The New Orleans Pelicans have an obvious weakness at the starting center spot, which has made many fans project Yves Missi as the team's man in the middle to start 2026-27. While I agree Missi may have the best case to start, his fellow third-year big man Karlo Matkovic can’t be overlooked. When we look at his profile, Matkovic checks a ton of boxes for the Pelicans as a starting center and honestly is a better natural fit for the role than Missi.
When you think of the traits a team centered around Zion Williamson would want, Matkovic checks them all. He’s a solid rebounder, play finisher, freak athlete, can protect the rim, sets screens, and has some floor spacing and playmaking to his game.
In general, his fit offensively with the Pelicans' starting five would make their offense much harder to scheme against than if Missi were their man in the middle.
Can Matkovic see his production translate to starter minutes?
The idea of having a floor spacer next to Z has always been one fans have been infatuated with, and starting Matkovic would allow them to do that as he shot 42.2 percent from three last season.
To some, not having an elite lob threat like Missi in the starting five to run pick-and-rolls with Dejounte Murray may be a turn-off, but Matkovic is also beyond capable of playing that role. His speed when diving to the rim and ability to plant his feet and set a hard screen wouldn’t make the drop-off from him to Missi anything crazy. Those pick-and-roll actions with Matkovic could also create advantages, as the defense would have to be left guessing whether he was going to pop or roll because of his ability to shoot the three-ball.
On top of just the eye test, he is also loved by the analytics. Last season, he had a plus-3.5 on-off net rating according to Databallr, and a hefty amount of New Orleans' best lineups featured him. While it isn’t the largest sample, it’s notable that when he was on the court, the team was better.
His efficiency may be his greatest strength, as on top of his three-point shooting, Matkovic is so comfortable scoring around the rim, finishing the year in the 98th percentile in rim efficiency according to Cleaning the Glass. This wasn’t just a one-season wonder, either, as he finished in the 92nd percentile in his rookie season.
Now, that type of efficiency can always be questioned in terms of its sustainability if he’s playing starter minutes against higher competition, which is totally valid.
Obviously, it would be shocking if we saw him shoot 60+ percent from the field and 40+ percent from three as a starter, but I don’t see his efficiency falling off too hard. What makes Matkovic so great as a complementary starter is how opportunistic he is, as it was incredibly rare to see him force a shot or take a bad shot last season. If he becomes a starter, it doesn’t mean his usage rate has to skyrocket. Sure, it would go up, but New Orleans has a cast of players that all really need touches, and he would just be out there to do dirty work and make open shots, two things he’s beyond capable of.
Having Missi as the starter is the safer bet and definitely provides familiarity, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right one. The Pelicans will need to take risks this season, and letting Matkovic get some reps as a starter would be a calculated risk worth taking.
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