New Orleans Pelicans: 3 things fans need to see vs. the Grizzlies

New Orleans Pelicans: The Pels need to play defense vs. Memphis

The Pelicans’ defensive effort over the last three losses has been atrocious.

The Pels set an NBA record for 3-point shots allowed by giving up 67 makes in their last three games.

You can blame SVG’s defensive scheme for some of this, but another part is that players are not communicating, not fighting through or over screens and not hustling to close out on shots.

Stan Van Gundy needs to make it clear that players who do not give defensive effort will not play.

I’d rather see Sindarius Thornwell, Wenyen Gabriel or Naji Marshall out there rather than watch Bledsoe et al. go through the motions.

Fans (and maybe even the rest of the team) would rally around anyone who plays hard right now, and if that means going to the end of the bench, so be it.

If that means bringing in some fresh faces from the G-League, so be it.

The New Orleans Pelicans aren’t winning anyway and they need a culture change and need it fast. That could mean sitting some more talented players until they get it through their heads that defense matters.