The New Orleans Pelicans have not lived up to the lofty expectations that many fans and media pundits had for them coming into the season.
Part of this is just that we put too much on them too soon. The Pelicans are still a very young team with a new head coach and were adjusting to a new scheme with several new players.
But when you are getting an All-NBA type season from Zion Williamson, better numbers from last year’s Most Improved Player Brandon Ingram, and lights-out shooting from Lonzo Ball, maybe the expectations should be high.
There is still time for the New Orleans Pelicans to turn things around and make a run at the playoffs but the clock is ticking on a season that is starting to look more likely to end in the lottery.
Here are the midseason grades for the New Orleans Pelicans’ players, coach and front office.
New Orleans Pelicans: Midseason grades for the point guards
Considering that Lonzo Ball has been adjusting to a new role this season, I’d say it would be hard to call what he’s done anything but a success so far.
He has evolved into one of the top 3-and-D players in the NBA and has improved both his shooting and defense from last season.
Whether this leads to the Pelicans re-signing him is anyone’s guess at this point, but someone is surely going to offer the max to a guy who is now an accurate high-volume 3-point shooter and can defend multiple spots.
Lonzo may be down in rebounds and assists but his free-throw shooting and turnovers have improved along with his shooting and defense.
Kira Lewis Jr. is a hard one to grade, as he hasn’t played nearly enough to get an idea of what his future role may be with the team.
He has flashed elite quickness that much is certain, and he is better defensively than advertised, but he is also very small, has a hard time finishing around the rim and has shot the ball inconsistently for most of the season.
He is a teenage point guard, so all of this was to be expected. We won’t know much about Lewis Jr. until after the season when we have more reps to evaluate.
New Orleans Pelicans: Midseason grades for the shooting guards
Eric Bledsoe has not been terrible, nor has he been particularly good. He has regressed somewhat defensively from the All-Defensive player he was last year, though his long-range shooting has improved.
Bledsoe is not making many plays and has mostly been reduced to a guy who stands in the corner and shoots 3-point shots on offense and a guy who has often been on the wrong end of some huge scoring nights for the other team’s guards.
The Pelicans need to trade Bledsoe for an expiring deal if they want any chance to re-sign Lonzo Ball in the offseason.
Coming into the season, Josh Hart’s future with the Pelicans was very much unknown and it still is.
Hart does a lot of things for this team and is a nice player, but he is too small for what they need and does not contribute consistently on offense. Hart is an above-average defender, but he is not elite and his inconsistent shooting has been a big part of their awful bench.
There are some paths to re-signing Hart, but personally, I’d probably trade him before the deadline so they can find a wing with size who is a bit more consistent shooting the ball. Hart is one of the only players on this team who hustles and plays hard every night, so it would be tough to see him go, but it would be even tougher to pay him upwards of $15 million a season.
JJ Redick is having his worst season shooting the ball and has been a big reason why the Pelicans’ bench and 3-point shooting have been so terrible.
Redick has lost a step and doesn’t offer much if he is not hitting 3-pointers, which he has not. He is the most likely Pelican to be traded and at this point it might be addition by subtraction, which I hate to say, as I am a big fan of Redick as a person and a player.
I have never been very high on NAW, mostly because he doesn’t have a single elite NBA skill and takes way too many bad shots to get his points.
There are nights when these bad shots are going in and Alexander-Walker looks like an All-Star, but it is not a sustainable way to play basketball.
Couple his poor shooting with bad decision making, a lack of ball handling and mediocre defense and you have a guy who can’t carve out minutes off the bench for the team with the worst second-unit in the NBA. Unfortunately, it is starting to look like I was right.
New Orleans Pelicans: Midseason grades for the small forward
Brandon Ingram has improved in most areas this season, unfortunately they are not the ones where he needed most improvement.
Ingram’s scoring and assists are both up from last season and he is still shooting a high percentage from the 3-point line but his scoring has never really been a problem.
What is a problem is his defense, which is still below average in what is now his 5th season in the league.
Ingram has the physical tools to be at least an average wing defender but so far he is not using them, which often leads to mismatches for the New Orleans Pelicans, who are already undersized at his position.
It’s not a good look when Josh Hart and Nickeil Alexander-Walker are better at defending small forwards than the actual small forward and it points to one of the biggest weaknesses this team has, which is its complete lack of depth at the forward position.
