Chris Dodson Articles - Page 25

The New Orleans Pelicans are perhaps the hottest team on the planet regardless of sport. They have 16 wins by double-digits in the last two months and many have not been close. Coach Willie Green’s group has run out to 20, 30, 40 and even 50-point leads over expected playoff contenders in just the past […]

It’s hard to gain nationwide respect as a small market in professional sports. Those teams just do not equal airtime on national broadcasts as their games do not pull the viewership numbers needed for advertising. Sometimes the appearance is a disaster, an embarrassment on the schedule that counts for multiple losses in the style points […]

The New Orleans Pelicans (22-15) are one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now. Willie Green’s squad has posted an 11-5 record over the last month, winning tough games comfortably even when a key contributor or two is unavailable. Lady Luck has even beaten away most of the injury bug blues for once, […]

The NBA’s Trade Deadline is less than a month away and teams are starting to commit to certain pathways. Contenders are waiting, looking to load up on the cheap. Sellers are starting to strike deals before the market resets and potential trade partners move on to other options. The standings are starting to shake out […]

“You’re either all the way in or all the way out. There is no in-between.” Executive Vice President David Griffin stressed that approach during his introductory press conference with the New Orleans Pelicans back in 2019. The remark was directed at Anthony Davis but has since been applied to Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. It’s […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are approaching a crossroads with the luxury tax and the Feb. 8 trade deadline is just over a month away. Big names like O.G. Anunoby have already been moved. There are of course a lot of moving parts but, save for a Kira Lewis Jr. salary dump to avoid the luxury […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are notoriously cautious when dealing with injuries whether it be to a two-time NBA All-Star or someone trying to stay employed on a two-way contract. They’ve also protected their players by playing things close to the vest at times but Trey Murphy III was candid when discussing his return to the […]

Every NBA team’s season has its ebbs and flows, some just vary more than others. Thankfully for the Crescent City, the doom and gloom around the 2023-24 New Orleans Pelicans never lasts very long. This locker room has suffered through a few gut punches and one NBA In-Season Tournament semifinal haymaker yet still they stand […]

The New Orleans Pelicans were up on the Sacramento Kings by 50 points with just 9:40 remaining in the game but did not pull their final starter until three minutes later. Naji Marshall replaced Trey Murphy III, so it was hardly a reprieve for Mike Brown’s Kings. Willie Green’s Pelicans were focused solely on their […]

The NBA’s 82-game schedule allows for contending teams to iron out rotational wrinkles while front offices try to find the missing piece to a championship team. Strengths are sharpened; weaknesses get exposed. Well, head coach Willie Green and the New Orleans Pelicans got a wakeup call unlike any other this season in a 111-95 home […]

Zion Williamson waved off the coaching staff after suffering a right leg contusion midway through his team’s 111-95 loss to the visiting LA Clippers on Friday. New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green was not sure about the two-time NBA All-Star’s availability going into a five-game West Coast road trip after the game, even unaware […]

Two teams with familiar narratives but on opposite ends of the championship windows will meet for an early January stress test in the Smoothie King Center. The young New Orleans Pelicans will put a four-game winning streak on the line versus the experienced LA Clippers to start the first weekend of Mardi Gras. Kawhi Leonard’s […]

The New Orleans Pelicans (21-14) are off to one of the best starts in franchise history but practically no one in the Big Easy was buying this team’s stock just a few weeks ago. First came the 44-point NBA In-Season Tournament semifinal loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Three straight demoralizing home losses by two […]

The New Orleans Pelicans have had a rollercoaster ride over the first 35 games of the 2023-24 NBA season. Their up-and-down experience is starting to stabilize, however. The locked-in locker room got a boost with the return of Larry Nance Jr. to the rotation and the offense has been firing on all cylinders. Furthermore, Zion […]

Where are those Willie Green naysayers now? The grumbling towards the New Orleans Pelicans head coach has been completely silenced over the past few weeks. The 42-year-old Green is finding an NBA Coach of the Year caliber groove midway through a third season with Pelicans. The Pelicans are surging up the standings and Green’s growth […]

The New Orleans Pelicans (20-14) are off to one of the best starts in franchise history and Larry Nance Jr. is putting the league on alert. It’s a credit to both the team’s depth and health, especially All-Stars Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. Third-year head coach Willie Green is one Trey Murphy day-to-day injury from […]

NBA fans on social media chastised the New Orleans Pelicans for sending rookie Jordan Hawkins down to the G-League Birmingham Squadron last week. He was third on the NBA Rookie of the Year Ladder a month into the season. However, the team’s developmental priorities for Hawkins outweighed any pride the rookie had to check due […]

The New Orleans Pelicans have won seven of their last 10 games, but third-year head coach Willie Green does not think this team is close to its ceiling, not yet anyway. However, with 48 games remaining on the schedule, Green is not looking too far ahead either. The NBA Playoffs race has plenty of time […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are off to one of the best 30-game starts in franchise history, yet most everyone with an interest in the team is not quite satisfied. It is a testament to the organization’s championship potential and playoff expectations with Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson leading the way. It has not been the […]

The New Orleans Pelicans ended 2023 on a high note by avenging an embarrassing NBA In-Season Tournament loss. Larry Nance Jr. trolled LeBron James after the NBA scoring champ trotted down the tunnel before the final horn sounded. It was all fun and confetti as head coach Willie Green’s entire squad took out some frustrations […]

