New Orleans Pelicans: The week that symbolized the season
It’s hard to know what to make of the New Orleans Pelicans this season.
The team transforms from quarter to quarter, sometimes looking like title contenders and others like the worst team in the NBA.
The Pelicans kicked off the second half with one of the more embarrassing losses in franchise history, getting dusted by the NBA-worst Timberwolves at home.
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Fans were rightfully upset and the Twitter mobs were calling for heads, specifically those of David Griffin and Stan Van Gundy.
The latter deserves some amount of patience, as he didn’t build this team and doesn’t have the players to accomplish what he is trying to do, especially on defense.
It has become clear that some of these guys might be uncoachable, as SVG has had top-ten defenses just about everywhere he’s been but has watched his team get even worse on that end.
David Griffin is the one who built this roster full of undersized players who don’t play hard or know their role, so if anyone should be on the hot seat, it is him.
This past week has been symbolic of the entire season, as the Pelicans showed their inconsistency by getting whooped by the Timberwolves only to bounce back with two blowout wins over the Cavaliers and Clippers.
It’s been that kind of year for the Pels and this week put it all on display.
New Orleans Pelicans: The defense is still awful
One thing that has been consistent this season is the Pelicans’ god-awful defense, which is still ranked just 28th in the NBA even after allowing only 82 points to the hopeless Cavs.
Take that game out, and the Pelicans would be dead last in the NBA, even worse than last season.
Even in a week where they won two of three games, the Pelicans defense was terrible, allowing 135 points to the league-worst Timberwolves and 115 to the Clippers.
Until this changes, the Pelicans will continue to be inconsistent even though their offense is dominating. All of the top teams in the standings are also highly ranked in defense, while three of the top-ten offenses are out of the playoff picture.
In other words, you win with consistent defense and effort, not a great offense, just ask the Wizards and Kings, who are both top-ten offensively but near the bottom in defense, which is why they are headed for the lottery.