James Borrego Articles - Page 2

The New Orleans Pelicans do not plan on reinventing anything ahead of Friday night’s rematch against the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies. Interim head coach James Borrego is betting continuity matters more than counterpunching when it comes to supporting Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III. Saddiq Bey, Derik Queen, and Herb Jones have delivered improved starts and […]

A dispiriting loss to a shorthanded Detroit Pistons squad has forced a stark reckoning for the New Orleans Pelicans. The current starting lineup continues to dig early holes that prove too deep for Zion Williamson to escape, and James Borrego knows change is overdue. Developing rookies Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen is and should be […]

Defensive transformations do not happen overnight in sports, nor should a team’s success hinge on just one player. So, sure, Herb Jones has been out. Schematic overhauls or complex adjustments were not in the cards even as Zion Williamson’s New Orleans Pelicans continue to languish in the Western Conference basement. Interim head coach James Borrego […]

It’s well past the halfway point of the season, yet the last-placed New Orleans Pelicans are playing hardball with Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III. Herb Jones, Jeremiah Fears, and Derik Queen are also reportedly untouchable in any NBA Trade Deadline discussions. However, Joe Dumars has not-so-quietly explored the market for second-year center Yves Missi. […]

Zion Williamson’s injury-plagued New Orleans Pelicans are staggering through the season, firmly entrenched at the bottom of the Western Conference. James Borrego, elevated from assistant on November 15 after Willie Green’s firing amid a 2-10 start, has gone 8-25, hardly a righting of the ship record-wise. Tasked with staying NBA Play-In competitive, the interim head […]

With the NBA trade deadline looming and the out-of-sorts New Orleans Pelicans sitting in last place in the Western Conference, the typical script would call for a franchise-altering shakeup. However, inside the facility, a narrative built around patience and a potent, burgeoning partnership is still permeating. That is why the front office is reportedly telling […]

Last place has a way of stripping away illusions before the NBA Trade Deadline, and for the voodoo-hexed New Orleans Pelicans, the core questions are glaring. Zion Williamson was supposed to be the closer, the gravitational force who bent late-game possessions to his will. Trey Murphy III has surged into an All-Star-level role, providing spacing […]

The comparisons come with an obvious caveat. Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is a two-time NBA MVP, a championship centerpiece, and one of the most distinctive offensive engines the league has ever seen. Derik Queen is a rookie still learning how to impose himself consistently at the professional level. And yet, inside the New Orleans […]

The wildly optimistic New Orleans Pelicans have spent years searching for the right on-court chemistry around various All-Stars. Lineups have been shuffled, roles have been redefined, and offensive identities have been rewritten around disappointing news stories. Now, quietly and decisively, the Pelicans believe they have found their most sustainable star pairing in Zion Williamson and […]

The punch-drunk New Orleans Pelicans are approaching a defining stretch of their season, one that will test not just their depth, but the clarity of the Joe Dumars vision. Zion Williamson and Derik Queen are finally playing 30+ minutes a night together, showing fans what could be a great foundation. Beyond that and the trade […]

Going into 2026, the busted-up New Orleans Pelicans find themselves in a familiar, albeit uncomfortable, position. However, though sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, there is no scent of surrender in the Smoothie King Center. According to interim coach James Borrego, a determined sense of resolve hangs in the air around Zion […]

The New Orleans Pelicans knew Derik Queen was a productive rebounder before the 2025 NBA Draft. What James Borrego did not expect was everything else the Maryland alum was bringing to the home of Mardi Gras. Thankfully, it seems apparent now that the Rookie of the Year candidate’s rebounding base, coupled with emerging rim protection and […]

A reshaped roster, an early-season coaching change, and a fan base impatient for tangible progress have created an unforgiving environment, particularly for a rookie still learning the ropes. However, according to James Borrego, Derik Queen is tuning out the static to become the next face of the New Orleans Pelicans. Selecting Queen 13th overall in […]

There are certain traits NBA coaches will tell you cannot be manufactured in a gym or taught on a whiteboard. When the new-look New Orleans Pelicans drafted Jeremiah Fears, the scouting reports spoke of speed, burst, and fearless downhill attacking. Just a few months into his NBA career, however, the internal comparisons have accelerated into […]

The final buzzer of 2025 sounded for the New Orleans Pelicans with a familiar result. A loss to the Chicago Bulls dropped interim coach James Borrego’s bunch to a daunting 8-27 entering 2026. However, the easy narrative of a last-place team, of a season slipping away, would not be accurate. Within the walls of the […]

As the calendar flips toward the new year, the busted-up New Orleans Pelicans find themselves once again scraping for relevance in the Western Conference standings. Sporting a dismal 8-26 record going into a New Year’s Eve date with the Chicago Bulls, Zion Williamson and Derik Queen are languishing in last place. Still, the locker room […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are enduring another difficult season, sitting at a dismal 8-26 after a recent loss to the New York Knicks. For most teams in such dire straits, the news would be one of dysfunction, finger-pointing, and an inevitable rebuild. However, interim head coach James Borrego sees a young squad on the verge […]

For all the defensive progress Zion Williamson’s New Orleans Pelicans believe they are making heading toward 2026, one issue continues to undermine their climb. In the eyes of James Borrego, defensive rebounding is no longer a secondary concern or a situational weakness. It is the defining variable separating a respectable team from a potentially competitive […]

The blueprint for defending Trey Murphy III used to be simple, if daunting. Find the 2021 first-round pick in transition, stick to him in the half-court, and under no circumstances let the 6-foot-8 flamethrower see a clean look from beyond the arc. This season, and particularly with James Borrego at the helm of the upstart […]

