OKC Thunder: NBA Power Rankings week 10 – All-Star break edition
team. 69. . 14-19. Previous: . New Orleans Pelicans. 23
New Orleans Pelicans:
Week 10: 1-2
Won vs: Pistons 128-118,
Lost to: Bucks 125-129, Spurs 114-117
Opponents this week: Jazz, Bulls, Heat
Offensive Rating: 115.7 (6th) | Defensive Rating:116.1 (29th) | Net Differential: -0.4 (17th)
Like the Hawks, the Pelicans land lower on my ladder than teams like the OKC Thunder. Part of the reason why is both squads were expected to be playoff-bound. And, most will state those clubs have more talent.
That’s a fair (current) assessment although I’d love to flash forward three to five years and compare the talents of SGA, Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley, Theo Maledon etc, to the cores of the Pelicans and Hawks then.
As for week 11, the Pelicans beat a team that hasn’t reached double-digit wins yet and lost to a severely short-handed Spurs team.
More telling was the month of February. Sure, the Pelicans feasted offensive posting the top-rated offense in the month (122.7). The problem is they also posted the worst defensive rating (120.5).
Stan Van Gundy is known for his defensive acumen but it seems the veteran coach is more focused on Zion Williamson’s development. It’s sort of reminiscent of what SVG did in Orlando in the early Dwight Howard years.