Is It Already Time for the New Orleans Pelicans To Start Rookie Center?

The New Orleans Pelicans may already need to consider making a change in their starting lineup.

Oct 25, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; New Orleans Pelicans center Yves Missi (21) shoots the ball past Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson (00) during the first half at Moda Center. / Soobum Im-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Pelicans offseason additions mostly haven't had the start to the year that they wanted, but one player has remained exciting.

Rookie center Yves Missi has continued to show exactly what the Pelicans hoped for when they drafted him, potentially earlier than anyone imagined.

His emergence, combined with Daniel Theis' mediocre production in the starting lineup, could lead to a lineup change early on in the season.

Missi is already playing more minutes than Theis, so it's more about which units each player sees more time with down the line.

The Baylor Bears product was taken with the No. 21 overall selection in the most recent NBA draft, with hopes of being a long-term answer in center.

His athletic ceiling is hard not to get excited about and it has shone through on defense so far through three games.

The 20-year-old is a natural shot blocker and offers more at the rim than New Orleans has seen in a while. He's both stood in the paint against stronger opponents and jumped in the air to meet high flyers.

It's way too early to say that Yves Missi is this year's draft steal, but Yves Missi is this year's draft steal. pic.twitter.com/uO76GYiDIx

— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) October 25, 2024

Over his first three games, he's posted 8.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.0 steals, and 2.7 blocks per game in just under 22 minutes.

He hasn't been as consistent of a presence on offense as they may have hoped, but he does look to have some potential there as well.

Theis has 5.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.7 steals, 1.7 blocks in 18 minutes, for comparison. His biggest issues have been on defense and the fact that he hasn't been able to contribute as much as a perimeter shooter as they might have hoped.

New Orleans brought Theis in as a stopgap and potential starter if Missi didn't look ready to compete in a big role.

The Pelicans lost both Jonas Valanciunas and Larry Nance Jr. this past offseason, leaving them without anyone that spent a lot time at center last year. It makes sense that they brought in a veteran, even though most of the NBA world begged them to do even more.

If New Orleans has it their way, the need for either player will continue to decrease as they get healthier. The goal of this season was to get smaller, but the injury to Dejounte Murray and Zion Williamson's sickness has made that hard to do so far.

As Williamson's minutes have increased, both centers' minutes have decreased.

In the future, though, an even larger majority of center minutes going to an actual center should be thrown Missi's way.