Looking at where various media outlets are placing the New Orleans Pelicans in their start of the season power rankings
Yesterday two major events happened, the New Orleans Pelicans stomped the Miami Heat in their first preseason game of the season, and our first NBA power rankings of the season dropped. For those of you who missed our rankings, feel free to go back and check them out, but to save you some trouble, we ranked the Pelicans at 15 entering the season.
Of course, since we’re not the only outlet covering the NBA, we thought it’d best to save you Pelicans fans even more time and give you a one-stop for how outlets around the round are ranking the young Pelicans entering the season, let’s check them out.
ESPN.com– #16
"“Instead of bringing in a stretch big to play alongside Zion Williamson, the Pelicans instead opted for more strength in center Steven Adams. The Pelicans rolled out an effective lineup last season with Williamson next to Derrick Favors, a non-shooting big, and found success. New Orleans’ starting lineup of Williamson, Favors, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Jrue Holiday had a plus-18.1 net efficiency rating, fourth best in the league among five-man lineups to play at least 150 minutes. With Adams replacing Favors and Eric Bledsoe stepping in for Holiday, New Orleans hopes to find similar success in 2020-21.” – Andrew Lopez via ESPN.com"
NBA.com- #11 (Western Conference Only)
"“Williamson and Adams will be the bruisingest frontline in the league, and if the Pels are nearly as successful with that pairing as they were with Williamson and Favors (+12.1 points per 100 possessions in 368 minutes), they’re in good shape. But there are legit questions about their fit offensively. Adams and Williamson took 96% and 93% of their shots in the paint, with those being the sixth and 10th highest rates, respectively, among 248 players with at least 300 field goal attempts last season. (Favors’ 90% was the 15th highest rate.)More important is that the Pelicans play defense with more cohesion and effort than they had last season, when they were 10-35 when they didn’t score at least 114 points per 100 possessions. And that goes back to the health and conditioning of their 20-year-old star. If Williamson is healthy and in shape for most of the season, it can make a world of difference on both ends of the floor.” – NBA.com"
CBS Sports– #20
"” The Pelicans are one of the most exciting young teams in the NBA, but their immediate chances at a playoff spot may have taken a hit by swapping Eric Bledsoe for Jrue Holiday, despite the addition of Steven Adams in the middle. Hopefully Zion Williamson comes back healthy and in shape so we can see what he’s fully capable of. ” – Colin Ward-Henninger via CBS Sports"
The New York Post– #18
"“New Orleans got a new weapon for Zion Williamson to play with in speedy Alabama point guard Kira Lewis Jr. They’ll miss Jrue Holiday, but re-signed Brandon Ingram and added veterans via trade in Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams.” – Greg Joyce via The New York Post"
So there seems to be a consensus entering the season that the New Orleans Pelicans are on the rise but aren’t quite there yet. For the most part, the Pelicans have ranked lower than where we had them in the ranking but they tend to stick around the late-teens to the early 20s in most rankings. If you’re asking me though, I think yesterday’s preseason game could be an indication that the Pelicans will quickly rise above those rankings in short order!