New Orleans Pelicans
The 2019-20 New Orleans Pelicans season can be defined by three chapters:
Zion’s torn meniscus in the preseason and Brandon Ingram’s ascension to All-Star and Most Improved Player.
Zion’s return/debut and instant dominance.
The Bubble Pellies letdown.
What did we learn?
Zion missed the first 44 games of the season during which Brandon Ingram completed his transformation into The Slenderman.
No longer a homeless man’s Kevin Durant but a poor man’s. The long-limbed forever stoned-looking Ingram became a bonafide scorer, an All-Star! The Pelicans were not winning very many games, no, but Ingram was racking up career-best numbers as the Pelicans #1 option.
The Pelicans record stood at 10 games below .500 at 17-27 when Zion made his wondrous debut against the Spurs on January 22nd. Over the next 19 games that Zion played before the season was postponed, the Pelicans went 10-9 as Zion dominated in all the ways we knew he would, using his uncanny size, strength and speed to his advantage, steamrolling through opponents to get to the hoop for easy lay-ins and behemoth power dunks. A “walking bucket” as the kids like to say. Shoutout The Ringer’s Rob Mahoney for so aptly describing Zion as “a 285-pound rhinoceros running to the front of the rim.”
We have to mention that Zion did look at times like it was difficult for him to get up and down the court, laboring more than you would like to see from the future of the league. But then all of sudden and without warning, Zion would flip the switch, instantaneously going from lollygagging to lightning bolt.
Naturally, Ingram’s stellar play slowed its roll when Zion was added into the mix. It seemed like head coach Alvin Gentry had trouble finding the right combination of lineups and the right balance amongst this roster. We were not the only ones who felt this way. Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin gave Gentry the ax after the Bubble Pellies were a confounding disappointment, constantly looking noxiously muddled, especially on defense.
The 2019-20 New Orleans Pelicans were always going to have growing pains, but with Ingram blossoming and Zion showing that he is indeed capable of being the generational transcendent talent that we thought he would be, the Pelicans have to appreciate and cherish seeing where this franchise is just a year after the breakup with The Brow.
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What are the answers to our Season Preview Final Questions?
How many players in the league are going to be able to guard Zion?
Shoals once stated, “Some players expand possibilities; others leave categories in liquid ruin.”
Will Zion rip through the fabric of the game?
Once Zion returned from his meniscus surgery, he was an absolute beast and a plus/minus machine. Over the first 20 games of his career, Zion scored more points by any player over that span of opening games since some guy named Michael Jordan.
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Would our preseason Over/Under prediction have hit?
We are ecstatic to watch every minute of him trying. OVER 38.5 wins. (47% winning pct)
Pelicans 2019-20 final record: (30-42) 42% winning pct
Nope, our preseason Over/Under prediction most likely would have fallen short. The Pelicans would have needed to win 9 out of the remaining 10 games.
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What’s Next?
Find a new head coach. Will it be David Griffin’s ole boy from Cleveland Ty Lue? Could Mike D’Antoni unlock Zion in the Amare role?! How about Kenny Atkinson? Wait a second…. do you hear that? HOLY SHIT, that’s Stan Van Gundy’s music!
Figure out how to close out tight games in crunch time. The Pels struggled in the clutch all season long. We recommend giving the ball to Zion.
Make sure that Zion arrives to training camp next season in the best shape of his life.
The Jrue Holiday trade rumors have been swirling, but we still think that Holiday deserves this team’s glow up and that he should remain a part of it.
Get J.J. Redick back to the playoffs. Redick missed the postseason for the first time in his 14-year career.
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Favorite Pelicans Highlight from the 2019-20 Season:
Zion’s first game was a breathtaking virtuosic masterpiece.
