The NBA Championship Formula Part V (Revisited) - Health Matters
NEW ORLEANS - "I just want to see this Pelicans team when it's healthy."
That phrase, or some variation of it, has been on the lips of Pelicans fans, NBA commentators, and just about anyone else who has watched the team for nearly a decade.
Unfortunately this season has been no exception.
After putting 23 different starting lineups on the court last season, the New Orleans Pelicans are up to 16 this season, with 23 games left to play.
Last season, the Golden State Warriors used a total of six different lineups on their way to a NBA championship. It becomes less surprising to see the Warriors puttering along at ninth in the Western Conference standings when you notice that this season Steve Kerr has been forced to utilize 19 lineups of his own.
Since the start of the 2018-19 season, the Pelicans have used 108 different starting lineups, an average of 21.6 per season.
The biggest problem hasn't been the accumulated total of missed games, it's been who has missed them that has done the most damage.
The NBA Championship Formula Series
Part I: How Close Are The Pelicans?
Part II: Three Is A Magic Number
Part IV: Making Home Court An Advantage
The Pelicans rank 11th in the NBA in total missed games this season with 146, trailing the Miami Heat by 100 games. New Orleans hasn't finished above eighth in games missed in any of the past four seasons.
It's the absence of the team's core, particularly Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, that has been the biggest impediment to the Pelicans reaching their full potential...whatever that may be.
Willie Green didn't get use his intended starting lineup once last season as Williamson sat out with injury. Ingram was sidelined for 27 games on his own, the most he had missed since 2018-19, the year before he came to New Orleans.
This season has only been slightly better, with Green using the starting five of Ingram, Williamson, CJ McCollum, Jonas Valanciunas, and Herbert Jones 10 times in 59 games. New Orleans is 6-4 in those games.
Over the last two years Willie Green has had his starting lineup available in just 6.7% of his games (including the play-in and playoffs). Williamson has played in 29 of those 149 games (19.4%), with Ingram appearing in 87 (58.3%).
If availability is truly the greatest ability a player can have, the most vital cogs in the Pelicans machine don't possess it.
In NBA2K, the Pelicans could add a health badge or two, but this is reality.
Williamson is going to be out for at least a couple more weeks with his latest injury, McCollum has been battling a hand injury, and at the very least there will be some "load management" for players like Valanciunas and Larry Nance Jr.
The Pelicans have little margin for error as they sit precariously on the border between making the playoffs or failing to make the postseason in consecutive seasons for the fourth straight time.
Their fate will be determined by their health as much as it will be by their play.
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- Willie Green's Rotations Need More Time To Build Rhythm
- Willie Green Talks About Coaching Staff's Priorities
- Pelicans Have 25 Games to Save Season
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- Jose Alvarado Steals Show With MVP Outing In Utah
