The New Orleans Pelicans have been playing their best basketball of the season since returning from the All-Star break. The Pels are 4-2 and carry the sixth-best offensive rating in the league over this stretch. A huge reason for the team's success as of late has been the insertion of DeAndre Jordan into the team's starting five.
After not appearing in a game since October 29th, he has started in the team's last five games as the coaching staff felt it was time to get a real rim protector and rebounding threat in their starting group.
Although this experiment has worked out for the most part, Sunday's loss to the Clippers highlighted that it may be time for another change. Jordan's lack of young legs was clearly catching up to him as he wasn’t rolling to the basket fast enough for Dejounte Murray to punish LA’s defense and struggled to close out on Brook Lopez, who shot 4-of-6 from three.
With the return of Yves Missi, it may be time for the Pelicans to give him another shot at the starting five spot. In his first game back, he played 20 minutes and recorded eight points, nine rebounds, one block, and one steal. On top of that, he gives the Pelicans a much better lateral threat in pick-and-roll situations.
This switch would give the Pelicans a balanced attack
All season, the Pelicans have struggled to find the right combinations when it comes to their rotations, but making Missi the starting five man next to Zion Williamson may finally be perfect.
This season, Missi and Z have a plus net rating when sharing the court, according to Databallr. Starting these two together now, with a healthy Dejounte Murray, will give the veteran guard two serious roll threats that he can spoon-feed easy buckets to. It will also give the Pelicans another great athlete for transition, as Missi is known for his ability to crash the rim for lobs or offensive rebounds in the open floor.
The other thing that starting this pairing does is allow New Orleans to have another lethal big tandem off the bench, as Derik Queen and DeAndre Jordan have played exceptionally together this season. The frontcourt duo of Queen and Jordan has a net rating of +34.2 when sharing the floor this season, according to Databallr.
Both front-court pairings share similar traits: Williamson and Queen are scorers who can create for others, and Jordan and Missi bring the dirty work by protecting the rim and rebounding. They also have a nice contrast: Missi and Z would be about speed and athleticism, while Queen and DJ play at a slower tempo. This change in pace could throw opposing defenses off.
Although I've been a fan of DeAndre Jordan as a starter, it's time to switch things up and swap him for Yves Missi, which would give the starting group a much better fit at the five with Dejounte Murray’s return. It would also help stabilize the bench and create the most coherent frontcourt rotation the Pelicans have had all season.