After a disastrous 2024 season, there was hope that the Pelicans would be able to show some return to form this year, but the situation has become even worse in New Orleans. The Pelicans are off to the worst start in franchise history, going 0-6. New Orleans’ problem is that they haven’t even been competitive in most of their games this year.
There are two ways to look at the start of this season. I’ll try to give a more positive outlook for the rest of their season, but there isn’t much to like so far. The Pelicans have had what I hope is poor shooting variance to start the season. Their entire starting five is shooting well below their career averages across the board. Zion Williamson is the player who was primarily responsible for the poor shooting.
Last season, Zion was finishing his looks in the restricted area at just under 60%; however, this season he has only completed these same looks at 48%. Is this an issue of shots not falling over a small sample size of six games, or is this a bigger problem to worry about? Zion has had seasons where he completed these same looks at over 63%, so I would be very shocked if his averages continue to stay this low. Still, I’m concerned about the weight he lost this summer; his body is no longer able to withstand physical contact as well as before.
During the preseason, the Pelicans were my favorite outright win bet down the stretch due to the progress Zion has made this offseason, particularly in maintaining his physical health. However, I’m a little concerned that previous injuries may have compromised some of his elite athleticism. Zion is still a top 20 player in the league; he’s just not the top 10 player I hoped he would become.
Trey Murphy faces similar issues when finishing at the hoop. He’s shooting just 44 percent in the restricted area, down from 60 percent last season. He was also less effective behind the arc. Last season’s increase in scoring volume hasn’t continued yet, and if he’s not an efficient three-way scorer, I’m not sure his contract extension makes much sense.
My last big concern for the Pelicans is coaching. Late in the game, the offense looks tough, as even when they had opportunities to give up games late, I really didn’t like some of the lineups we saw. Not only that, but Willie Green regularly plays with way too many guys. Sadiq Bey and DeAndre Jordan cannot be reliable depth pieces on a serious roster in 2025.
Rookies Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen have at least shown flashes this season for the Pelicans, but their minutes are blocked by players who won’t be part of the future in New Orleans. Make these two the most important parts of this season, so their development can progress more quickly. DeAndre Jordan should not steal a single minute from Derik Queen. Let him solve all the problems this season so that you can compete as soon as possible.
The great news for the Pelicans is that they will at least be in the running for one of the elite prospects available in the lottery this year…
This would be the case if the Pelicans hadn’t made one of the stupidest trades I’ve ever seen by placing themselves late in the lottery, for their first delay in 2025 and their first round pick next year! The Pelicans don’t have their draft pick and are barely playing their first round pick that they moved up for.
Blast this team and fire everyone at every level. This team is an absolute nightmare, and I don’t see how they could make any progress without acquiring more draft capital.
