The New Orleans Pelicans will have a dramatically different roster next season but they still have some of the same problems.
They will have new faces in the starting lineup, with three starters moved in trades this offseason.
It’s going to be a lot for new coach Willie Green to work through, but a younger, more athletic roster also offers some exciting possibilities around Zion Williamson.
Even though there have been some big changes to the roster, some old weaknesses still remain, and the Pelicans are going to have to improve them if they want to make the leap into the playoffs in the Western Conference.
The New Orleans Pelicans don’t block enough shots
Rim protection has been a problem for the Pelicans for two seasons and it still will be unless some of the new players step up.
The Pelicans were 24th in the NBA in blocked shots per game and didn’t have a single player on their roster average at least one per game.
Blocked shots not only stop points but they alter shots, as teams think twice before coming into the lane. Not only that, but blocks often turn into fast breaks, which is what you want when you have guys who can finish in transition.
Steven Adams wasn’t much of a shot blocker but Jonas Valanciunas is not a big improvement, though reserve center Jaxson Hayes has shown signs of big growth in that area with some strong games down the stretch.
Hopefully the additions of Trey Murphy III, Herbert Jones and a full season of Naji Marshall will lead to more blocked shots, fewer easy buckets for opponents and more fast breaks for the Pelicans but it is a stat to watch this season.
The Pelicans roster is young and inexperienced
The New Orleans Pelicans only have five players over the age of 25, and three of them (Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple, Willy Hernangomez) figure to play minor roles in the Pels’ rotation.
Most of their best players are still very young as Zion Williamson, Hayes and Murphy III are all 21, Brandon Ingram 24, Kira Lewis Jr. is 20 and Nickeil Alexander-Walker is just 23-years-old.
That is a good chunk of the Pelicans rotation, so they will be leaning heavily on guys who are in their first, second or third years in the league.
Not only that, but this group has very little playoff experience, as even most of the Pels’ veterans have not been on teams that made deep playoff runs.
Valanciunas, Satoransky and Temple are the only Pelicans who have even been to the playoffs, so they are pretty light in the way of experience.
The Pelicans will also have a new coach in Willie Green who is in his first head coaching gig and will be learning on the fly.
I’ll take talent over experience any day but this is a young team that is going to make lot of mistakes and doesn’t have too many experienced veterans to guide them.
The New Orleans Pelicans need playmakers
It’s hard to say that a team that has Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram on it lacks playmakers, but here we are.
Lonzo Ball and Eric Bledsoe accounted for about 9 assists per game between them, though I wouldn’t really call either of them playmakers in Stan Van Gundy’s offense. Ball got most of his assists in transition and Bledsoe mostly just stood in the corner.
Outside of Zion and Ingram, the Pels lacked guys who can get a shot for themselves or set up teammates. Devonte’ Graham is likely to be similar to Lonzo in that he’ll be asked to play off the ball and will be more of a spot up shooter.
Trey Murphy III can shoot, but can he create off the bounce? That is yet to be seen. Naji Marshall had some nice takes in Summer League but doesn’t figure to get a ton of usage in the Pels’ offense once the games are real.
The Pelicans are going to need Nickeil Alexander-Walker to step up and become that third scoring option who can break teams down off the dribble for his own shot or to set up teammates for theirs.
NAW might be the key to the Pels’ improvement, as someone has to step up and keep teams from just double and triple teaming Zion every time he touches the ball.
I think NAW can be that guy, but he is still unproven, so until he starts making plays consistently, teams are not going to have to adjust their defenses much.