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The New Orleans Pelicans went on an inspiring turnaround last season as they started 3-16 but still grabbed the eighth seed in the Western Conference. The more impressive part was New Orleans missed superstar Zion Williamson for the whole season. The CJ McCollum trade before the trade deadline propelled New Orleans to that prestigious playoff spot for the young squad.
Entering the 2022-23 campaign, the squad will still be led by Williamson, McCollum, and Brandon Ingram as they are on track to improve on their finish from last season. It was a realistic possibility for them to upset the first-seed Phoenix Suns, especially if Williamson was 100% healthy. Even with the rejuvenated New Orleans roster under coach Willie Green, they may still be a couple of years away from seriously competing for an NBA Championship.
Pelicans NBA Finals Issues
Questionable durability
It has been well documented that Zion Williamson has missed a ton of games in the early years of his NBA career. His style of play is very injury prone, which puts the franchise in a tough situation every season. The talent is generational, but Williamson must stay on the floor for at least 65 games every season. Moreover, the switch from playing with Williamson healthy and injured will drastically affect the team because of the slew of adjustments they will need to execute on both ends.
Zion Williamson's health is a continuous cause for concern, but forward Brandon Ingram is another guy who is prone to miss several games every season. His game is far less dangerous than Williamson, but there are times wherein lingering injuries start to persist. When both Williamson and Ingram are not 100% at the latter part of the season, that will be a definite reason why New Orleans will have a tough journey of seriously competing in the NBA Playoffs.
Lack of ball handlers
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Last season when the Pelicans found their groove, Green decided to start CJ McCollum at the one and it reaped wonders for the team. Jose Alvarado and Dyson Daniels are two orchestrators who will be coming off the bench, but that will not be enough to compete with the likes of the Golden State Warriors or Phoenix Suns. These organizations have more than a couple of ball handlers who will stabilize the guys on the floor and facilitate their teammates in pressure-packed situations.
CJ McCollum is an excellent secondary ball handler, but it is still vastly different if you have Chris Paul, Stephen Curry, or Luka Doncic on your squad. Furthermore, the two other primary ball handlers on the roster still lack the experience and maturity of playing in the playoffs. Having Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson as the initiators of the offense is already terrific, but they will need to add another shot-creator before the trade deadline.
Inexperience at the biggest stage
For a team that is poised to win it all, they will need to elevate their game to an immense level when it reaches the deep stage of the playoffs. Even if guys like Ingram and Williamson are stars in the league, legitimate superstars are born when they can consistently produce at a high level in the Conference Finals or Finals. This bunch of athletes have still not proven they can compete with the veterans of the Warriors or Suns in the playoffs.
During their run last season, the Pelicans had trouble when Phoenix would slow the game down and execute their sets in a methodical manner. The playoffs are the stage wherein the admirable basketball IQ and stellar decision-making are magnified. For New Orleans, they will eventually gain the needed exposure, but this 2022-23 season is just a bit too early in their progress to seriously competing in the West.
