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 as a coach can finally shine through with Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and CJ McCollum all relatively healthy. They are 9-3 since an embarrassing NBA In-Season Tournament semifinals showing against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Despite those three possibly morale-sapping, one-possession close home defeats, New Orleans has notched two victories over the first-place Minnesota Timberwolves. The most recent road win over Minnesota, in the second half of a back-to-back home-road set, was no fluke.
The Timberwolves had a rest advantage and were 14-1 at home before Williamson and Ingram paid a visit to the land of 10,000 Lakes. Williamson hit 11 layups on the league's alleged best interior defense and Ingram poured in 19 points with only four missed shots (7-11 FGA).
“We’re super happy with this win. Second night of a back-to-back, in the middle of we’re just starting a tough stretch coming up. This is a win that we’re really proud of. (Minnesota is the) No. 1 team in the conference, a heck of a basketball team. We're just happy to be hitting our stride a little bit right now,” Larry Nance boasted after the win, via Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com.
The players took note of those mocking Green's rotations. They also took coach's steadfast prioritization of a defense-first foundation to heart. The Pelicans locker room has had Green's back when things turned sour those first two years and now the core that was kept intact this summer gets to celebrate the successes together. Save for a day-to-day situation with Trey Murphy, every key contributor is available without restrictions for the first time in Green's tenure.
Green being heard, drawing Coach of the Year comps
The Detroit Mercy alum has developed a more assertive voice since taking the Pelicans job. The referees heard it after yet another no-call on a Zion Williamson drive and Green's fiery disagreement with the decision led to a well-appreciated technical foul.
“Oh yeah,” Williamson laughed about Green's technical. “I told him coming out of halftime ‘Coach, I appreciate that, it meant a lot to me.'”
It's a small price to pay to show Pelicans fans a united locker room. The players and coaches are starting to stand up and speak out for each other more often. It is a testament to the comfort level of everyone in the locker room with each other and this season's expectations.
“I saw him get fouled,” Green stressed about the play. “That's the difference. I couldn't see it last night but tonight I saw it and it was clear. It's just what it is.”
The newfound lack of fear to let referees know they missed a call is starting to pay dividends. Rudy Gobert got targeted in the last game, and the favorable whistles followed.
“We always have an initial plan going into the game but this is the NBA. You got to feel it out,” Williamson shared. “We saw we could get (Gobert) in foul trouble and that would take the rim protection away. That allows for more baskets at the rim and when they collapse you've got kickouts for threes.”
It was a simple yet masterful tactic against a frontrunner for NBA Coach of the Year honors. Minnesota's Chris Finch is currently getting the second-best odds to win the NBA's highest coaching honor for a season. Green jumped to the ninth-best odds on DraftKings Sportsbook after beating the Timberwolves. The gap in odds shouldn't be that far apart. It's easy to make coaching comparisons using a few years of context according to Williamson.
“Coach Finch was in New Orleans during my first year. Great coach. I don't think people know it but he's a good people person too,” Williamson shared. “But I think Coach Green did a great job tonight. We had our focus points and we executed them.”
The Western Conference playoff race is shaping up to be one of the most competitive ever. The Pelicans have had a nice streak but they'll need to consistently show up for a few months to win over all of the critics. New Orleans is now 4 games out of first place but also only 4 games ahead of Steph Curry's currently 11th Golden State Warriors.
At least one franchise that started the season expecting to see the second round will be on vacation before the NBA Play-In Tournament tips off. If Willie Green can guide this young, untested team to a top-four spot and a first-round series win NBA Coach of the Year votes will follow.
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