New Orleans Pelicans: The Pels’ best lineup will surprise you

The New Orleans Pelicans used nine different lineups this season that played at least 50 minutes together and there were some interesting results.

Using net rating to judge lineups is a flawed method, I admit, especially when the Pelicans’ starting lineup played 610 minutes together and the next closest group only played 126 as a five-man unit.

But you can get a fair idea of how a group plays together by looking at the net rating. The starting five of Zion Williamson, Steven Adams, Brandon Ingram, Eric Bledsoe and Lonzo Ball had net rating of +2, which seems about right going by the eye test.

That group often got leads early in the game but also gave up a lot of big first quarters, and it seems about right that they were slightly better than their opponents.

The Pelicans’ worst lineup of those that played at least 50 minutes together was Bledsoe, Adams, Ingram, Zion and Naji Marshall, who logged 52 minutes as a group and had a -10.3 net rating.

But who was the Pels’ best lineup? The answer might surprise you.

The New Orleans Pelicans’ best five-man lineup

Again, net rating is not a perfect way of looking at a group of players but if they played enough time together, it gives you an idea of how they performed as a group.

The Pelicans’ best five-man lineup was Zion, Josh Hart, Jaxson Hayes, Kira Lewis Jr. and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who played 60 minutes together as a group and had a +26.4 net rating.

This is interesting for a couple of reasons. The first is that the group doesn’t include Ingram or Lonzo Ball.

The second is that three young players in Hayes, Lewis Jr. and NAW were part of the Pels’ best defensive lineup by far, as this group posted an outstanding 86.8 defensive rating.

B.I. and Lonzo weren’t in the second-best defensive lineup either, as that group contained Zion, Hayes, Lewis Jr., Marshall and James Johnson. The Pels should definitely re-sign Johnson as he showed his value defensively.

I think it’s encouraging that Zion Williamson was part of all of the best defensive lineups for the Pelicans and that their young players did well defensively in certain lineups. It also shows the potential value of Josh Hart, who is a restricted free agent that the Pels have to decide on this offseason.

The New Orleans Pelicans clearly need to get better defensively but may have some in-house options that will provide that defense in NAW, Hayes and Lewis Jr.