This is one of the things that has to be addressed in the offseason.
Look, there are some way over the top and quite frankly annoying fans on Twitter who think the Pels should trade Brandon Ingram because he and Zion cannot work together.
This is the height of absurdity, as not every guy on your team has to do everything, even if he is one of your foundational pieces. The Pels need more defenders to be sure, but you don’t get them by trading away a 23-year-old who scores 24 points a game and is coming off an All-Star season.
If the New Orleans Pelicans were ever this stupid, there would be 29 other teams lined up to pay Ingram. Ingram’s defense needs to improve, but let’s not get silly, the guy is a future All-NBA talent and you don’t give that away for a “wing defender” that could be found in free agency or the draft.
New Orleans Pelicans: Midseason grades for power forwards and center
Zion Williamson is actually exceeding expectations this season, which is pretty difficult given where they were.
He has taken over the Pelicans’ offense, scoring efficiently and at will from the paint, has improved his passing and defense and looks to be on his way to being the best player of his generation.
You can nitpick all you want but the guy is one of the best 20-year-olds to ever play the game and that’s a fact.
Zion Williamson just keeps getting better and the ceiling for what he can be is officially in outer space somewhere.
Steven Adams keeps getting blamed by fans who have an obsession with “spacing” yet continue to ignore that the Pelicans have the 4th-best offense in the league with Adams.
The problems for the Pels are on the defensive end, and Adams is one of the only guys who actually shows up, so blaming him for their woes is really just a shortcut to thinking.
The Kiwi has been everything the Pels wanted, which is a tough defender who grabs lots of rebounds. As soon as they have the right complementary players around he and Zion Williamson, that pairing can absolutely work.
Willy Hernangomez has earned a spot in the rotation over 20-year-old Jaxson Hayes and has made the most of it.
He isn’t spectacular but the Pels don’t need him to be. As long as he can continue to give them solid minutes, Hernangomez will have a spot in the rotation, as he is consistent and doesn’t make a lot of silly mistakes.
I think Hayes would agree that his season has been disappointing even though he is only 20-years-old.
Hayes shows flashes at times and when he is playing hard can be a force on the defensive end. But when he isn’t, he’s just a guy taking up space because he doesn’t offer much else.
He has a lot of work to do to be an NBA rotation player and may have to do it on another team as the Pels desperately need a big off the bench who can contribute in some way.
I really like Melli as a person and he at least plays hard but if effort and hustle were all that were needed to play in the NBA, then I would be playing power forward for the Pelicans.
Melli forgot how to shoot about a year ago and hasn’t remembered. This is unfortunate given that the Pels really need his ability to shoot the 3-ball, as no one else has stepped up in that area.
I love ya, Nico but it’s almost time for this failed experiment to end.
New Orleans Pelicans: Midseason grades for coach and front office
A lot of fans want to put this all on Stan Van Gundy, which is not surprising. Coaches always bear the brunt of the blame, and fans are like helicopter moms protecting the players from even the most even-handed criticism, trust me I know.
There are certainly things Van Gundy can change and improve, mostly on the defensive end, but he was also handed a team with no size that lacks defenders and talent at just about every position.
Sorry, but no defensive scheme is going to help with things like energy and effort, which are two attributes the New Orleans Pelicans lack.
I am sure Van Gundy would put a lot of the failures of his team on his shoulders and he should as the leader, but the truth is he doesn’t have the personnel at the moment, so it’s hard to judge him based on half a season.
If he gets more guys who fit what he wants to do and the New Orleans Pelicans still aren’t winning then we can talk, but for now, I am putting most of this on the players and front office, not SVG.
I hate to be this guy, but David Griffin may already be on the hot seat even though he just got started.
Sorry, but has a single one of his moves worked out? His draft picks have all been middling to terrible.
He found no size or depth for the bench.
His team has no shooting.
He clearly had no idea what Zion Williamson was going to be, as he surrounded him with players who do not complement his skills.
I am willing to be patient, as the team he took over was not in a good place, but when I watch some of the guys he passed on doing the exact things the Pelicans need, it is hard not to put the blame on Griffin and to a lesser degree GM Trajan Langdon.
Obviously, it is still very early, but Griffin has not impressed so far and patience will be in short supply during the Zion Williamson era, so he had better get used to it.