Stan Van Gundy had plenty to say about the New Orleans Pelicans after their most recent loss to the Chicago Bulls and none of it was complimentary.
SVG called out his team’s horrible defense and lack of priorities after they gave up 128 points to the Bulls.
"”One of our problems is our guys will beat themselves up about missing shots, missing free throws, all of that, but the defensive stuff just doesn’t get to them in the same way,” Van Gundy said. ”It doesn’t bother them that we gave up 128 points tonight. … I’m not sure individual players are holding themselves accountable for the right things.”"
The Pelicans have allowed at least 117 points in four straight games and have dropped to 29th overall in the NBA in defensive rating.
The Pels’ offense has been firing on all cylinders but it doesn’t much matter when you are allowing the other team to score nearly 130 points in a game.
Stan Van Gundy is known for coaching defense and has had his teams in the top-ten more times than not. We outlined some of the ways he could fix the Pelicans’ defense and so far most of them have not happened.
SVG might not have known what he was up against with this team, which often goes through long stretches where they don’t show any effort or intensity on the defensive end.
The question is, can he fix it?
New Orleans Pelicans: Can Stan Van Gundy fix the defense?
There has been some defensive improvement under Van Gundy but it has been a two steps forward, three steps back type of season.
The Pelicans have cleaned up their turnovers, but they are still middle-of-the-pack, just 14th in the NBA overall. They are tenth in the league in fast-break points allowed, a big step up from last year but still not great.
Same with points in the paint allowed, which the Pels have improved under Van Gundy. The Pels are now 13th in points in the paint allowed, largely because of the addition of Steven Adams, who has solidified the interior defense and defensive rebounding.
The Pelicans’ problems are not on the interior, they are on the perimeter. The Pelicans are 28th in the NBA in 3-point percentage allowed, with opponents shooting nearly 40 percent from behind the arc. Ouch.
Some like to blame this on SVG’s defensive scheme but defense is not all about strategy, it’s about effort and desire and the Pels just don’t give enough effort fighting over screens or closing out on 3-point shooters.
The truth in that the New Orleans Pelicans do not currently have the personnel to be a top-tier defense, as they have too many players who are not committed on that end or at least not for an entire game.
The Pels need more size, effort and defensive skill at the forward position and really need to start hoarding players who fit that description.
Until then, I am not sure what else Stan Van Gundy can do, as you can’t coach effort, nor should you have to.