On Thursday, February 27, the New Orleans Pelicans notched their third win in a row. This time, they took advantage of a scrambling Phoenix Suns team that has been stumbling further and further out of postseason contention. The Pels piled onto their backpedal and toppled the Suns, 124-116.
This game was revelatory for a variety of reasons. Firstly, it featured Zion Williamson's first career triple-double. He put on a clinic, tallying 10 rebounds and 11 assists to go along with 27 points on a dominant showing of efficiency with 13-17 shooting. New Orleans may be having a forgettable team campaign, but Zion's been determined to remind the NBA world just how unstoppable he can be.
Secondly, this game gave the Pelicans a glimpse into Kevin Durant's desperate situation with the Suns, who put up a valiant 28 points in a losing effort. Rumor has it that KD could be on the move this summer, and New Orleans should be vying to be a top potential destination for the All-World scorer. Part of the Pelicans' sales pitch should revolve around their surprising depth, as Karlo Matkovic's performance against the Suns revealed that New Orleans may have had a secret weapon wasting away on their bench all season.
Karlo Matkovic is turning out to be a hidden gem for the Pelicans
Matkovic was actually originally drafted by the Pelicans in the second round back in 2022, but he wasn't given a contract that offseason. Instead, he spent the past few years splitting time between playing ball overseas and hooping in the G-League. This past summer, New Orleans brought him back as a free agent to shore up their questionable big man rotation.
Unfortunately, it seemed like Matkovic fell out of Head Coach Willie Green's favor pretty early on. Even with the Pelicans' desperate need for reliable big-man play and mounting injuries, Karlo hardly saw the floor in the early parts of the season. Instead, Coach Green leaned heavily on rookie Yves Missi and veteran journeyman Daniel Theis, despite Theis being borderline unplayable every time he set foot on the court.
Theis was ultimately salary dumped to the Oklahoma City Thunder ahead of the trade deadline and was waived by OKC immediately after. Considering the Thunder certainly could have used some additional center depth on their roster, their decision to cut Theis really shows how subpar he is as an NBA anchor at this stage in his career.
With Theis gone, Matkovic was finally given some opportunity, and he's taken full advantage so far. Since Theis was traded, Karlo has averaged 10.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in just under 24 minutes per game while shooting 63 percent from the field and 38 percent from deep. It's a tiny nine-game sample, but he's very much looked like an apt version of the stretch big the Pelicans have long looked to put next to Zion.
Matkovic has the size necessary to bang down low with opposing centers, defend the rim, and finish defensive possessions with strong boards. On offense, he has the perfect combination of outside shooting touch and agility to attack closeouts, make plays as a roller, and finish dump-offs at the rim. Under Kelly Olynyk's tutelage, he could become a highly versatile weapon that could open up the Pelicans' playbook on both ends of the court.
In his last three games, during New Orleans's mini win streak, he's put up 14.7 points and 6.0 rebounds in 24.8 minutes a night, hitting 71 percent of his looks overall and 50 percent of his triples. Still only 23 years old, Matkovic can continue to develop his game and might end up being a promising part of the Pelicans' surprising depth moving forward.