New Orleans Pelicans: 3 things the Pels can learn from the lowly Pistons

New Orleans Pelicans: Smart role players help

One of the reasons Detroit has managed to stay in a lot of games even though they aren’t that talented is that they have smart role players.

Guys like Mason Plumlee, Delon Wright, Wayne Ellington and even rookie Isaiah Stewart all know their roles and play them well.

Their stats aren’t going to jump off the page, but they don’t make a ton of mistakes, know what they’re supposed to be doing and generally do their job without taking anything off the table.

As of late, Willy Hernangomez has been such a player for the New Orleans Pelicans, but other than him the Pels’ bench is full of guys with no role.

What would you say Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s role is on this team? Jaxson Hayes? Nicolo Melli? J.J Redick? It seems to change from game to game or they have none at all.

The Pelicans lack the types of smart role players who do 1-2 things very well without taking too much away, something they need to remedy before the trade deadline or in the next offseason.

I’d rather have a guy with lower ceiling talent who knows his role and how to accomplish it than a guy like NAW who thinks he is an All-NBA talent and doesn’t do any one thing well.

The Pels have the high-ceiling talent, now they need the role players to complement it.