The New Orleans Pelicans are a dark horse team to make some noise this season. It feels as though that's been the offseason sentiment for every year that Zion Williamson has been in the league. Could this third time really be the charm for the young Pels?

Yes, they lost Lonzo Ball in free agency and are coming in with an entirely new coach calling the shots. But the turnover can arguably be seen as an opportunity rather than a step back for the Pelicans.

The team is entering a make or break season in Year 3 of the Zion Williamson era. With the stage set, here are three (3) bold predictions for the Pelicans this coming season.

Pelicans: Three (3) way-too-early predictions for 2021-22

Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Pelicans
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#1 – Zion Williamson leads the league in scoring

Most people expect one of the more established names like Stephen Curry or Luka Doncic to lead the NBA in scoring. But Zion Williamson is a sneaky candidate to take the title of NBA's best scorer. The Pelicans star was quietly one of just eight players in the NBA who averaged 27 points or more. It goes without saying that he was also the youngest at just 20 years of age last season.

Although Zion Williamson doesn't rely on the three-point shot like most of his superstar peers, his efficiency was through the roof already and is only bound to get even better as he gets more reps around the league. After all, he's barely played just one full season at just 85 career games thus far.

In the second half of the season, Williamson turned it up a notch for the Pelicans in the scoring department. He upped his averaged to 28.8 points per game, after just 25.6 points per contest before the All-Star break. His second-half surge even got him some consideration for an All-NBA team nod. As Zion Williamson continues to get more and more comfortable in the league, his scoring ability will flourish even more. It's not far-fetched to imagine him leading the Pelicans in scoring with an average north of 30 and a scoring title in hand.

 

#2 – Nickeil Alexander-Walker named finalist for Most Improved Player

A handful of Pelicans fans have expressed their regret over the team letting Lonzo Ball go. You can argue from an asset management perspective that it might have been the wrong decision. But if you're Nickeil Alexander-Walker, it looks more like a huge opportunity. Lonzo wasn't the only starting guard shipped away. Eric Bledsoe was also sent packing. Those two played the third and fourth most minutes on the team and combined for 23 shot attempts every night.

While the Pelicans have made some guard additions to help fill the holes in Devonte' Graham, Tomas Satoransky, and Garrett Temple, the job is clearly Nickeil Alexander-Walker's to lose. NAW has shown flashes of star potential during brief pockets of playing time when he's given a bigger role.

Alexander-Walker's 37 point outburst against the Clippers is still on replay for some NAW believers who are glad that Lonzo Ball is out of New Orleans. With an expanded role and an opportunity to become the lead guard for a team trying to make the playoffs, look for Nickeil Alexander-Walker to be one of the favorite for the Most Improved Player award.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYI6dRt7uCA

#3 –  Pelicans become the playoff team nobody wants to face

To call the Pelicans a top four team sounds absurd, and for good reason. They're not.  The Western Conference, heck, the entire NBA has gotten so much better. But with the team under new leadership in Willie Green, a proven winner as a coach, the Pelicans have hit the proverbial reset button. We're starting 0-0 once again, and anything can happen.

Coach Green knows firsthand that previous seasons mean nothing. As a top assistant with the Phoenix Suns, they proved exactly that last season. There's no Chris Paul on this team right now, but they have two top-shelf talents in Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. They have some hungry, young guards in Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Kira Lewis Jr., and Devonte' Graham. Now they have a coach who's had winning stints in Phoenix and with the Golden State Warriors.

The New Orleans Pelicans have done nothing but stumble for the past few seasons. This is the one where they put it all together – Zion Williamson becomes a top 15 player, Brandon Ingram regains his All-Star form, their supporting cast rallies around them, and the Pels become the scary 6th seed nobody wants to face in the NBA playoffs.