Slow Starts, Soft Defense Keeping Pelicans In Holding Pattern

The New Orleans Pelicans are 5-5 after 10 games, but have lost four of their last six as some troubling patterns have emerged.

Holding a record of 5-5 the New Orleans Pelicans currently sit eighth in the Western Conference standings, a four-game improvement over last season at this time. 

There are some very positive takeaways. 

Six players currently average double-figures in scoring with Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, and CJ McCollum combining for more than 66 points per game.

With the schedule heavily tilted to the road early on, the Pels have earned wins against Brooklyn, Charlotte, and the Los Angeles Clippers, three teams expected to reach the postseason.

Last season, New Orleans didn't collect it's third road victory until after Thanksgiving. The Pelicans didn't earn their third win of any kind until Nov. 19 of 2021.

So, doom and gloom is not needed.

However, the Pelicans are in dire need of a reality check.

Perhaps the expectations from fans were too high, too early. No matter how impressive the Pelicans were in the postseason, they were still just at 36-win team that played .500 basketball over its final 36 games (28 regular season, two Play-in, six playoffs).

The prospect of re-inserting Williamson, the anticipated growth of the rest of the lineup, and offseason reports of players working out together, sent hopes soaring. Visions of the Larry O'Brien trophy making its way through the Crescent City began dancing in heads across the basketball world. 

A 3-1 start, during which it took more than two full games for the Pelicans to actually trail, made them the early darlings of the league.

But things are different now. Since beating the Mavericks on Oct. 25, the Pelicans have become less efficient on offense and their lack of defense down low has gone from an annoyance to a problem.

Over their last six games New Orleans has outscored its opponents by a grand total of four points, or 0.667 points per game after scoring nearly nine points per game more than their foes over the first four.

The team's offensive rating has slipped from second after four games to sixth currently. While overall, its a slide of just four places, during the Pelicans' current 2-4 stretch, they've been the NBA's 16th-best offensive attack.

After posting a Net Rating of 7.7, good for sixth-best after four games, the Pels have dropped to a 1.0 Net as of late.

Offensive concerns seem easier to address with Ingram back in the lineup and Williamson coming off of one his best performances of the season in Indiana, but even head coach Willie Green has lamented the inconsistency in production as of late.

It's been most noticeable in the first half as the Pelicans have repeated dug themselves early holes. 

came out in attack mode.📹 pic.twitter.com/d52nJlSHol

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) November 8, 2022

New Orleans has been outscored in the first quarter in four of the past six games, including surrendering 32 to the Pacers, with the Pelicans going on to trail at the half by an average of 3.5 points each night.

The troops have rallied in the second half throughout the season, but even that production has gone down.

Last season, Willie Green said he was going to give this team a defensive identity first and the Pelicans slowly but surely became at the very least a competent group with some strong individual defenders such as Jones, Jose Alvarado, Naji Marshall and Trey Murphy.

For whatever reason, that synergy hasn't been there this season. 

The Pelicans are one of the league's worst transition defenses, ranking in the bottom five in fast break opportunities allowed with teams scoring nearly 23 ppg in those situations.

The advantage of having Williamson terrorize foes in the paint on offense has been mitigated as teams are keeping within four points of New Orleans around the bucket while making 70 pct. of their shots in the restricted area. 

Teams are scoring more second chance points and collecting more rebounds. And the Pelicans remain one of the worst teams in the NBA at defending the corner three, or just contesting shots in general.

Textbook YMCA closeout by Zion right here. pic.twitter.com/GsEe75UmdI

— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) January 3, 2021

Those aren't personnel issues, those are caused by effort.

You can be outshot on any given night, but losing in areas of hustle is unacceptable for a team that should be hungry to establish itself. 

The Pelicans are no longer a feel-good story. They aren't the little engine that could. Whether there are trades to address these issues or not, it's time for the New Orleans Pelicans to grow up.