It was apparent from the beginning that this New Orleans Pelicans roster had issues. Those cracks only grew more apparent as the team made its way through training camp and preseason. Despite the win in their season opener, it was obvious that this squad had very real issues that they needed to work through.
Those cracks grew into cavernous gaps after Dejounte Murray went down with a fractured left hand. He'll be back in 4-6 weeks, but his absence has made it clear why Pelicans fans have been clamoring for a true point guard for years.
Through their 2-2 start, lots of issues have popped up for New Orleans, including ball security, lack of playmaking, unreliable paint protection, and limited outside shooting. While the defense has been far from perfect, it's their offensive inconsistency that's put the Pelicans into their current hole. Murray and Trey Murphy III's returns should alleviate some of their problems on that end of the court, but there's one glaring concern that's severely hampered the Pelicans offensive efficiency, and it hasn't been the center of discussion.
The Pelicans are failing to play with pace
Going into the season, with a suspect center rotation consisting of career backup Daniel Theis and rookie Yves Missi, New Orleans was expected to play a lot of small-ball to counter their lack of fives. That was a sentiment that excited Pelicans fans, instilling hope that Zion Williamson might be maximized as the sole big man on the floor, enabled to dominate mismatches and wreak havoc in transition.
Unfortunately, the small-ball lineups have been few and far in between, and New Orleans isn't playing near fast enough to make the most of their current personnel. This has been a recurring issue under Head Coach Willie Green. In his tenure, the Pelicans have finished 21st, 14th, and 17th in pace, despite employing one of the most lethal transition finishers in NBA history.
So far in this season, New Orleans has clocked in at 13th in fastbreak points per game at 15.8. They're also 13th in pace this year at 100.75 possessions a night.
These aren't terrible numbers in a vacuum, but in the team's context, they're far from where they need to be. The Pelicans have a plethora of ball-handlers and roster some incredible athletes like Zion, Herb Jones, and Yves Missi. As a small team, they should be getting out on fastbreaks significantly more often than they are.
Increasing their pace will not only maximize their roster, but it'll also help hide some of their greatest weaknesses. New Orleans has struggled to generate offense in the halfcourt. They're not shooting nearly enough 3-pointers, because they can't collapse the defense consistently to free up their shooters. They've been getting killed inside and on the boards due to their lackluster center rotation.
Speeding up their pace will bring out more easy-scoring opportunities in transition and prevent them from having to consistently create offense in the halfcourt without a true point guard. With plenty of ball-handlers and finishing threats like Zion, Herb, and Missi, they should see lots of open triples in fastbreaks. If opposing teams have to worry about the Pelicans beating them in a track meet, they won't be able to emphasize offensive rebounding and might even have to bench their plodding centers.
New Orleans has a lot of issues they need to clean up, but playing with a more fitting pace would alleviate most of their problems.