The New Orleans Pelicans have hit a rough patch but there is no reason to panic….yet.
Emotions were running high after last night’s ugly loss to the Charlotte Hornets. The New Orleans Pelicans have now lost three very winnable games in a row and fans are rightfully frustrated.
The Pels blew yet another double-digit lead in the second half to a team they absolutely eviscerated in the first quarter.
This has been part of the problem, as the Pels are letting too many big leads slip away, usually behind the play of their bench, though the whole team was to blame for the collapse against the Hornets.
The hot takes will be flying today, but fans of the New Orleans Pelicans need to take a deep breath. There is plenty of season left and no reason to hit the panic button, at least not yet.
New Orleans Pelicans: 3 reasons not to panic about slow start
The Pelicans are still adjusting to a new coach
The fact that Stan Van Gundy has the Pelicans in the top ten in defense is a borderline miracle after the way they looked last season.
However, they haven’t put together an end-to-end great defensive performance, so maintaining the effort and intensity is something Stan Van Gundy needs to address.
The offense is coming around slowly, which we expected. Stan Van Gundy had about two weeks of training camp before the season started, hardly time to install a complicated offense.
As the Pelicans get more comfortable with their coach and offense, things will start to go more smoothly.
The Bench will be better
I have hope that guys like J.J. Redick will eventually return to their statistical norm because if he is hitting shots, the Pels’ bench looks a lot different.
The entire bench has been cold to start the season, headlined by Redick, who finally hit some shots against the Hornets.
Redick and Josh Hart were 8-of-12 from 3-point range against the Hornets, hopefully, a sign that their respective shots are getting back to form.
There is also a chance they will get some help.
Help coming?
We’ve written about how the Pelicans need a trade to upgrade their bench and that help may be coming sooner or later.
It will be tricky given the Pels’ cap situation, but if they can add some depth to the bench, preferably someone who can either defend, make plays or shoot, then they have to because at this point David Griffin’s roster construction is looking awful.
It is far too early to write off the season, as there is plenty of time for the New Orleans Pelicans to turn it around.
They just need to keep learning their new system, start hitting some shots and look for a minor move to improve the bench.