New Orleans Pelicans lineups: Case for the “jumbo” starting five

The New Orleans Pelicans will have a dramatically different roster for first-year head coach Willie Green to work with next season.

With three starters gone, the starting lineup is going to be younger and hopefully better after trading Steven Adams, Eric Bledsoe and Lonzo Ball.

With Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Jonas Valanciunas givens in the starting lineup, most fans believe that the Pelicans will go with a backcourt of Devonte’ Graham and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

This makes sense, as Graham is probably the Pelicans best 3-point shooter and the Pelicans would have a dynamic offense that could very well lead the league in points.

But what about stops? The Pelicans were bottom ten in the NBA last season in defense and top ten in offense, so scoring was not their problem.

That’s why going with a “jumbo” starting lineup also makes sense.

New Orleans Pelicans: The jumbo starting lineup

• PG: Nickeil Alexander-Walker
• SG: Brandon Ingram
• SF: Naji Marshall
• PF: Zion Williamson
• C: Jonas Valanciunas

The Pelicans don’t need a traditional point guard, as Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are going to do most of the playmaking for this team.

This gives them the option of going with a starting lineup where every player is at least 6-foot-6, which would improve their perimeter defense. All three of NAW, Ingram and Marshall have plus wingspans that would allow them to cover a lot of ground on the outside.

The best teams in the Western Conference are all huge and this would give the Pelicans a much-better chance to match up with that size.

They’d still have plenty of offense with four scorers and Marshall, who can also knock down 3-point shots but would mostly be in there because of his size and defensive versatility on the perimeter.

This would send Devonte’ Graham to the bench, which would help balance the scoring between the units and give the bench mob a guy who can stretch the floor along with Trey Murphy III.

Graham is going to get starter’s minutes either way, so will play plenty with the first five and get the opportunity to take advantage of the open shots they’ll create.

It won’t matter how many points the New Orleans Pelicans score if they can’t get stops, and going with a jumbo starting lineup would not only help the defense but would balance the scoring between units.