Pelicans 8th in Latest Western Conference Power Ranking

NBA.com's panel ranked the New Orleans Pelicans 8th overall in the Western Conference heading into the start of the 2022-2023 season.

We are less than two months away from seeing the Pelicans play basketball again. Many fans’ anticipation is at a fever pace with the expectations this upcoming season holds. With arguably the best Big 3 in the league with CJ McCollum, Zion Williamson, and Brandon Ingram it’s no wonder Pelicans fans are clamoring with optimism for the season to start. One national outlet doesn’t appear to be as high on the Pelicans, however.

NBA.com released their annual power rankings ahead of the season and the Pelicans curiously were in the same position they ended last season, the 8th spot. The burning question they had was exactly how would the offense pan out this season. Here’s a sample of what they had to say.

This franchise has had a top-10 offense just twice in the 20 years since it moved to New Orleans, but it was there (ranking 10th) before Zion Williamson was shut down for the final six games of the ’20-21 season (when the Pels fell to 11th). And that team obviously didn’t have McCollum in the backcourt.

Willie Green can stagger playing time so that each of his three scorers gets some minutes as the primary option, but it will be fascinating to see how the Pels’ offense runs when Ingram, McCollum and Williamson are all on the floor together. Point Zion worked well two seasons ago, but if the other two can allow the big guy to catch the ball on the move, he’s going to be near impossible to stop (in part because defenders don’t want to step in front of him).

Interesting how the Pelicans played an entire season without Zion and only had CJ McCollum for less than 30 games and made the 8th seed. How could incorporating a star like Zion back into the rotation with a full offseason of CJ’s leadership only yield similar results? Not to mention the expected growth from Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III, and Jose Alvarado after their rookie campaigns. 

This is why game results are settled on the court and not in the media. Fortunately for Pelicans fans, it won’t be too much longer for them to see just how good this team will be this year.

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