The New Orleans Pelicans continue to lose, and while their roster has its fair share of flaws, no issue is bigger than their lack of shooting.
In Friday's 139-118 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Pelicans' three-point woes were highlighted even further with the absence of Trey Murphy III. Last time these two teams met, Murphy III exploded for 44 points and hit a franchise-high 12 threes, leading the Pels to a win. On Friday, as a team, New Orleans made just 4 threes and was outshot from the perimeter 36 to 25.
When it was announced Murphy III would be ruled out with a shoulder issue, interim head coach James Borrego said it’s a chance for Jordan Poole and Jordan Hawkins to step in and handle some of that shooting load. Relying on Poole and Hawkins as threats outside just isn't going to work, as the pair is shooting a combined 32.2 percent from three this season, further highlighting the team's obvious roster construction issues.
The team's shooting problem isn't a new flaw—it's been a thing all season.
The Pelicans must address shooting this offseason if they wanna maximize their core
New Orleans makes the third fewest threes per game this season. But that didn't stop the front office from ignoring that need at the trade deadline. Sure, they helped the issue slightly by converting Bryce McGowens contract from a two-way to a standard deal, as this season he's been a 43.3 percent shooter. But you can't keep relying on just one or two players as your "shooters". This isn't 90s basketball.
As I mentioned, the Pels are bottom 3 in threes made per game this season, and if you removed Murphy III's production from outside, things get scary. Murphy III accounts for nearly 30 percent of the team's threes made per game, and if you removed his input, the team would be the league's worst-shooting team by a mile, making just 7.9 threes per game.
The Pelicans have a good core group of players in Murphy III, Herb Jones, Zion Williamson, Derik Queen, Jeremiah Fears, Bryce McGowens, Saddiq Bey, and, when healthy, Dejounte Murray. But eventually, the front office has to see that this level of shooting just doesn't cut it in the modern NBA.
And I know I may sound like a broken record, but the front office needs to start having conversations about players like Zion and Herb and where they factor into the long-term goal. Forcing Trey Murphy III to be both your best scoring option and only consistent three-point threat isn't going to be good enough to build a future that involves raising banners in New Orleans.