New Orleans Pelicans Continue To Be Underrated With Latest Power Rankings

The New Orleans Pelicans continue to be underrated heading into the 2024-25 season despite improving their roster.

Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Pelicans were one of the more active teams in this offseason.

With a blockbuster trade to acquire Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks, and extending role player Jose Alvarado's contract, they have done nothing to weaken their roster and the trade improved their roster immensely.

However, the Pelicans continue to be underrated, with many projecting the team to have fewer wins than last year (49), strictly because they do not have a true starting center.

While the true starting center aspect might be factual, the small-ball starting five that New Orleans will surely be deploying can still wreak havoc in the Association.

They are surely better than their latest position in Bleacher Report's NBA power rankings.

Andy Bailey ranked the Pelicans 17th, stating "The glass-half-empty take is that they're already doomed by not having a starting-caliber center."

The five guys the team could be starting include three guys that are all 6'8" in Brandon Ingram, Herb Jones, and Trey Murphy III.

Jones can guard anyone, saying as much in the offseason, and proving it time and time again on the defensive end of the court.

Murphy and Ingram are better suited at defending their forward counterparts on the wings, but can still get in the way of any lumbering big man in their own rights.

People are also underestimating what this team can do now with a true point guard in Murray.

In yesterday's preseason game alone, the veteran tallied six assists in 17:28, a 12-assist pace over 36 minutes, while New Orleans was led in assists last year by Ingram (5.7) and Zion Williamson (5.0), the only two that averaged five or more per game, and two men that are much better suited scoring than facilitating.

CJ McCollum will almost surely be pushed to a sixth-man, super-sub when Murphy is ready to return to action, leaving McCollum with many more scoring opportunities against the opposing team's bench players, greatly improving the Pelicans' bench production.

This New Orleans team that we are about to witness in the 2024-25 campaign is going to surprise many and has a high likelihood of breaking the 50-win threshold for the first time since the 2007-08 season.

That is, assuming the stars stay healthy for the long haul (looking at you Zion).

Regardless, having the Pelicans 17th in any NBA power rankings is underrating this team.

Especially when you consider some of the other teams that are ranked ahead of New Orleans in those same power rankings.

Is this team a Championship contender?

Maybe not.

But it is most certainly a playoff contending team that could make it past the first round.

Let them continue to underrate the Pelicans.

It will just fuel the fire.