The New Orleans Pelicans began their new campaign on Wednesday night, suffering a tough loss to the Indiana Pacers. Some guys looked good, some looked less good, and some earned far fewer minutes than some fans would like. Derik Queen came off the bench. That much is fine. But he only played 18:05.
New Orleans has invested heavily in Queen. They traded a first-round pick for him during the draft last year. And he showed some glimpses of real star potential last season. But when it came down to it on Wednesday night, he clearly wasn’t in Jamahl Mosley’s circle of trust. Mosley played the guys who he thought gave him the best chance to win, and for long stretches, Queen was not that.
The Pelicans need Queen to pan out. Queen needs minutes to make that happen. So, it’s up to Queen to force Mosley’s hand.
Derik Queen needs to earn his minutes
In the fourth quarter, Queen got subbed out with 7:02 to play. In the minutes leading up to that, he did a good job on the glass, but he also made his fair share of mistakes.
Queen gave up an and-one dunk to Tyrese Haliburton. He committed an offensive foul, turning the ball over. He fouled Haliburton again, giving him two free throws.
His whole night wasn’t bad, but as the Pelicans were trying to fend off the Pacers and secure a win on Opening Night, Queen just wasn’t the best version of himself.
In total, Queen finished the game with 10 points, 10 rebounds, one assist, and two steals. He shot 2-of-4 from the field and an impressive 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Queen’s ability to get to the charity stripe will definitely earn him some minutes, but he’s going to have to be a lot more solid on both ends of the court for Mosley to play him consistently.
And perhaps more importantly, he’s going to have to be even more reliable if the Pelicans are going to trust him down the stretch. Eventually, that should certainly be the goal.
Queen is still super young. This is just his second NBA season, and he doesn’t turn 22 years old until the very end of December. He has plenty of time to grow and develop.
But he needs minutes. He needs the chance to play if the Pelicans want him to get that growth. So, he needs to earn it. He needs to show Mosley that he deserves to be on the court.
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