The New Orleans Pelicans have been playing their best basketball of the season lately, with a 7-4 record since the All-Star break. If the coaching staff plans to keep this hot stretch going, they must make one lineup adjustment to maximize the remainder of the schedule.
Interim head coach James Borrego hasn't lacked creativity since taking over the lead coaching job for the Pelicans this season. Whether it's guard-less lineups, double big lineups, or small-ball lineups, you name it, he's tried it. And while experimentation can keep opponents guessing, New Orleans is now mostly healthy, aside from Bryce McGowens, and it's time for them to return to a traditional starting lineup. By traditional, I mean a point guard, two wings, a power forward, and a true center, because the small ball experiment has grown tired.
Wednesday night against Toronto was the third straight game the Pelicans rolled with a starting five of Dejounte Murray, Saddiq Bey, Trey Murphy III, Zion Williamson, and Herb Jones at center. In theory, this lineup can work because, at full health, Jones is an All-Defense-level defender, but it also puts the Pelicans at a massive size disadvantage to start games.
New Orleans already isn't a great rebounding team, and with four big men still in the rotation off the bench, inserting one of them into the starting five would benefit both the starters and the second unit.
The Pelicans need a real center in the starting lineup
During this stretch, where the Pelicans have opted for small-ball lineups, we've seen DeAndre Jordan, Derik Queen, Yves Missi, and Karlo Matkovic all come off the bench. That's just too many bigs to balance for a second unit. Out of the four, I think all of them, aside from Queen, should be considered for that center spot. I tend to lean toward Missi or Matkovic, given that Jordan is older and plays excellently in lineups with DQ.
The question now becomes: whose spot does Missi or Matkovic take? In situations like this, there often isn't an easy answer, but for the Pelicans, there is—Herb Jones.
No shade to Jones, but he's had a down year shooting the ball and scoring in general. While some may argue that Saddiq Bey, who's been an elite scorer for the Pels, is perfect for a sixth-man role, with how consistent he's been this season, moving him to the bench wouldn't be fair. Putting Jones with the second unit would give Borrego a defensive pace-changer and someone they can bring in if an opposing star gets hot early.
With a team as deep as the Pelicans, you're bound to run into these issues of who starts and who comes off the bench. But the answer to these problems can no longer be starting your best five players. Putting a center in the team's first five helps set the tone on the glass and at the rim early, while giving Dejounte Murray another person to spoon-feed in pick-and-rolls.
New Orleans has been playing inspiring basketball as of late, and if the goal is to keep that up, a starting lineup change is needed.