The New Orleans Pelicans (18-14) are no stranger to skeleton crew squads due to mounting injuries. Thankfully, they’ve been able to at least shuffle the decks around their two All-Stars instead of trying to replace the production of Zion Williamson (26 games played) and Brandon Ingram (29 games played). The reserve unit has been a […]

The New Orleans Pelicans (18-14) are off to one of the best starts in franchise history but practically no one in the Big Easy was buying this team’s stock over the past two weeks. Three straight demoralizing home losses by two points or fewer had fans and the front office wondering what exactly was brewing […]

The return of Larry Nance Jr. and the Big three’s offense will garner most of the headlines following a 112-105 win over the visiting Utah Jazz. Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum, and Brandon Ingram scored over 20 points, but do not look past Ingram’s defense. In fact, the former All-Star has dialed up the ‘intensity’ on […]

Larry Nance Jr. knew the New Orleans Pelicans needed him to return at full strength but the veteran played through several ailments going back to last season. Both Nance Jr. and the team suffered, failing to live up to their expectations. He was admitted battling through several nagging issues to start this season but a […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are following the trend of sending recent NBA first-round picks to the G-League. Over half of the league’s teams have assigned 2023 first-round picks to their developmental squads. That now includes Jordan Hawkins, after the Pelicans assigned the record-setting rookie to the Birmingham Squadron. It’s not a surprising move for the […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are getting a late Christmas gift Thursday night in the Smoothie King Center. Beloved big man Larry Nance Jr. (ribs) will return to the rotation after spending over a month on the injury report. Nance Jr. said during the morning shootaround, “I feel great. I’ll be playing tonight. I’m in great […]

Most everyone enjoys a nice guy-made-good underdog story. From Rudy to the Rocky series, fans go nuts for an overlooked talent finally getting a chance. It is even better if for their team. Fans of the New Orleans Pelicans know the type well. Willie Green has featured second-rounder Herb Jones in the starting lineup from […]

The New Orleans Pelicans (17-14) let Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies “happen again” in the Smoothie King Center on Tuesday night. CJ McCollum talked about the “bizarre” game in the postgame press conference, but there are not many excuses available for a team that is not good enough to learn the same hard lessons […]

Prior to Tuesday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, the New Orleans Pelicans (17-13) are 5-7 in close games this season. Willie Green’s young squad has lost eight games after having a double-digit lead. Win half of those contests and they’d be in a battle for first place, not on the fringes of the NBA Play-In […]

It may not feel like it but the New Orleans Pelicans (17-13) are off to one of the franchise’s best 30-game starts of the past decade. Even better, head coach Willie Green’s All-Stars have been relatively healthy. The reserve depth has been hit hardest this season though, as the team is 10th overall in most […]

The New Orleans Pelicans (17-13) are in the thick of the NBA Playoff race as 2023 winds to a close. With a little better game management to close out double-digit leads, head coach Willie Green’s squad would be fighting for first place. It’s a good spot to be considering Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are […]

Third-year head coach Willie Green is admittedly still getting used to some of the on-job adjustments. It’s not a slight to a coach in their first lead chair position, just a part of the ongoing evaluation process for the New Orleans Pelicans. However, there is one area that needs attention. Green is not getting the […]

The holidays have a way of bringing out unwelcome guests and unfortunate reminders. Well, NBA trade rumors and award talk are ramping up so it’s time for the yearly mention: New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum wears the unfortunate moniker of being perhaps the best active NBA player who has never been selected for an […]

New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green couldn’t help but sport a huge smile when giving that answer about Trey Murphy III’s big night. The Pelicans were without Zion Williamson and reserve big man Cody Zeller but they still secured a comfortable 123-104 road win over the Cleveland Cavaliers (h/t Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com). “He […]

The New Orleans Pelicans (16-12) and Cleveland Cavaliers (16-12) will face off Thursday night but the two teams have been linked together for a while. As first reported by Jake Fischer earlier this week, the Pelicans have been in contact with the Cavaliers to propose a swap of big men possibly needing better playing environments. […]

Zion Williamson’s New Orleans Pelicans faced off against the Memphis Grizzlies in Ja Morant’s debut in what has been a much-anticipated matchup since the first two picks of the 2019 NBA Draft knew their professional destinations. Williamson was listed on the injury report as questionable (non-COVID illness) and Morant was coming off of a 25-game […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are riding a four-game winning in which they’ve set franchise records for points scored and 3-pointers made. Coach Willie Green’s squad is handling what they can control and shooting their way up the standings, literally. The two-point-heavy tandem of Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram have led the way, but some fan-favorite […]

New Orleans Pelicans third-year head coach Willie Green has had to trot out patchwork rotations at times during his tenure. Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and other key contributors being out for long stretches of time did provide an opportunity for two unheralded, undrafted free agents. Jose Alvarado and Naji Marshall have both risen to every […]

The New Orleans Pelicans (16-11) are on a four-game win streak, with three of those coming on the road. Now Willie Green’s squad is headed home for a five-of-six home game stretch in the Smoothie King Center. Green is in the giving spirit this holiday season as well, revealing the blueprint that has New Orleans […]