Last Week:8↑
2023-24 record: 49-33
OffRtg: 116.5 (11) DefRtg: 111.9 (6) NetRtg: +4.6 (6) Pace: 98.7 (16)
Key addition(s): Dejounte Murray
Key departure(s): Jonas Valanciunas, Dyson Daniels, Naji Marshall, Larry Nance
Three numbers to know:
The Pelicans went 49-33 with the point differential of a team that was 54-28-the largest such disparity in the league.
They were 11.0 points per 100 possessions better in the first half of games (plus-10.0, second best) than they were in the second half (minus-1.0, 19th). That was the league’s biggest half-to-half differential, and they were the only team without a win (they were 0-22) in games they trailed after the third quarter.
They managed just 93.5 points per 100 possessions as they were swept by the Thunder in the first round, the worst mark for any team in a playoff series in the last eight years. That was also 23.0 fewer per 100 than they scored in the regular season, 116.5, 11th in the league. The Pelicans were last in the first round in field goal percentage in the paint (47.6%), 3-point percentage (26.7%) and turnover rate (18.8 per 100 possessions).
Key question: Is this it?
For now, the Pelicans have Daniel Theis, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and a couple of rookies at the center position. They could definitely be planning on playing Zion Williamson more at the five, having outscored their opponents by 8.6 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor without Valanciunas, Nance or Cody Zeller last season.
That wasn’t a huge sample size, though: just 366 total minutes over Williamson’s 70 games (5.2 minutes per game). Playing him more at center would be more minutes with their best players on the floor. As constructed, that would have two of CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram, Herb Jones and Trey Murphy coming off the bench if Murray, Williamson and Theis are starters. But that would be more taxing on Williamson, probably defending more pick-and-rolls, and it seems like this team will need to trade a forward for another big man at some point.
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