The Cavalry won’t make it in time to save the New Orleans Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans are in a bad place. After their most recent loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, the Pelicans have fallen to 4-16 this season, are officially 1-3 in the NBA Cup group stage and are a full game behind the Utah Jazz, the 14th seed in the West Conference.

However, it is not as if this record is an indictment of the composition of the squad. New Orleans has dealt with more major injuries this season than any other franchise in the NBA, while at one point missing seven of its highest-paid players. Key rotation members and stars like Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones all missed large portions of the campaign and some remain out.

The good news is that the Pelicans’ injury situation is starting to improve. TMIII returned to the floor some time ago and was recently joined by Murray and McCollum. Unfortunately, even if New Orleans can rebuild its roster to full strength soon, it may already be too late.

It might seem best to get any injuries out of the way early, as long as the team can stay healthy for the rest of the season. Even if this is the case, these absences may have come at the worst possible time, and this is not just due to the tightness of the schedule, as I have highlighted in the past.

CJ McCollum came back from an adductor strain against the Indiana Pacers three games ago and has picked up right where he left off: Since then, he’s averaged 24 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists on 46 percent shooting from the field and 36 Percent from a distance his return. This was an anomaly for New Orleans, however.

Trey Murphy III has missed 13 games this season, including the first 10 games of the year, and he is clearly not playing at his level. The Pelicans needed him to be a star when he returned, as most of their top scorers were still sidelined upon his return. While his scoring is currently at a career high of 18.7 per night, he is also at a career low of 30 percent from three-point range, which is eight points shy of his worst point total in any other season. His 41 percent from the field is also his worst performance since his rookie year.

Dejounte Murray has also had problems with his touch since returning from a broken left hand. In two games now, he has good numbers with 17.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists on 42 percent from deep on six attempts per game, but overall he is only hitting 32 percent of his shots.

Obviously, both Murphy and Murray need to find a rhythm, which is common with players just starting their seasons. Unfortunately, over a quarter of the way through their 2024-25 NBA season, the Pelicans already find themselves in the basement of the West. Who knows how much rust Zion and Brandon Ingram will have to shake off when they play again?

What we do know is that New Orleans can’t afford to give its players time to warm up. Last season, the Boston Celtics won 78 percent of their games as the league leaders. Even if the Pelicans hit that high mark for the rest of the year, they would finish 52-30. In the 2023-24 season, New Orleans won 60 percent of its games. If they keep up this pace for the rest of this season, they will end up with 41 wins. The San Antonio Spurs, current owners of the 10th seed and final play-in spot in the West, would need to win just 49 percent of their wins to reach 41 Dubs. The Pelicans can’t afford any more mistakes and even if they reach their full potential, it might already be too late.