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The New Orleans Pelicans' 2020-21 NBA season ended on a rough note. Despite having a generational talent in Zion Williamson and the 2020 Most Improved Player in Brandon Ingram, the Pelicans couldn't make it through to the NBA playoffs. They ended their season as the 11th seed in the Western Conference, two wins shy of the NBA play-in tournament.
Now their franchise superstar Williamson is reportedly upset with the franchise's front office and members of his family want him on another team.
David Griffin and the New Orleans Pelicans must figure out the team's mistakes and improve their roster for next season. Here, we take a look at 5 things that went wrong for the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2020-21 NBA season.
#1 Players and coaching staff weren't on the same page
The New Orleans Pelicans and coach Stan Van Gundy didn't see eye to eye this season. There was evident resistance from the players against their coach and reports suggested the side blatantly disobeyed his orders.
Coach Van Gundy publicly criticized his players and was often called disrespectful for airing the team's dirty laundry in the open. He is credited with being a defensive-minded coach, but the New Orleans Pelicans were ranked 22nd in defense this season. The players were not responding to his coaching and there was obvious turmoil in the locker room.
After one season with the team, the New Orleans Pelicans announced that they are parting ways with Van Gundy. The past season hasn't quite worked out the way the organization and fans wanted it to. But if the coaching had been on point, their 2020-21 campaign might have ended differently.
#2 New Orleans Pelicans were horrible at defense
As mentioned earlier, the New Orleans Pelicans were abysmal on defense. They were ranked 22nd in the league in defensive rating and 24th in points allowed. The Pelicans were also 29th in three-pointers allowed, 19th in opponent FG% and 24th in opponent 3P%.
They didn't guard the perimeter or the paint well, and allowed teams to rain down threes on them. When they couldn't respond with threes of their own, the side inevitably lost games.
Even with Zion Williamson scoring like a machine in the paint, those numbers often led to nothing as the team easily gave up points on the other end. Eric Bledsoe and Lonzo Ball are good defensively but the Pelicans didn't implement the right defensive strategies as a team.
#3 Zion Williamson's injury near the end of the season
During the final stretch of the season, the New Orleans Pelicans were rising in the standings and had won 5 of their last 8 games. But right as they hit their stride, Zion Williamson fractured his finger and was ruled out indefinitely.
The Pelicans' playoff hopes tanked right there. They were 13th at one point in the season and had climbed up to 11th thanks to their run of good results. There was speculation about a potential appearance in the play-in tournament if they maintained their momentum. However, their talisman's injury meant they lost their remaining games from that point on.
The Pelicans run everything through Zion Williamson. He averaged a whopping 27 points per game on an astonishing 61% shooting from the field. He led the league in FG% for any player averaging over 20 points per game and did so on volume shooting of 17+ attempts.
The New Orleans Pelicans are 2-9 when Williamson doesn't suit up. His injury came at the worst time and derailed their season.
#4 Eric Bledsoe wasn't a wise swap for Jrue Holiday
A front office blunder meant Jrue Holiday was let go and traded for Eric Bledsoe. The Milwaukee Bucks clearly won the trade in that respect as Holiday instantly elevated the team's rating on both ends of the floor.
The 31-year-old is one of the best defenders in the league and letting him go was certainly a mistake in hindsight. Bledsoe is a defensive guard who did nothing to improve the New Orleans Pelicans' perimeter defense.
Moreover, on the other end of the floor, he averaged just 12.2 points per game on 42% shooting from the field. This was his lowest points-per-game average since 2013. Bledsoe has always averaged numbers close to 17 to 19 points per game and a dip to 12.2 points per game is rather significant. However, he was clearly not trusted enough with the ball as his shot attempts went down as well.
#5 New Orleans Pelicans lacked bench depth
The New Orleans Pelicans used the same 8-9 players in rotation for the majority of the season. The younger players lacked poise and experience, and blew leads consistently. The lack of defense aggravated the situation as the team lost confidence and morale after repeatedly blowing leads.
The Pelicans were also over-reliant on Zion Williamson to score buckets. When he went to the bench, the "Non-Zion minutes" as they were dubbed, were a disaster for the team.
The New Orleans Pelicans need to get a backup front court and veteran experience in the locker room. They cannot rely on a 20-year-old to carry all the burden for the team. They need to survive the minutes Williamson spends on the bench with decent depth, preferably '3-and-D' players.
Also Read: 5 best trade packages for Damian Lillard if he chooses to part ways with the Portland Trail Blazers
