Regular-season basketball for the New Orleans Pelicans is now less than a week away, and one of the biggest question marks about their rotation appears to have been solved. With Dejpunte Murray set to miss likely the first half of the 2025-26 season, Jordan Poole is expected to start at the point, but who is his backup has been a hot topic among fans. Following the Pelicans' 120-118 loss to the Houston Rockets, we may have our answer.
I believe, based on the play we’ve seen from both Jeremiah Fears and Jose Alvarado, the backup point guard spot belongs to Fears, with Alvarado being used in specific matchups and situations. If you missed the game, Fears had an okay first three quarters of play with 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals, but it was in the fourth quarter where he really shone.
In the last period of play, Fears had 14 points on an efficient 5 of 8 from the field and 2 of 4 from three. He was getting everything he wanted: stepback three, right side pull-up three, multiple tough finishes at the cup, and a pair of and-ones. Fears was the main reason New Orleans almost came back to beat the Rockets; his poise, tempo, and scoring punch nearly helped them come back from being down 14 points.
It wasn’t just Fears' play against the Rockets for me that solidified his role as the backup point guard, but also the way head coach Willie Green spoke about him postgame.
"He is going to continue to get better. We want him to continue to be in attack mode every time he steps on the floor on both ends. We saw some really good glimpses of that tonight" said Green
The front office clearly has put a plan in place for Fears
Clearly, Green and Joe Dumars had conversations about what they want to do with Fears this season, and it looks like the plan is to let him get as many reps as possible. This is why he’s second in minutes per game on the team this preseason and second in points per game with 13.0 points per game.
The amount of run he’s got and the green light he has to shoot it when says a lot about how significant his role will be this season.
When this team drafted Fears, I wasn’t a super big fan, as it came just a few days after the Pelicans had traded for Jordan Poole. Since then, my opinion has completely flipped. This team needs a guard for the future, and that guy is Fears. There may be some growing pains, but those struggles will be rewarded with performances like he had against Houston.