How Worried Should New Orleans Pelicans Be That Superstars Lack Cohesiveness?

The New Orleans Pelicans ended the preseason without their three biggest stars ever taking the court at the same time. Should they be worried?

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The New Orleans Pelicans ended their 2024 preseason schedule with an unsettling 1-2 record across their Hurricane Milton-shortened slate of games.

The first of three had the team out to a promising start with a 106-104 win over the Orlando Magic, a team whose length has given the Pelicans trouble in years past.

With this year's roster not including a "true" starting center, opposing teams' length could prove to be an issue for New Orleans, but that is yet to be seen.

What could be considered a more pressing issue with the regular season less than a week away is the Big Three of Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and Dejounte Murray not all three being on the court at the same time once during the three exhibitions.

Ingram sat out the first two games of the preseason for rest, and when he played in the third, Zion sat out for rest, while Murray played in all three.

"On paper, this team has so much talent on the perimeter that it should be able to compete," writes Will Guillory of The Athletic, "but the players need time to jell and establish some kind of chemistry on both sides of the floor."

The games that count are right around the corner, and while Murray and Williamson worked well together, and Murray and Ingram worked well together, we are still yet to see how all three of them can coexist.

The Pelicans brought Murray into the fold to be the facilitator of the offense, and he has done a good job of that through the preseason, averaging 5.0 assists per game on 20:53, an 8.6 pace across 36 minutes.

Ingram led the team in assists last year with 5.7.

While the trio may not have played together in the preseason, they have spent countless hours in training camp together working on their timing and chemistry in preparation for the games that matter.

The lack of in-game chemistry could prove to be an issue early in the year, but as the team progresses through its schedule, the chemistry will come along with the wins.

The roster for New Orleans is in a great place, with or without a "true" starting center.

The team has its Big Three in Williamson, Ingram, and Murray, and the two that are sure to round out the starting five (Herb Jones and Murphy) are no slouches in their own right.

The Pelicans should not be worried about their trio not getting game reps together in the preseason.

82 games is a long time, and issues of that nature are alleviated early in the year.