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The Pelicans’ Offense With Jrue Holiday
*all numbers presented do not include the most recent game against the New York Knicks Defense, defense, defense. That is all that was talked about in the offseason, and for good reason. Last season the Pelicans had the 28th ranked defense with a rating of 107.3. It was abysmal. The thinking was that if the […]
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Are You Ready for Your Solo?
Every team in the NBA as the “polarizing move du jour,” and for the Pelicans, Solomon Hill has given Omer Asik some breathing room. It’s not that either player is an issue in themselves, but the combination of their play, team style, the contract, and the various imaginings of the person judging (with some imaginings […]
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Wasted Seasons?
I keep hearing the term “wasted” season, and it annoys me. Rather than just stew over here, I wanted to try to add some clarity to all sides of the manufactured debate. If one is primarily interested in winning a title this year, the performance this season is going to leave you completely and unambiguously […]
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It’s Time to Play Diallo
The Pelicans are an okay team. Despite what their record indicates, the Pelicans have been perfectly average since Jrue came back on November 18th. My occasional Twitter meltdowns would indicate otherwise, but since Jrue played first game, Pels 14th in Net Rating and 6th best defense. pic.twitter.com/Riy6K9u7xP — Mike Pellissier (@MikePellissier) December 16, 2016 Given […]
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How Many Open Shots is “Normal?”
I never thought I’d say this, but the Pelicans finally have an average to above average defense. Not a great one, but one that isn’t an eyesore, and one that features quick, aggressive guards who move with actual purpose. There are a lot of variables that go into good defense, and one of them is how well […]
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Solo and the Wookie
When Han Solo tried to escape from the clutches of the Imperial Navy through an asteroid field, he knew what he was getting into. With sharp-shooting Imperial TIE Fighters behind and chaotically floating balls of frozen rock in front, the margin of error for Solo was thinner than Leia’s waning patience. Chewy is always around […]
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Thanksgiving Scoop
You’ll have to see how the answers turn out, but here are some upward-pointing questions in advance of Thanksgiving. 1. Holiday is back. Are the New Orleans Pelicans now equipped to win “today” against at least half of the NBA a 0.500 or better rate? How about with Evans coming back? 42: I think that’s […]
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A Holiday Weekend – How the Former Allstar Will Immediately Help the Pelicans’ Defense
During last week’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, the best word David Wesley and Joel Meyers came up with to describe Jrue Holiday’s offense was “smooth.” After the game Alvin Gentry praised the “flow” of the offense throughout and even went on to say it was their most complete performance of the season. Yes, […]
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Late Early Observations
The New Orleans Pelicans played 12 games without Holiday and 1 game with him. It’s as good a time as any to look at what we’ve been looking at. Davis is not only one of the best players in the NBA, he’s on a mission to prove it. His good performances have, of course, been […]
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Anthony Davis Showing Patience on Offense
This year Anthony Davis has been an absolute banshee on the court for the New Orleans Pelicans despite their winless start. He’s third in the league in scoring per game, averaging 31.3 points per game. This is well above the 24.3 he averaged last season. And the stats show that he is having a much […]
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Issues of Trust
I’ve spent some time thinking about just has gone wrong with this team that was controllable. Every team makes mistakes. Bad luck aside, I wanted to come up with an answer, and not just some early bad signing. I wanted the real root of the issue. These people are not incompetent. They can be wrong, […]
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Handling The Pressure
The New Orleans Pelicans, for the first time in a long time . . . a very long time . . . quit last night. The team will deny it. The players will deny it. The organization will deny it. A number of writers and fans will deny it or ignore it to grind irrelevant […]
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A Small Defense of the Defense
I am among no small number of people discussing the defense of the New Orleans Pelicans. I have said some good things and bad. Jake has said the same here and on his Locked On Pelicans podcast (which you need to check out). McNamara has said more bad than good, while Ryan seems ok with […]
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The Good and Bad with the Pelicans’ Defense
A lot has been made of the Pelicans’ revamped defense. Is it truly 10th best in the league? Is it actually bad? Is this smoke and mirrors? Small sample size? Being affected by one or two games? It is still too early to predict where the defense will fall at the end of the season. […]
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The Cavalry
Significant injury has again beset the New Orleans Pelicans, this time striking Lance Stephenson. Stephenson suffered a groin injury in the Suns game, or possibly after, but was diagnosed as an injury where surgery was the best option. The Pelicans have waived Lance, whose contract is both partially guaranteed not terribly high in terms of […]
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The Process and the Losses
The New Orleans Pelicans are not off to a good start as measured by wins. They are 0-6. Just so the point of what I’m saying below is not lost, I just want to come right out and say: While there is a ton to pick on, there is one simple fix that would have […]
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4 Thoughts Through 4 Games
The Pelicans have started the season a demoralizing 0-4 despite playing two very winnable games against the Denver Nuggets and the Milwaukee Bucks. In both games the Pelicans put themselves in position to win but in both cases they couldn’t “get over the hump” to pull it out. The Pelicans have paper thin margins for […]
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Stats Highlights, 1st Week
*Sample size disclaimer — 3 games have been played, meaning the sample of data that we have to work with is extremely limited. However, the phrase “small sample size” in basketball is often misunderstood as “the data is useless.” The data isn’t useless — you simply can’t extrapolate with it. Statistics are still useful to describe what has […]
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The Transition to Transition
We’ve had just a few New Orleans Pelicans games to watch, so beyond Anthony Davis is good This team needs work There’s not too much to say with great confidence, especially when some important pieces are missing and returning, possibly soon. Watching games against just a 3 teams is bad enough, but when two of […]
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What Is This Process?
I decided to talk to Jason about the team building the Pelicans have done in the AD era. This was started just before the season and went through today, which makes the academic rambling perhaps a little more interesting. Nick: Jason, a new season is upon us, and excitement is in the air. Let’s put […]