Ranking each Western Conference playoff team based on their best player

8. New Orleans Pelicans

Best player: Brandon Ingram?

With Zion Williamson out for the next two weeks, I have no idea who the best player on this New Orleans Pelicans team is. Yes, they still made it out of the play-in, but for a team that was as high as the fifth seed heading into the final week of the regular season, they have left a lot to be desired and I put the blame on the inconsistency of their team, specifically Brandon Ingram.

Ingram sounds like the logical choice, but throughout his career and this season, he has battled inconsistency. In the first play-in game against the Lakers, Ingram was nearly unplayable. He stunk it up offensively, scoring only 11 points on four-of-12 shooting with three turnovers and was not engaged defensively. For a guy who has an All-Star ceiling, Ingram offers too much yin and yang on a nightly basis. 

Ingram has had a solid season, averaging 21 points per game, five rebounds, and six assists, shooting 49 percent from the field and 36 percent from three-point range. The thing is though, which version are the Pelicans going to get from him? With so many good players in the West, he was the easy choice for this spot. Maybe he’ll prove me wrong.