I entered the preseason optimistic about the New Orleans Pelicans’ center rotation, believing a win-by-committee approach could work.
When you look on paper at a combination of Derik Queen, Karlo Matkovic, and Yves Missi, if everyone focuses on their specific role, in the aggregate it could give the Pelicans a solid starting center. I’m here to tell you that, through three preseason games, I was beyond wrong.
The Pelicans' big man rotation has been abysmal, and it’s really concerning considering this group is already heading into the regular season with a million other issues. After an offseason where they didn’t address their need for shooting or more defense, neglecting the center spot didn’t seem as drastic. They had three bright young centers, and even without any major breakouts, that area didn’t project as a major issue, but preseason has told me that evaluation was way off.
Whether it’s Derik Queen not being able to finish an easy layup (he missed five in a row on Wednesday night), Missi getting fried in space, or Matkovic being inactive on the glass, they’ve all looked bad at points. The last straw came when Mosley opted to start Wednesday’s game with a double-big lineup, only for Missi and Matkovic to give up offensive rebound after offensive rebound.
Win-by-committee has become lose-by-committee
Sure, DQ did show some nice things on the glass Wednesday night, pulling down 11 rebounds in under 20 minutes of action. But that all goes out the window when he shoots 1-of-9 from the field and, like I said, misses FIVE layups in a row.
Yeah, Missi had four blocks and pulled in nine boards while shooting 50 percent from the field. But was he getting fried on switches and looking lost defensively and on the glass? You bet. Does Missi have the second-worst defensive rating among players to play in all three preseason games? Why wouldn’t he?
Then we get to Karlo Matkovic, who shot 3-of-4 from three and was cash from that right corner. But did he do anything besides bang corner threes? Not really. He pulled in two rebounds through his 17 minutes of action, and the Mavericks had a 52.4 percent offensive rebounding rate when he was on the floor.
All three of these guys were supposed to add together to create one solid starting center statistically, not be one giant liability.
The question now becomes: who does Mosley even roll with as his starter on opening night? Should he just go James Borrego mode and go small with Herb Jones at the five? Honestly, at this point that doesn’t sound too terrible.
I’d still put my money on Missi. Even though the defensive stuff has been far from encouraging, Mosley has started him in all three preseason games, which feels like a hint. That being said, there’s a case for everyone. Derik Queen’s rebounding has been encouraging (first in rebound percentage on the team), and Matkovic does give you the floor spacing you’d want next to Zion Williamson, at least in theory.
I don’t really have a clear answer to who I would go with. My gut tells me I’d still like to see Missi get the start, but I don’t think there’s a right answer, and I don’t mean that in a good way.
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