelicans offense, they need to figure out how to run an offense together.

Jrue is more willing to drive to the basket and draw fouls than Lonzo but he’s not the outside shooter that Ball is. While Jrue doesn’t want to be the main ballhandler on a team he should be more than he currently is (Anthony Davis didn’t want to be a center either), his ability to penetrate forces defensive rotations, and gives teammates more space to operate.

If New Orleans chooses to go into next season with most of the same key rotation pieces as this season, my suggestion would be for Holiday and Ball to share the floor less than they did this season. This would allow the Pelicans to always have a starting-caliber point guard on the floor and put shooters next to them.

The Verdict

I haven’t seen any trades in articles or social media that move the needle for me involving either player. All the trades right now involve trading for younger offensive-minded players but those hurt this team’s strength which is their defensive potential. I think the New Orleans Pelicans should keep their backcourt together and just change their approach under a new head coach.

With a new face leading the team on the sidelines, the Pelicans can put more of an offensive load onto Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson, so their backcourt can strive as the secondary option.