New Orleans Pelicans: Why can’t the Pels hold a lead?

The New Orleans Pelicans have had an up and down season with plenty to be excited about but also some big concerns.

The play of Zion Williamson should be enough to get fans excited, as he looks like a 20-year-old generational superstar who keeps getting better every game, though you’d never know it from Pelicans’ Twitter, which has rapidly devolved into a black hole of complaining and misery.

Fans are right to be upset that the Pels aren’t playing well, but there will be 13 other lottery teams in this year’s draft who wish they had half the talent the Pels already have, so let’s accept that the Pelicans are rebuilding and that our expectations for them this season were too high.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what went wrong this season, though the defense is the biggest offender. The Pelicans haven’t improved on that end and have just about the same record as last season at this point even though their offense has flourished.

One thing is clear: The Pelicans have to get better at holding leads, which has been one of their biggest problems this season.

New Orleans Pelicans: The Pelicans and double-digit leads

Nothing is scarier for Pelicans’ fans than the Pels with a double-digit lead. They’ve proven time and time and again that they can play with any team in the NBA, and when the Pelicans are rolling, they are a joy to watch.

They’ve built leads against the best teams in the NBA but the problem is they can’t hold them.

After last night’s loss to the Nets, the Pelicans have now lost 14 games in which they had a double-digit lead. If you are counting, that is 42 percent of their losses overall, which is a crazy stat.

So what is going on?

New Orleans Pelicans: Youth and free throws

The Pels’ late-game execution has been abysmal going back to last season, when they were the worst clutch-time team in the NBA.

This comes down to a lack of execution, which we saw on full display in the meltdown against the Knicks. But the Pels aren’t just blowing games late.

The Pels have a bad habit of going into cruise control when they get a double-digit lead, which is something you can’t do in the NBA. So many young players are used to being able to get by on talent and think they can turn it on and off whenever they want.

Every player in the NBA is talented, so you can’t take your foot off the gas or double-digit leads will disappear as quickly as they came.

The other big problem the Pels have is on the free-throw line. They are 29th in the NBA in free-throw percentage and don’t really have anyone other than Brandon Ingram who can close out games on the line.

Both the Pelicans’ starting guards are below average free throw shooters, though Lonzo Ball has improved this season. The Pelicans have only one player (Ingram) who shoots over 80 percent, which is a problem.

If teams can foul with impunity it allows them to stop the clock, slow down the Pelicans’ offense and get back into the game.

These blown leads have to be a focus of the Pelicans’ offseason, as they are good enough to get a lead against anyone but still aren’t capable of closing them out.