The city of New Orleans is buzzing about the Pelicans, who made the playoffs last season with a young roster and will (hopefully) be getting Zion Williamson back.
It’s a roster that is built to win now, with a good mixture of young and veteran contributors who have good chemistry that goes from coach Willie Green on down.
The league is excited as well, as the Pelicans got 18 nationally televised regular-season games, largely on the hope they generated late last season and the return of Zion Williamson, who is one of the league’s most popular players.
But Zion was left off of a recent poll from ESPN about who the best player in five years will be, as he didn’t garner a single vote, something that would have been unthinkable after his dominant 2020-21 season.
Zion’s health is the biggest X-Factor and we all know it, as he has proven himself to be dominant when he is on the floor. One analyst thinks his health will be the difference between the Pelicans being a top-4 seed or possibly missing the playoffs altogether.
Zion Williamson can propel the Pelicans to the top fo the Western Conference
In a recent segment of Get Up on ESPN, analyst Mike Greenberg said that if Zion Williamson plays at least 60 games, the Pelicans will be a top-4 seed in the West.
.@Espngreeny is putting a lot of faith in a healthy Zion Williamson 👀
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) August 31, 2022
"[The Pelicans] will be a top four team in the Western Conference if Zion is healthy all year." pic.twitter.com/WIijqfGtVF
I tend to agree, as I do think the Pelicans can climb to the top of the West, as most of the other good teams also have huge question marks around their health.
But I also question if either of these guys actually watched the Pelicans play last season, as they didn’t seem to know much outside of Zion and Brandon Ingram.
Jay Williams (fellow Duke alum) was dubious, but for all the wrong reasons. I understand questioning Zion’s health, as he has to prove himself before he can lose that tag, but Williams then went on to say that the Pels don’t have any other impact players.
Ummmm, CJ McCollum, Jonas Valanciunas and Herbert Jones would like a word. The Pels will have a full season of CJ (and Larry Nance Jr.), Valanciunas is coming of his best season as a pro and Herb Jones hopes to make a leap in his second season after making the All-Rookie team.
The Pelicans are young yes, but they also have impact veterans and most of their young guys have already been tested in the playoffs.
I do agree that Zion’s health will be the deciding factor on whether the Pelicans are a top-4 seed, but I do think they are a better team either way and will climb in the standings even if he has to miss some games.