Mid Season Review: Are The Pelicans Contenders?
We are about halfway through the season as game 42 tips off in just a few short hours from the writing of this article. What has changed? Anything better, maybe worse? I am sure you have been keeping track of the season just like I have, and man have things changed. BI toe sidelining him for multiple weeks and his return is up in the air. Zion and his hamstring injury being sidelined for weeks. Herb losing 10 pounds from illness and coming back like he never left. CJ struggling with COVID and non-COVID illnesses. The only consistent starter we have seen night in and night out has been JV. Yet still, our Pelicans are holding it down strong and showing the league why their depth should be taken seriously.
The return of the Jax has been interesting. After 20 games of DNP Jaxson has come in, and quite literally carried us to the finish line. I have always felt Jaxson was a 4 who didn't quite understand his game yet and it feels like after coming in and chunking threes in limited minutes Jaxson has slown down and realized he can get to the rim whenever he wants. I am not saying Jax cracks the rotation in a deep playoff run or even when we have all 5 starters back but what an insurance policy he can be if he isn't moved before the deadline. He alone does not make us a contender, but depth does. Depth is why I brought him up and if these injuries and the Pelicans going 13-8 missing CJ, BI, and Zion in a scattered fashion across those 21 games shows you a sign of depth, its a good sign.
CJ and JV are a duo that has come out to be quite interesting in some fun 2 man sets. To be missing ~35-45 points from BI and Zion and still have CJ and JV come out night after night and make games interesting with their vet presence says a lot. I mentioned the crazy talent that we got in the trade deal for CJ, but JV deserves a lot of love too notching is 300th career double double just a few weeks ago. These two guys would be first options on other teams nightly, but somehow JV is the 4th option on a very talented starting 5 when all there.
Now, the negatives. The Pelicans have been abysmal coming out of the gate. Patty said it best, sometimes it feels like we have zero gameplan and we just wing it until it gets out of hand. AD is always talking on the broadcast about "how do you finish the half, how do you finish the quarter", but this is typically brought up while the Pelicans are behind or giving up a lead. I would love to see some adjustments over the next few weeks to prove that we can come out of the gate. The playoffs are literally the best teams all battling it out for a shot at a ring, we cannot fall behind to those best teams and expect to win it all in the end.
The FREETHROWS. I swear we look like Shaq having a good year at the charity stripe. I don't know if it is mental, or just not enough practice but if we are not having entire segments of practice set aside for FTs it needs to start yesterday. The Pelicans have sold games more than once due to FTs. There will be times where teams extend games, or when the whistles are flowing, and when the Pelicans are shooting 60% but the opponent is shooting 87% from the line we will be losing games. Even guys who have have seen career consistency with FTs are struggling. We are middle of the pack, 16th in the league in FT % and it feels like we should be much much lower. Either way, this will not cut it against really good teams.
The Pelicans have proven they have what it takes, even with the grueling, long, struggle that can be an NBA season. The depth, the will, the team really wanting everyone to succeed. The recipe is well blended and we can only hope Willie Green and staff can find a way to make the right dish to bring it all home.
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