New Orleans Pelicans Offense: Already a Lost Cause?

The New Orleans Pelicans offense has struggled so far and it has begun to worry some around the basketball world.

Oct 23, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green looks on against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at Smoothie King Center. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Pelicans offense isn't off to the hot start that they had hoped for and some are beginning to worry.

As Dan Favale of Bleacher Report came up with overreaction for the first week of NBA action, he brought up the Pelicans struggling offense. He went as far as to suggest that offense may be 'cooked.'

"Hovering around 20th in points scored per possession this early into the season would not be so unforgivable if New Orleans had a clear path out of the bottom-10ish abyss. They don't," said Favale. "Pretend like they can and will shoot more threes if you're a sucker for delusion. The rest of us know better. And to that end, the Pelicans' shot selection makes the snail-paced speed at which it so often plays pure, unadulterated, somebody's-bound-to-get-fired-and/or-traded malpractice."

Obviously, the first excuse given for the offensive play not looking up to par would likely be the loss of Dejounte Murray. The team hasn't been healthy together in the way it was constructed this offseason, but how long can they actually keep using that same answer.

It has been this way what feels like years now, so being 'healthier' isn't going to cut it anymore.

Fans and analysts alike are getting fed up with the continuous state of disappointment in New Orleans. Some have already started to question Willie Green's job security as Head Coach.

Let's see how the rest of it goes but this game makes me feel the Pelicans might need to make a coaching change

— Jake Madison (@NOLAJake) October 30, 2024

The Pelicans are currently in the bottom-five of three pointers attempted per game. That is simply not going to be acceptable when the team has as many good shooters on it as they do, even considering their current injury status.

New Orleans has been incapable of manufacturing three point looks this year and it is hurting them immensely. Even though Jordan Hawkins played 26 minutes in Tuesday's game against the Golden State Warriors, he only put up one three-point shot and missed. CJ McCollum was 1-for-4 from deep.

As a team, the Pelicans attempted less than half the deep looks than the Warriors deep.

The problem with settling for so many tough mid-range shots and poorly excuted iso-attempts instead of beyond the perimeter, is that they haven't been efficient on their two-point shots. They currently rank No. 18 in the league for two-point field goal percentage.

New Orleans is also bottom-10 in assist per turnover ratio and offensive efficiency. The talent is there on the roster, but nothing is working right now.

It's early on in the season, but the start on offense for the Pelicans is certainly worrying.