The season from hell continues for the New Orleans Pelicans. In the beginning of their 2024-25 NBA campaign, the roster was ravaged by injuries, with practically every core member of the team going down with a significant injury that held them out for several games.
The absences haven't stopped, as Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram remain sidelined with their respective ailments, a strained hamstring for Z and a high-grade ankle sprain for BI. Jose Alvarado has also been missing time with his own hamstring troubles.
Due to all of their injuries, the Pelicans have plummeted to the bottom of the Western Conference standings, now just 5-26 after their latest blowout loss against the Houston Rockets. For what it's worth, it's probably better that New Orleans is racking up all of these defeats, as it appears that the franchise is looking to rebuild. The more they lose, the better chance they'll have at a top draft pick this upcoming summer. The Washington Wizard won their game over the Charlotte Hornets, giving the Pelicans sole possession of the worst record in the NBA. While it's actually encouraging that they're losing so many games, it's starting to get really ugly for the New Orleans Pelicans and Head Coach Willie Green's seat may be getting red-hot.
The New Orleans Pelicans should be better than they are, even with their injuries
Earlier in the season, the Pelicans' roster was absolutely decimated by injuries, as they were missing seven of their highest-paid players at the same time at one point. That's no longer the case. New Orleans is still missing their top two players in Zion and Ingram, but they've since gotten back Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, and their other core members.
Despite those players returning, they're currently riding an eight-game losing streak and haven't won since December 5. In that time, they've dropped games against beatable opponents like the San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings, and Indiana Pacers.
On paper, they have enough talent to win games now. They have two borderline All-Star guards leading the charge between Dejounte and CJ, two of the best up-and-coming wings in the league in Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones, and a host of viable role players like Yves Missi, Jordan Hawkins, and Brandon Boston Jr.
For what it's worth, injuries may still be holding this team back, even if most of their players are available. Murray and Hawkins in particular have struggled since returning. Dejounte fractured his left hand in the first game of the season and has been uncharacteristically inefficient as a scorer. Jordan Hawkins was off to a hot start in his second year before going down with a back injury and has struggled with his shooting splits since he came back.
One has to wonder if this is a coaching issue at this point, though. I was staunchly against the idea of scapegoating Willie Green amid this horrid start from the Pelicans, considering his track record and the multitude of hardships that he and the team have had to endure so far this season.
That said, good coaches fail all of the time. Their 5-26 record had to have been demoralizing for the entire team, and it doesn't look like they'll be turning things around anytime soon. As previously stated, the Pelicans are likely trying to lose games for the rest of the season, so it's hard to envision a way for this team to boost their spirits while actively tanking with the same coach that they've had for the past four years.
Perhaps the Pelicans should free Willie Green along with the veteran players they're looking to shed this season. After all, he was expecting to coach a competitive team looking to make a deep playoff run, not a new rebuild. But, maybe he can galvanize this team and lead them into their next era. Whether he's a part of the team's future or not, though, this team needs to start looking a lot better on the court than they have been, even if they're chasing losses.