New Orleans Pelicans: Better or worse? A breakdown of each position
The New Orleans Pelicans have some new faces but are they better or worse at each position?
The New Orleans Pelicans have had a busy offseason so far. They have fired their coach, hired a new one, traded the face of their franchise, drafted in the lottery and added a few new free agents.
There will be a lot of new players on the Pelicans’ roster one way or another, but it is unclear at this point if the Pelicans will actually be better than they were last season.
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Some weaknesses were addressed while others are still glaring, so the Pelicans may need to make a midseason trade to get more roster depth.
The bench is still a question mark, and the Pels are counting on their young guys getting better, but will they be? How about the other spots in the rotation? Are the Pelicans better or worse than last season?
New Orleans Pelicans: Did the Pels improve at point guard?
Point Guard
2019-20: Lonzo Ball, Frank Jackson
2020-21: Lonzo Ball, Eric Bledsoe, Kira Lewis Jr.
The Pelicans had two primary ballhandlers last season with Lonzo Ball and Jrue Holiday, though Holiday was officially listed as a two-guard.
The Pelicans didn’t have much off the bench. Jackson showed some flashes but was inconsistent and didn’t do anything particularly well.
Bledsoe will likely take over the Holiday role and play some off the ball, but he is still a point guard, so the Pels didn’t lose much there. Bledsoe is a quality defender and a good offensive player, though probably not as good as Holiday at either.
The big upgrade should hopefully be the bench, as Lewis Jr. should be better than Jackson, even in year one. The Pels also experimented with Nickeil Alexander-Walker at the point and we might see him in that role again.
The Pels are fairly stocked at guard and should have more quality depth than last season, especially if NAW makes a leap.