The opening of the year 2023 in the NBA Seen a few days after the end of this season, it offers a very different image from the current one. In that beginning of January the Brooklyn Nets and New Orleans Pelicans were the proper names of each side of the square, second and third respectively in their Conference. Little more than two months later the situation could not be more opposite in both cases, although the sensations also differ. New Yorkers have sanitized their project while NOLA has seen how a fall without brakes before the injury of his best player, Zion Williamson.
From the January 3moment in which the franchise announced the loss of its star, the Pelicans have barely been able to win 11 of its 34 parties. A Pyrrhic 32.4% of victories for a team that has more than enough pieces to stay afloat, something they demonstrated last season without going any further, qualifying for the Playoffs.
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19 days before the Regular Season comes to an end, Willie Green’s men are out of the zone of Play-In. yes, in one western conference where everything is possible, in which they have the top 10 one game away. However, the trend and the competitive level of the Pelicans compared to the rest puts them at a disadvantage.
How did such a pronounced and unanswered collapse come about from a group with so much potential, a priori?
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An inefficient attack without Zion Williamson
The return of Zion Williamson to the courts this past October had an immediate impact for the Pelicans. With the star on the field, New Orleans’ attack was one of the best, ranking in the 87th percentile according to Cleaning the Glass. Although highly dependent on its production in transitionin static the work of the young man and the rest of the team exceeded the average, which is why they reached the top of the West.
In short, NOLA was on a positive trend and with Zion as its axis the sky was its limit.
The moment his injury happened, everything fell apart. Of the 114.7 offensive ratio (7th best) in the first 37 games it has gone to 111.7 (5th worst) in the following 34 commitments.
One of the reasons behind this lies in his performance on arrival, occupying the 51st percentile in that sense in the overall course. But none more important than the abrupt decline in foreign production. With a 34.3% average without Williamson, New Orleans has not been able to compete for victories in a league that shoots, on average, 36.1%.
Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum, insufficient
Zion’s loss happened practically at the same time on the time scale with the return to the courts of Brandon Ingram. The forward, one of the organization’s bets, had suffered a toe injury on his left foot and his return was received like rain in May by the team.
The point is that not even his 25.2 points, 5.3 assists and 47.2% accuracy in field goals have served to avoid a new failure for the Pelicans. In fact, the constant contribution of CJ McCollum, with 22.3 goals on average in 2023 and 37.4% from long distance.
The entry and exit of complementary figures such as Jose Alvarado, Larry Nance Jr. or the disastrous operation by Josh Richardson explain, to a large extent, the low and inconsistent performance of New Orleans.
A project, exhausted?
If 2022 was the year of hope for the New Orleans Pelicans, 2023 has been a return to square one. The two sides of the team that have been seen this season are the best proof of its limited potential. Limited not by who makes up the squad, but by the availability of its greatest asset: Zion Williamson.
With him healthy, the Pelicans could have comfortably reached the playoff zone, more given the level of the West in this campaign. Without him they have returned to being the irregular team of the past, only without the drive and enthusiasm that they experienced the previous year thanks to the signings and the rookies.
Those of Louisiana may have hit bottom in this 2022-2023. Perhaps not at a sporting level, since his options to step on the postseason are still there, rather due to the confirmation of an investment awaiting dividends.
The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the NBA or its organizations.
