NBA Power Rankings: Preview the Los Angeles Lakers and the rest
By Corey Rausch
. . New Orleans Pelicans. 17. team. 69.
Dearly Departed: Jrue Holiday, Derrick Favors, Frank Jackson, Darius Miller, E’Twaun Moore, Jahlil Okafor
New Additions: Steven Adams, Eric Bledsoe, Wenyen Gabriel, Willy Hernangomez, Kira Lewis, Jr.
Win Projection/Prediction: 34/Over
The New Orleans Pelicans are kind of like a jigsaw puzzle. The team has a collection of new players and a new coach to build around the promising young core of Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Zion Williamson. The fit is confusing in the modern NBA but the talent is at a level that screams playoffs.
The talent is probably enough to overcome fit issues on most nights. Eric Bledsoe is well-suited for his role here as a ballhawk for a team with even more shot creation around him. Ball was a great shooter (37.5 percent on 6.3 attempts per game) before the bubble swayed public perception. The other two young players are clear All-Star players when they are on the court.
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Steven Adams simply does not make sense here. Williamson either needs to play center or next to one who is not completely locked on the block on the offensive side of the ball. Figuring out how to work the rotation around them will be the biggest challenge facing Stan Van Gundy this season.
Regardless of any growing pains, this team will challenge for the postseason through the end of the season. Williamson is a force of nature that deserves the attention the media gives him. He averaged 22.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in just 27.8 minutes per game last year. The fact that Ingram evolved into the number one option is the icing on the cake. The challenge of the Western Conference has them projected at ninth here. But all bets are off if Williamson takes a second-year leap like many other recent rookie phenomena.