Speed Is Key for the New Orleans Pelicans Success This Season

The Pelicans must play fast and smart when the season begins to unlock their full potential.

Oct 15, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray (5) handles the ball against Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet (5) during the first quarter at Toyota Center. / Erik Williams-Imagn Images

Speed will be a central theme for the New Orleans Pelicans this season. This roster construction is as different as any Pelicans' team in recent memory. Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin recognized a need to shift the ideology of this team based on its lack of size.

"I know everybody thinks we have to invest in the center position a little bit," Griffin said during an interview during Summer League. "We are really excited about what we have now. We are excited to play small and fast."

New Orleans was slow to adapt to 'small and fast' in the last few seasons. Now, with the losses of Jonas Valanciunas, Cody Zeller, and Larry Nance, Jr., the team must play this way by necessity. That involves a different mindset to speed up the game offensively.

Under head coach Willie Green, the Pelicans ranked No. 16 in pace the last two seasons. In his rookie year as coach, the team ranked 21st. This summer, emphasis was placed on speeding up the tempo with the addition of guard Dejounte Murray, who played for the Atlanta Hawks last season. Murray's Hawks were No. 6 in the league in pace the two seasons he was there.

"We want to play fast, but we also want to be disciplined," coach Green told reporters after practice on Sunday. During the Pelicans' three preseason games, they ranked No. 15 in pace but committed nearly 18 turnovers per game. Those mistakes must subside when the season begins next because New Orleans will have a severe disadvantage in the paint most nights.

Early preseason results were not promising. In the team's final preseason game, the Rockets outscored New Orleans 60-34 in the paint and outrebounded the Pelicans by double digits. New Orleans didn't win the rebounding battle in any of their preseason games. When the games count for real, the team needs to play fast, smart basketball to impose their offensive will against teams.

Speed on the court must also translate to a fast start for the season. Historically, New Orleans tends to start the year off slow and then have to play catchup to make up ground for playoff positioning. The last time the Pelicans had a winning record after the first ten games of the season was the 2014-2015 season. Four of the team's first five games are on the road this year, and their first five games are against teams who missed the playoffs last year.

New Orleans has a massively talented roster. Whether all those pieces fit together remains to be seen, but starting fast will go a long way toward building the team's necessary chemistry and confidence to compete in the deep Western Conference.