New Orleans Pelicans: We need more of these 2 players vs. Timberwolves

The New Orleans Pelicans will look for their first win of the season tonight vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves on the second game of a road back-to-back.

The Pelicans weren’t done any favors by the October schedule, which will see them play a flurry of games before the month is over, all of which will be without star Zion Williamson.

The Pelicans have shot the ball well in the first two games but played atrocious defense, stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

With such a young team and a new head coach, it is going to take some time for the players to gel, which is why I’d like to see coach Green lean into the youth movement and get these guys some reps now to start building their confidence for later in the season.

We may of seen the beginning of this last night, as Herb Jones got the start against the Bulls and played well enough to warrant another shot at the starting lineup tonight.

But I would like to see more of a couple of guys who haven’t gotten much run yet but can probably help with some of the Pels’ problems.

New Orleans Pelicans: Kira Lewis Jr. over Tomas Satoransky

Neither of these two have played big minutes so far, but Lewis Jr. has looked like the better player and offers more on both ends than Sato, who is a solid veteran but isn’t part of the long-term plans and doesn’t need to take minutes from Kira.

The Pelicans’ bench has been god-awful so far, partially because they are committing so many turnovers. So far in his young career, Lewis Jr. has taken care of the ball and shown that he can use his speed to set up teammates and push in transition.

With the Pels having so much trouble scoring in the half court, I’d love to see them try to run more, especially with the bench units, so bring on more Kira Lewis Jr. and let’s see what the kid can do.

He only played 11 minutes against the Bulls and I’d like to see that change.

New Orleans Pelicans: Naji Marshall (or literally anyone else) over Garrett Temple

Garrett Temple has not gotten off to a great start with the Pelicans and that is being kind. He is something like -10,000  in the plus/minus category for the season (an eyeball estimate) and really brings nothing to the table on either end.

With the Pelicans’ defense struggling, why not give Naji Marshall some more run to see what he can do? He only played 13 minutes vs. the Bulls but was very active, pulling down seven rebounds in that time.

It’s clear right now that the Pels can score, and that will be even more true when Zion returns, but they need to get stops and Marshall is one of their best defenders. He is also good in transition, so I’d love to see he and Kira get some run more run together to see if they can add some steals and pace to the second unit with Trey Murphy III.

The New Orleans Pelicans need to use this time without Zion to build their young players up, which can’t happen if they are on the bench.