Struggles from Within: The Complicated Season for the Pelicans

The season has become drastically complicated for the Pelicans in just three weeks of life. The losses they have accumulated in important positions not only damage the present, but also the future. They did not have Jose Alvarado, the electric Puerto Rican point guard who fit so well into the rotation, due to an ankle problem that had not allowed him to debut this season until last November 20; Herb Jones (blow to the right fibula), starting small forward, and Larry Nance (fractured ribs), backup interior, have recently been sidelined; Trey Murphy will be in the infirmary until at least mid-December, after surgery on his left meniscus before this campaign; and the finishing touch is the status of CJ McCollum, the safest value they have and who has detected a defect in his right lung that keeps him on the sidelines. Willie Green has to plow with those oxen at least for a while.

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The balance so far this year is not what is worrying, since with what they have they have won seven of the fourteen games. Now everything bad is precipitated and defeats can fall more easily, to which megastar Zion has something to say.

The NOLA franchise player has once again stirred up issues of the past. The main one is his difference of opinion with those in charge of sports (in the foreground, David Griffin) about the direction of the franchise. Before the press, when he was asked if he sees a difference in the attacking game plan that is in place for him, he once again launched his opinion on the overall situation of the Pelicans. “Last year we had a collective meeting and we talked about what I can improve, such as knowing how to accept your strategy. Right now it’s kind of complicated. But I am staying in the background, trying to believe in this process and accept the plan they have,” he expressed, with some uneasiness, the number one in the 2019 Draft last week.

The plan that the question referred to is an adjustment of the offensive game compared to last year that Willie Green has worked on. In his case, to better fit him with Jonas Valanciunas, the rocky Lithuanian center with whom he shares interior space.

Zion Williamson sets the pace

Zion’s statements follow the line that those around him have followed privately all this time. The tightness has gone hand in hand with the injuries, everything raised to maximum power. It’s four years of constant darts from side to side with one discordant aspect above others: the physical condition of the Salisbury player. Between the extreme profile he has and the carelessness with which he treats him, the problems have become entrenched between the two parties to the point that the renewal signed in the summer is no obstacle to seeking a separate future.

The Pels did not miss the opportunity to tie the star down for five more years, which marks the contractual maximum he aspired to after the rookie scale contract. Until 2028 he will earn 197 million dollars as a base, with two specifications (25% less if he does not enter the best quintets, 30% more if he does) and the obligation to keep his weight below 133 kilograms. . This stipulation had to be included for obvious reasons.

Williamson’s claims are outside a market as remote as that of New Orleans, which not even with his messianic arrival has he risen on the list of the worst placed in the League. The sporting aspect and the contribution that he has, which must be capital to reinforce his position as a leader, must increase, pursuing greater challenges. The changes have been lurches, from veterans Alvin Gentry and Stan van Gundy to a young Green, and are in line with seeking greater acceptance, the word that he has now chosen, of the player in this project.

Willie Green’s team needs to prove something more in the Western Conference, where reaching a playoff round in this Zion era sounds little. It was in 2021/22, the year that the former Duke player went blank, and it was the Suns who eliminated them. Individually they cannot be measured by numbers since they are itinerant over time. His 22.2 points this season are the lowest average in his NBA career and the minutes in which he performs them (31.1) are in line with what is usual, hence the question arose about his involvement in attack. His doubts had accompanied him since he was in the NCAA due to his complexion, never seen before (a lot of weight for that agility), and they continue to accompany him at 23 years old. With his new family unit recently formed, basketball continues to be a headache.

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2023-11-22 09:54:40
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