Pelicans Eager To Make New Orleans A Winner
New Orleans, LA- New Orleans and its fans are riding high to start this season, currently No. 1 in the Western Conference standings. The Pelicans have already racked up 15 home wins before the new year. That is in stark contrast to last season when New Orleans didn't get their 15th home win until March 4. Pels guard CJ McCollum spoke on the importance of protecting home court to be successful in today's NBA. "Every game is important, especially at home," McCollum told reporters after Wednesday night's game. "You need to win 30-plus games at home if you want to get to 50 wins. That's our mentality to win as many as you can at home."
Over the last 25 years, excluding the Covid years and the 98-99 lockout season, every NBA champion has won at least 29 home games that season. Since basketball returned to the Crescent City in 2002, the franchise has only won 30 or more home games in a season once. This year the Pelicans have the 3rd best home record in the league at 15-4. They seem very much keen on making this not only a successful season but making the Pelicans a consistent winner for years to come.
The players have bought in as well. Williamson signed a 5-year, $193 contract extension in July. Brandon Ingram inked his 5-year extension in 2020 while CJ McCollum solidified a 2-year extension in September. This puts the Pelicans 'Big 3' in line to play together for the foreseeable future. Add the additional youth on the team such as Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III, Jose Alvarado, and Dyson Daniels and this looks like a team ready to compete for years to come. Before thinking ahead to the future, the Pelicans must deal with the now.
What's been impressive in the beginning parts of this season is the myriad of ways the Pelicans have won games. They have not had their true complement of players for much of the year and still, they find themselves atop the conference. New Orleans has been a juggernaut offensively and has been able to finish games. That's something they could not say in the past. The Pelicans are second in the NBA in fourth quarter scoring and have been able to finish teams off when the game matters the most.
The future may look bright for New Orleans, but they are looking for success now. With a loaded roster and a team hungry to atone for last year's playoff exit, the Pelicans are poised to make noise this season. New Orleans does deserve a winner and the Pelicans want to be the ones to make it one.
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