New Orleans Pelicans May Be Facing Deeper Issue Than Evident on Surface

The New Orleans Pelicans have had a rough time being consistently good over the years, and it may all come down to one man.

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The New Orleans Pelicans have not been a franchise in the NBA for very long, as they are now in the early stages of their 23rd season.

In that time, the team has finished a year with a winning record only nine times, with their deepest playoff run ending in the Western Conference Semifinals, happening in both the 2007-08 and the 2017-18 seasons.

It is hard for a small-market franchise to find its footing in the NBA, with the majority of the NBA Championships through the years belonging to large-market teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics.

While the organization has certainly faced its fair share of adversity through the years, until lately, they have not done themselves any favors through the NBA Draft, including a name that may surprise many: Zion Williamson.

Now before you hit the "close" button, take a second and think about it realistically.

The team has made the playoffs twice in the five seasons since drafting Zion, and they had early exits in both.

Yes, last year's early exit can not be put on Zion as he was injured, but therein lies a big part of the problem, more often than not, he is injured.

Since being selected by the Pelicans as the number one overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft, the team has played 393 games (including this year).

Zion Williamson has played in just 186 of those, taking the court in only 47.3 percent of New Orleans' contests.

Even oft-injured Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has played in more games relevant to the amount his team has played.

The 76ers drafted Embiid with the third overall pick of the 2014 NBA draft, and have played a total of 804 games since.

Embiid has taken the court in 433 of those games for a games played rate of 53.9 percent.

It is not just the injuries that have held this team back, though.

When Zion is on the court, opposing defenses, as well as everyone in attendance, know exactly what he is going to do.

He is an extremely ball-centric forward, whose only move is to power his way to the basket, fouls be damned.

As we've seen in the two contests against the Portland Trailblazers this weekend, it can be stopped with ease, hindering the entire offense in the process.

It is a problem of the organization's own making, by placating the superstar and trying to build the team around Zion and his only strength, instead of building a more balanced attack with deep threats and a strong defense outside of just Herb Jones.

Unfortunately for the Pelicans, it does not look to be getting better anytime soon.