Coming off of a strong 48-win season and Western Conference Semifinals appearance, the Pelicans were widely expected to build on that success with a roster that, while flawed, played to the team’s strengths and style of play. Adding Elfrid Payton and Julius Randle around the core of Jrue Holiday, Nikola Mirotic and Anthony Davis appeared to be solid moves on the surface, but injuries and poor play in close games have plagued the Pelicans so far.
The Pelicans currently sit at 16-21, good for 14th in the Western Conference. Payton has only played in six games so far, while Mirotic has missed significant time with an ankle injury, appearing in just 25 games. While Holiday, Davis and Randle have stayed healthy, the team’s lack of point guard and wing options have hampered their play.
What’s more troubling is that the Pelicans are 6-14 in clutch games, with an 87.2 offensive rating and 110.1 defensive rating in such situations. Their -22.9 net rating in the clutch is 29th in the league, behind only the Cavaliers. This is in stark contrast to last season, when the Pelicans went 30-20 in clutch games while posting a +8.2 net rating.
While many consider Davis to be an MVP candidate, he can only do so much with this current roster, despite having Holiday and Randle alongside him. The Pelicans have been one of the best offensive teams in the league (they currently own the league’s fourth ranked offense), but have been plagued by their 26th-ranked defense.
With that being said, the Pelicans are still just four games out of the playoff picture at the moment, with the surprising Kings holding down the eighth seed. There is certainly time for the Pelicans to turn things around just enough to squeeze into the playoffs, especially if they can stay healthy and/or make a trade to bolster the team’s depth in the backcourt or on the wing.
How do you feel about the Pelicans’ playoff chances? Vote in the poll below and share your thoughts in the comments section!
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Lots of Boston and Laker fans voting in the poll.
As long as AD keeps playing as the best PF in history we can’t count out the Pels, as much as he can’t win alone. I hope they make it in to the playoffs, they are fun to watch.
He’s playing center. Julius Randle is the power forward.
Fun to watch because as a team they play zero defense. I’d like to see how they play once everyone is healthy but as of now it’s a hard no
Lol no
No, they’re getting above average seasons from enough of their core players. There isn’t much room for improvement from them, so I don’t see the record improving over the back half of the season.
Probably not, but they haven’t been playing with a full deck, so it’s still possible they can turn it around if they get healthy. The Rockets were in 14th place a few weeks ago, so that’s not a death sentence in this conference. Won’t write them off until they get Mirotic and Payton back and acclimated.