The New Orleans Pelicans missed the playoffs once again this year. Here are a few contributing factors that played their part in what is considered a disappointing season.
Obviously the biggest disappointment for the New Orleans Pelicans this year was the lack of wins and their failure to secure a playoff spot for the second year in a row.
However, in an attempt to figure out what went wrong this season, I look at a few contributing factors that have hindered the Pelicans this season.
Solomon Hill fails to live up to expectations
Outside of making it to the postseason, Solomon Hill was perhaps the Pelicans biggest disappointment this season.
Hill was Dell Demps’ biggest free agent acquisition last summer after signing a four-year $48 million contract off the Indiana Pacers bench as a defensively specialist who could hopefully develop into a solid two-way role player for the Pelicans.
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Hill has definitely lived up to expectations on the defensive end, typically assigned with guarding the opposition’s best player and coming away with a 103.4 defensive rating.
New Orleans Pelicans
However, he has yet to embrace a bigger role so far with the New Orleans Pelicans while his offensive game has been inconsistent at best.
With injuries once again mounting up this season, the Pelicans far too often relied on Hill as the third option (pre-DeMarcus Cousins trade) with the starting unit even though he’s wasn’t yet capable of handling those duties.
Hill needs to develop a more assertive game and mindset. When he plays with confidence on the offensive end his game takes off. His potential shows itself and the possibilities of his future impact on the team reach excitement levels.
Understanding his increased role on the team and consistently playing with more purpose and aggressiveness will be key for Solomon Hill to turn what was a disappointing season into a successful Pelicans career.
Omer Asik’s season again derailed by injuries and poor play
If nothing else, the 2016-17 season proved that Omer Asik has worn out his welcome in New Orleans.
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After trading for the defensive big man nearly three summers ago and signing him to a $58 million contract extension a year later, the Pelicans were rumored to be aggressively trying to do the impossible and unload Asik’s terrible contract by the trade deadline — of course they failed to do so.
Asik’s first season with Pelicans saw its ups and downs. His pairing with Anthony Davis was in no way formidable, but it at least looked semi-competent. Apparently so much so that Demps decided to go-all-in and reward him with a big payday.
Over the past two seasons, Asik has missed 65 games, 51 of those coming this past season.
His last meaningful minutes coming in December, Asik found himself out of the rotation before being shut down for the rest of the season with a stomach illness.
Already falling out of favor with head coach Alvin Gentry due to mostly poor play last season, Asik’s again didn’t help himself with his play on the court. Add in another injury-plagued season and it would seem Asik faith with the team has been cemented.
Offense underperformed under Alvin Gentry
Alvin Gentry is known as an offensive guru, yet his team underperformed on that end of the court the past two seasons Gentry has been at the helm.
Instead, Gentry had his team playing stout defensively. They posted a 104.9 defensive rating on the season; good enough to rank ninth.
There’s no doubt that injuries and a major roster rotation due to the DeMarcus Cousins trade haven’t help matters but at the end of the day, the New Orleans Pelicans suffered another losing season and the lack of offense is a big reason why.
Gentry likes to play small ball and predicates his offense off speed. And although, the Pelicans were ninth in the league in pace this season at 100.09, they ranked 18th in the NBA in scoring at 104.3 points per game.
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In addition to ranking 18th in scoring, the Pelicans ranked 26th (103.3) in offensive rating, 20th in effective FG percentage (50.4) and 19th in three-point shooting (35 percent).