The Pelicans‘ “jumbo” lineups weren’t working in Game 1 of their first-round series vs. the Suns, writes William Guillory of The Athletic. The team found success in the second half of the regular season by starting Jaxson Hayes at power forward alongside center Jonas Valanciunas, but the two big men had matching plus-minus ratings of -11 on Sunday, the worst marks of any player on either team.
Hayes ended up playing just 11 minutes, with Trey Murphy coming off the bench to play 26 minutes. New Orleans was a plus-six when Murphy was on the court and the team’s offense was functioning better, says Guillory. However, head coach Willie Green told reporters on Monday that he’s not planning to change his starting lineup, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link).
“Not at the moment,” Green said. “I think as a group, we didn’t have a great first half. That wasn’t one individual, that was us as a team. We have to be better. We have to do the things we do better, harder and with more force and see where we are after that.”
Here’s more on the Pelicans:
- Pelicans VP of basketball operations David Griffin has made some mistakes since being hired to head up the team’s front office in 2019, but he deserves credit for putting together a team that made the playoffs even without Zion Williamson available all season, Rod Walker of NOLA.com opines. Walker believes the Pelicans look like a potential top-three squad in the West with a fully healthy Williamson.
- Griffin’s faith in Brandon Ingram as a franchise leader on and off the court has been rewarded, according to Scott Kushner of NOLA.com, who points to Ingram’s performances in play-in wins over the Spurs (27 points) and Clippers (30 points) as indicators of the forward’s ability to handle the spotlight and step up in big games.
- Pelicans rookie guard Jose Alvarado is joining Puerto Rico’s national team, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). As Charania observes, Alvarado will get a chance to face Team USA this summer in qualifiers for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
- Jason Quick of The Athletic takes a look at the long-standing bond between Willie Green and his first-round coaching rival Monty Williams. After the two men were teammates in Philadelphia, Green played for Williams in New Orleans and then was an assistant on his Suns staff. “Monty and I are not just friends,” Green told Quick. “We are like … that’s like my older brother. I look up to Monty.”
“The Pelicans look like a potential top-three squad in the West with a fully healthy Williamson.” Wait, wut??
Yes I guess with the Suns #1, Warriors #2, this guy is kicking out Denver with the MVP and Jamal Murray back next year from the third spot. Not seeing it either. That’s saying nothing about a healthy Clippers team or even Utah, Dallas, the Lakers, Wolves…
Had to come back here and edit and add the Grizzlies !! Oh my goodness this guy is off base. Pelicans have to crack the top seven LOL.
A homer if I’ve ever seen one lol.
Griffin did some better things this season compared to previous seasons, but the fact that he wasn’t fired last offseason was a mistake.
Williams and Green never played together in Philly.
Yes they did. Do your research before coming in and correcting people.
They were teammates in Philadelphia the first part of the season 2003-2004. Monty Williams didn’t get in any games for the Sixers but he was on the team before being traded in December 2003.
I suppose it’s technically true that they never “played together” due to Williams’ injury, despite being teammates, so I’ve tweaked the wording!
You’re a lot nicer than I am Luke. I guess we’ll cut some slack because of the technicality but I think upon official review he’s still wrong LOL…, just kidding !!
I tore the guy’s head off because I like to defend HoopsRumors writers who work very hard, put in long hours, and do such a great job. There’s no better place to find the latest detailed Hoops information.
Pelicans just look outmatched. Would like to see BI spreading it around more, but I suppose his options are limited.
I like when Alvarado brings up the ball. Even though he’s limited as a player, that feels like their more dangerous lineup.
Griffin can collect talented pieces well enough, via trades and/or the draft. What he appears unable to do is put together a team. Too bad, because the latter is actually his job. To date, there’s no indication that he even thinks it’s a thing.
So, if a Griffin team is top 3 in talent, it likely means there’s a ceiling of top 6 in the standings. Higher in fantasy, of course.
Interesting take and it makes sense with what I originally said above, so I agree.
Sure they have great players but how are they going to crack that top 7?
Then you look at Bob Myers with the Warriors. Lot of Shooters and talented players so you bring in a guy that doesn’t quite have it on offense but is Elite athletically and on defense. Bingo, GP2. Building a team.
Pelicans have a playoff side without Zion amd Griffin thinks adding him makes them top 4 in the west.
He’s Zion not prime LeBron.
You had a healthy Zion and Ingram duo last season and missed the playoffs.
Honestly they are better off trading Zion to NY which is where he wants to be, grab Julius Randle and grab as much picks and young players as possible.
CJ Ingram and Randle is a playoff team guaranteed plus picks and young players it’s a solid but unspectacular team
Agreed !