The halcyon dreams of a 14-team Western Conference playoff chase appear to have dissipated, with injuries likely dooming the Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks. But the bottom of the West is still frisky, and no team is starting the second half of the season stronger than the New Orleans Pelicans, even after a highly entertaining loss Wednesday to the Golden State Warriors.
In the calendar year, New Orleans has the third-best net rating (plus-9.3) in the league, behind only the Warriors and the Milwaukee Bucks. The Pelicans are 10-4 with Elfrid Payton in the lineup and also recently welcomed back Nikola Mirotic from a 12-game injury absence. The team is still 3.5 games out of the eighth seed, but they have the best player of any team in the bottom half of the playoff bracket, provided LeBron James continues to remain out with his ailing groin.
More importantly, New Orleans remains one of the most fun teams to watch in the league. In total Alvin Gentry fashion, the Pelicans are getting it done with a roaring offense, and it is a delight. New Orleans has the second-best offensive rating in 2019 with 121 points per 100 possessions. (Golden State is first with an absurd 130.1 mark, but that team really shouldn’t count.)
Anthony Davis is one of the most unstoppable players in the game, and now that Payton is back to help settle the offense, Davis has once again become a one-man wrecking crew. Since Payton returned from his broken finger, which incidentally coincided with the start of the new year, Davis is averaging 34 points and 15 rebounds per game on 61.6 percent true shooting and 31.6 percent usage. He is obliterating opponents with a trail of breathtaking plays, trying to regain his place in the MVP discussion.
Incredibly, Davis only has the fifth-highest offensive rating on his own team this month. Payton leads the way, and if the Pelicans managed to upgrade at the Tim Frazier/Frank Jackson combination at backup point guard, look out. Julius Randle still hasn’t figured out how to play defense in his second NBA stop, but he is bullying big men on offense with impunity, the perfect antidote to any switching defense.
Jahlil Okafor has accepted his role of running the floor and cleaning up his teammates’ misses, proving that there is a still hope of a productive NBA career for the erstwhile No. 3 pick in the 2015 Draft. Okafor even threw in a funky euro-step in transition against the hapless Grizzlies.
The icing on the cake for Davis’ supporting cast remains Jrue Holiday, who has sacrificed more than anyone to help the Pelicans reach their full potential. A natural point guard, Holiday has shifted off the ball in consecutive seasons to allow Rajon Rondo and now Payton have comfortable roles. He regularly guards the toughest wing threat because of the team’s dearth of size on the perimeter. Holiday puts his 6-foot-4 frame up against the likes of Kevin Durant, Paul George, and LeBron on a regular basis, holding his own more often than not, while chipping in 21 points and eight assists per night. His game may not be as highlight-friendly as that of his teammates, but the transition opportunities he creates lead to the others bringing the house down.
It’s been easy to discount the Pelicans this year. They’re never healthy, and they’re 12th in the West after climbing all the way up to sixth last season and winning a playoff series. But those numbers do a disservice to how well New Orleans has been playing, even if it hasn’t translated into wins.
Last year, the Pelicans finished 48-34 despite having the point differential of a 44-win team, which would have left them on the outside of the playoff picture. This year, their point differential is that of a 46-win team; nevertheless, they’ve struggled so much in clutch games that their record is already four games worse than expected. New Orleans won 60 percent of its 50 close games last year, which the league defines as games within five points in the final five minutes. The team has only won 32 percent of its 25 clutch contests this season, which is the worst success rate in the NBA.
The Pelicans notched another close loss last night, but it’s hard to discredit a team too much for losing at Oracle Arena. Even so, New Orleans put up 140 points in a spectacular offensive effort. Defense might be optional, but scoring is more fun to watch, and the Pelicans are doing plenty of that as they make their way back into the Western Conference playoff race.
