The New Orleans Pelicans’ active trade deadline and roster reshaping has seen mainstays leave and core pieces brought in. The acquisitions signified a new challenge for Willie Green. The first-year head coach has worked wonders with the young Pelicans core after a dismal start to the season. Now, Green is tasked with rejigging a rotation for the home stretch that will land New Orleans a play-in seed.
New Orleans faces competition with Portland, San Antonio, and Sacramento for the coveted tenth seed, heading into the all-star break and the stretch run. The eighth and ninth seed are also not out of the equation, but it will make an extremely strong run home to catapult into that discussion.
The New Orleans Pelicans’ backcourt woes
Following the trade for CJ McCollum, New Orleans started with horrid defensive backcourt duo in McCollum and Devonte’ Graham. San Antonio scorched them for 124 points in a game with no resistance to guard penetration. While it may be too early to judge, a backcourt of Graham and McCollum limits the team’s upside defensively.
Offensively, the fit makes sense as both can act as primary and secondary ball handlers due to their ability to shoot and create. However, their overlapping skillsets also suggest that benching Graham would provide a well-balanced attack in both units. Jose Alvarado has performed admirably off the bench and at times has outplayed Graham. Still, the lack of outside shooting for the rookie guard limits the unit, which struggles to score from deep regularly.
A Backcourt Replacement
Replacing Graham in the backcourt is necessary. The sixth man role is where Graham will flourish in New Orleans, given the weapons at his exposure. Green’s starting line-up change needs to be assessed through the gaze of the eventual return of Zion Williamson. Williamson’s return will see him as a starter immediately. Given the rise of rookie Herb Jones and his irreplaceability in the starting unit as a defensive stopper and slasher, for the interim, New Orleans should start Jaxson Hayes until the return of Williamson.
A starting line-up of McCollum, Jones, Ingram, Hayes, Valancuinas will echo similar spacing and defensive matchups for when Williamson returns. Here Green can have ample time to see the effective sets and actions the team can run. Even though Hayes is nowhere near the developed player Williamson is, his athleticism and defensive skillset are areas in which the players overlap in theory.
There will be some spacing concerns as Hayes and Jones are not respected shooters. Valancuinas’ versatility mitigates these concerns, though. Once Williamson returns, Green has four starters capable of creating in the pick-and-roll and a deadly post player. With Hayes in, the team becomes a transition threat as both he and Jones have shown to possess the skills to get out in transition and finish fluidly over defenders.
Bench changes
With Graham’s move to the bench, New Orleans has some versatility. The bench now has a legitimate three-point threat off the catch and dribble with Graham. His ability to heat up at any time will indeed swing games for New Orleans. Along with Graham, Hayes (once Williamson returns) and Nance Jr (when healthy) are locks to provide 20+ minutes a night.
New Orleans has a plethora of wings to supplement the rest of the minutes. Temple, Murphy III, Marshall, Clark and Snell will all feature at some time throughout the stretch run. Murphy III has the greatest upside and has potential as a shooter and rebounder, though he has played little of late.
Alvarado cannot be forgotten. Playing him and Graham together causes many defensive issues. Still, Alvarado’s full-court pressure, downhill penetration, and overall energy have invigorated the bench and team since becoming a mainstay.
Overall Thoughts
Down the stretch and into the playoffs, New Orleans will need Williamson to come back to give Green the flexibility aforementioned. The inclusion of Williamson and the moves regarding Hayes and the roster could give New Orleans an eight-man rotation capable of winning a playoff series this year. The ninth man is still uncertain, but optimism is that a wing or buyout candidate could emerge.