New Orleans Pelicans: 3 reasons the Pels are trending downward
New Orleans Pelicans: The Pels have the NBA’s worst bench
The Bench
The New Orleans Pelicans have the worst bench in the NBA, it’s that simple.
They don’t even have a backup forward, as Nicolo Melli is unplayable and they don’t have a reserve behind Brandon Ingram.
This has left guys like Josh Hart, Lonzo Ball and Eric Bledsoe constantly defending larger players and playing out of position.
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Here is where the Pelicans’ bench ranks in key categories:
Scoring: Last in the NBA with 28.7 bench points per game
Assists: 26th in the NBA
Blocks: 29th in the NBA
Differential: -7.8 per game, worst in the NBA
The Pels’ bench isn’t scoring, isn’t creating shots, isn’t stopping anyone and is basically giving the other team a double-digit lead in every game.
The New Orleans Pelicans are clearly not ready to compete at the highest level with their current roster as constructed.
They need to add some scoring punch to their bench and backcourt and find some backups for their forwards, who are carrying the team.
The New Orleans Pelicans still have time to turn things around but it needs to happen soon or we’ll be talking about lottery odds before you know it.
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