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NEW ORLEANS – “I don’t think anyone is worried about the New Orleans Pelicans”, says Draymond Green. On the alternative view of NBA’s broadcast of the All-Star game, the four-time champion, four-time all-star, and the 2016-17 defensive player of the year had bleek criticism of the New Orleans based team.
Albeit stark, the criticism seems warranted. The Pelicans have a 33-22 record this season and are 6th in the Western Conference. They are 6 games out of first place and 4 games out of 10th. With 27 games left in the season, the Pelican’s future hangs in the balance.
During the NBA’s All Star Weekend that included LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Paul George, Tyrese Haliburton (12th overall in the 2020 NBA draft), Tyrese Maxey (21st overall in the 2020 NBA draft), the Pelicans had only one player to represent their organization; rookie, Jordan Hawkins. The rookie sharpshooter that regularly receives DNPs or faux-DNPs performed well during the Rising Stars challenge on Friday, contributing to Team Jalen’s win.
Team Jalen was coached by former NBA star and member of Michigan’s famed “Fab 5”, Jalen Rose. The former Indiana Pacer has some glaring complements for the rookie. “[Hawkins] got the potential to be playing on Sunday, right? So let’s make it happen.”
Some might take those comments in generalities or jest. Jalen Rose doesn’t have a history of mincing words, especially with his 10+ years in the media. I believe he sees what we see in Jordan Hawkins, a star.
Although, Jordan Hawkins soared on Friday night, there was no representation on Sunday for the Pelicans. Neither during the intros, Adam Silver’s disdained monologue, Dame’s 40 feet bombs, KAT’s 35 FGAs, Jennifer Hudson’s lackluster performance, or Luka & Joker’s bromance did we see a Pelicans’ logo or player.
This ties into Draymond Green’s comments. No Zion, no BI, no CJ, no representation, no identity. Even though, he has respect for Pelicans’ coach, Willie Green, he believes the Pelicans aren’t a true threat in the Western Conference. This is the same Draymond Green that emotionally willed the Warriors to victory after the Pelicans blew a 20-point lead last season.
This has been a habitual obstacle for the Pelicans dating back to last season. The Pelicans have a tendency to blow large leads, and with the 3-point line being an emphasis for opposing teams and rendering useless for the Pelicans, the leads will continue to dwindle.
The Pelicans being 11 games over .500 is a mirage. The team stumbled into the all-star break with subpar performances, clawing out victories against the Trailblazers, Grizzlies, and Wizards. The Pelicans depended on their second unit, as they’ve done all last year, to inject energy to into the game when they were unable to muster any from the jump. But what happens when the playoffs hit, and your bench has to be shorten? This team cannot continue to depend on Jose Alvarado and Naji Marshall to save them.
The Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and CJ McCollum lineup has a net rating of -2.6. This triumvirate is what you’re mortgaging your future on. Willie Green is in the final year of his 3-year deal. With the organization staying pat at the trade deadline and rewarding Jeremiah Robinson-Earl with a roster spot, it signals they are all-in on this iteration of the team. A $50M/year contract dares Brandon Ingram to shoot 6 threes per game, and yet he’s reluctant to. This franchise is begging for Zion to be the star the city of New Orleans NEEDS him to be.
The next 27 games need to be about winning. The next 27 games need to be about leaving your egos at the door and sacrificing for the betterment of the team. Sometimes sacrificing is doing more. Sometimes sacrificing is doing less. Sacrificing always benefits we and not me.
