New Orleans Pelicans: Evaluating the race for the 8th seed
By Tim Burke
New Orleans Pelicans: Can Pels get the 8th seed in the Western Conference?
San Antonio Spurs
I’m never going to count out Gregg Popovich. While it seems like the end of an era the Spurs still have two guys at the top of their roster, DeMar DeRozan, and LaMarcus Aldridge, that know how to handle late-game pressure. The Spurs may have found something in the bubble when they moved DeRozen to the four and let the young guys strut their stuff.
My biggest concern is that the bubble lineup wouldn’t be able to hold up for a full season and the times when it’s needed will be few and far between this year. It just seems unreasonable to have the young guys on the roster play up a position all year, although this alignment creates more space on the perimeter.
Dejounte Murray had a disappointing season but I’m not ready to count him out, the Spurs like enough of what they saw in him to give him a four year/ $64 million deal while he was hurt. I’m not inclined to think that I know more than the people who see him every day.
The biggest obstacle to Murray taking two steps forward this season could be the sheer number of guards who need playing time on this roster. Derrick White, Lonnie Walker IV, Keldon Johnson, and Patty Mills all saw at least 16 minutes per game last season, add Tre Jones and a little bit of Devin Vassell to that mix and the Spurs have a very crowded guard/wing rotation.
Keep an eye on Jakob Poeltl, his stats didn’t jump off the page last season but he was an analytics darling, averaging a double-double Per 36 and a plus 9.6 net rating according to Basketball-Reference. If Aldridge sees more time at the power forward spot this season (he was listed at center 94% of his time on the court in 2019-20) then Poeltl could see his role expanded.
Sacramento Kings
The Kings had some momentum going into last season but spun their wheels and couldn’t quite get things firing on all cylinders. De’Aaron Fox is on an All-Star track and is one of the most exciting young guards in the NBA. Buddy Hield is one of the deadliest outside shooters in the game and I won’t give up on Marvin Bagley III regardless of how many injuries he suffers.
The loss of Bogdan Bogdanovic will be a big one, especially since his signing didn’t result in Sacramento getting any players in return like the botched sign-and-trade with Milwaukee would’ve. Sure Bogdanovic and Hield had overlapping skillsets but Bogdan provided a secondary playmaker on offense and isn’t a turnstile on defense.
The addition of Tyrese Haliburton will help with that somewhat as he projects to be a rookie who can step in right away and provide complimentary playmaking while being able to defend multiple positions. The fact that a player of Haliburton’s potential slipped all the way down to the Kings is a miracle on its own, the only way there’s a greater surprise is if Sacramento finally puts together a season to remember for more than sorrow.
Bagley has been very limited by injuries in his first two seasons, playing in just 75 of a possible 154 games. The news on that hasn’t gotten much better as Bagley will be held out of the team’s first preseason game due to the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota got to see one game of Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell together before a fractured wrist sidelined Towns, then the pandemic hit, and the Timberwolves season was over. It wasn’t all for nothing as the Basketball Gods smiled upon Minnesota by giving them the first overall pick in the draft.
A playoff berth for the Timberwolves would require a big leap from nearly every player on a roster that only had three wins between Towns’ injury and Rudy Gobert’s positive test that sent the U.S. spiraling. It’s not impossible but it won’t be easy. Add the off-court issues of Malik Beasley (not going to discuss those here) and Minnesota has a tough hill to climb.
It’ll all begin with Towns who had excellent stats last season, 26.5 pts, 10.8 rebs, 1.2 blocks while shooting 41.2% from deep. The downside is those stats didn’t result in his team winning many games. When the team traded for Russell they got another big stats, low impact player. That’s not to say the two can’t win together, just they haven’t been proven winners in the past.
In a mid-draft deal, the Timberwolves brought back fan-favorite Ricky Rubio. He brings a grown-up presence to a team full of young impressionable players. With Rubio getting 20 minutes a night on this team he can set the standards but it will fall on Towns, Russell, and Edwards to live up to them; if all of the three fail to do so the Timberwolves will do done before January ends.