Zion Williamson, on the 14th of December, returned to the New Orleans Pelicans lineup early after initially being projected to miss more time due to an adductor injury. Williamson, however, returned to an unfamiliar role coming off the Pelicans bench — with interim head coach James Borrego opting to keep Saddiq Bey, who’s been good […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are suddenly on a roll like fried shrimp on a po’ boy sandwich. They claimed their fifth straight win on Monday after beating the Dallas Mavericks, 119-113, at Smoothie King Center. After a seesaw battle, the Pelicans, led by Zion Williamson, pulled away in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Mavericks, 40-26. […]

Outside of the Smoothie King Center, two-time All-Star Zion Williamson dominates the headlines alongside rookie Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears. Inside league circles and the rejuvenated New Orleans Pelicans practice facility, even interim head coach James Borrego concedes Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III’s voices are what cut through all the noise. However, the two […]

James Borrego’s New Orleans Pelicans are experimenting with an unconventional approach to managing a years-long headache, and the early returns suggest it might be working. Zion Williamson, the former number one overall pick and two-time All-Star, has recently shifted into a sixth man role coming off the bench. The move has been accepted as less a […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are finally finding their rhythm, capping off a pivotal stretch with a three-game winning streak that has injected new life into the team. Victories over the Portland Trail Blazers, Chicago Bulls, and Houston Rockets mark the franchise’s first such run this season, arriving precisely at the one-month anniversary of interim head […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are focused less on the standings and more on a set of standards going into the holidays. Zion Williamson and Derik Queen are starting to click, leading to a three-game winning streak in the process. However, while the climb from the Western Conference cellar to the Play-In tournament is steep, James […]

The New Orleans Pelicans have needed good news beyond rookies Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears, and thankfully for their fans, got a couple of mood-boosting wins before Christmas. James Borrego reflected on the significance of the victories in the context of the team’s ongoing efforts to establish a strong foundation around Zion Williamson. While victories […]

Rookies often face a steep learning curve, but the rebuilding New Orleans Pelicans might have found the most keeled ‘kid’ in the 2025 NBA Draft. James Borrego’s assessments of Jeremiah Fears after 27 games sound less like a coach managing a developmental curve and more like one describing a player already comfortable with responsibility. Fears, […]

The numbers are ugly, the film is worse, and the results are sinking a season of promise. Zion Williamson’s prideful New Orleans Pelicans know their defense has been a glaring, season-long vulnerability, a leaky dam threatening to wash away any NBA Play-In Tournament aspirations. Herb Jones can only do so much alone. Thankfully, interim head […]

The New Orleans Pelicans face a delicate balancing act as they welcome back key players from injury, with interim head coach James Borrego making it clear that the team won’t rush anyone into uncomfortable rotations. Jordan Poole and Zion Williamson’s reintegrations are prime examples of the new training philosophy, though fans can also look to […]

As fans have been waiting for an injury update for New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson, it does seem like there is at least a chance he plays in Sunday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls. With the Williamson-less Pelicans beating the Portland Trail Blazers last Thursday, it was one of the six games that […]

As the New Orleans Pelicans begin a blistering holiday schedule, two of their key perimeter threats have unfortunately hit a cold spell from beyond the arc. However, despite the season-long struggles to find a consistent rhythm, interim coach James Borrego is not sounding any alarms about Trey Murphy III or Saddiq Bey. The team’s two […]

Playing with “speed and violence” has been a tenet of James Borrego’s since being elevated to the head job. Turning every change of possession, make or miss by the opponent, into an opportunity for Jeremiah Fears to ignite the break has been a catalyst for quick transitions and an aggressive pace. Fellow rookie Derik Queen […]

Learning curves are usually steep at the NBA level and interim head coach James Borrego knows it’s especially challenging for rookies. That is why the New Orleans Pelicans are simplifying their defensive schemes to shield Derik Queen from being overwhelmed defensively, an approach that is already paying off as the 19-year-old adjusts to NBA speed […]

When the New Orleans Pelicans made a coaching change after a dismal start to the season, one glaring issue lingered behind Willie Green. A tenure defined by disastrous third-quarter collapses required a simple, yet brutal, fix by interim James Borrego. Thankfully, it was not about complicated schemes, but about a mindset that Jeremiah Fears and […]

With Zion Williamson’s New Orleans Pelicans spiraling to a 3-18 start and already drifting out of postseason contention, the franchise’s focus has shifted from salvaging the season to reshaping its future. Interim coach James Borrego is navigating that transition in real time, tasked with helping the front office evaluate the roster ahead of a trade […]

On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Lakers faced the lowly New Orleans Pelicans team that simply may be looking for a way to speed up time. This season has been painful for the team that currently has a 3-17 record, and not even a head coaching change, with James Borrego stepping into interim duties in […]

The education of New Orleans Pelicans rookie Jeremiah Fears is being guided by a unique coaching perspective, one that sees flashes of two distinct, brilliant point guards from James Borrego’s past. The Big Easy’s interim bench boss has coached Tony Parker and LaMelo Ball, seeing a bit of both in Fears. Everyone in the building […]

Hope has flickered like a faulty scoreboard for far too long in the Smoothie King Center, so the New Orleans Pelicans made a not-so-bold pivot to James Borrego. Joe Dumars had little choice after being given the green light by team governor Gayle Benson. A decision to fire Willie Green did not hinge on a […]

In the wake of a catastrophic 2-10 start, the New Orleans Pelicans have moved on from Willie Green. EVP Joe Dumars could no longer ignore the Smoothie King Center’s sour vibes lingering past the decision to skip the coach’s pregame introduction. A four-game losing streak to start the season, characterized by the usual defensive lapses […]