The New Orleans Pelicans have lost four straight games entering their New Year's Eve matchup with the Chicago Bulls. A common trend throughout this streak has been the Pelicans getting killed on the glass and giving up too many second-chance points. Over the last four games, the Pelicans rank second-worst in the NBA in offensive rebounds allowed, with an average of 15.5 per game; they have also allowed an average of 23.3 second-chance points per game.
Out of New Orleans’ last four games, there was one in which they gave up just 10 offensive rebounds and only 13 second-chance points. That came Monday night against the New York Knicks, and the biggest difference from a lineup perspective from the other three games was that Kevon Looney played.
When the Pelicans signed Looney, it was viewed as a somewhat splashy move for the franchise, bringing in a three-time NBA champion with the expectation that he may be the team's starting center. That vision hasn’t fully materialized, but Looney proved against New York that he can still bring a lot as a big man in this team rotation.
Looney does the things no one else wants to do
Throughout Looney's 10-year NBA career, he's built a reputation as a dirty-work player—someone who tips the ball in the air four times and still comes down with the rebound. He’s also someone who prides himself on setting high-quality screens that generate countless open looks. This style of play is rare in the modern NBA, and Looney is definitely the only player on this Pelicans roster who brings these things.
We saw against New York that he grabbed nine rebounds in just 24 minutes, five of which were on the offensive glass. He also provided some elite rim protection with two blocks and a plethora of strong contests at the basket. Looney's style of play also makes him a great fit alongside Pelicans rookie Derik Queen.
Queen is slightly undersized, listed at only 6'9" to play the center spot, which makes playing him alongside Looney a great fit. Queen thrives offensively and excels at scoring and facilitating for others, making Looney the perfect complementary player for him, as he does all the things Queen doesn't, like providing rim protection and being an elite screener.
Looney’s experience playing alongside elite stars throughout his career also helps, as he knows where to stand on the offensive end to stay out of the stars' way while remaining effective as a rebounder.
The advanced numbers from the Knicks game don’t fully back up the idea that these two sharing the court is a good thing, as they had a -7.5 net rating in the seven minutes they played together. That being said, the eye test said otherwise.
So it will be interesting to see whether interim head coach James Borrego incorporates Looney into the team’s rotation Wednesday night in the Windy City, or if he views his performance against the Knicks as a one-hit wonder.