Pelicans Fall in Latest Power Rankings

The New Orleans Pelicans have an 11-8 record heading into Monday night's matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder. That is a far cry from the 3-16 record at the same point last season.

John Schuhmann gives the NBA.com Power Rankings for the week, and the Pelicans drop one spot from last week at No. 10 to No. 11 on the recent list.

Here is a little bit of the rationale behind this week's rankings:

"The Pelicans remain one of

three teams

— the Cavs and Suns are the others — that rank in the top 10 on both ends of the floor. They were able to get fat against the star-less Warriors and punchless Spurs early last week, allowing just

92.8 points per 100 possessions

over the two games. This season, the Pelicans (one of six teams that have had a worst-than-average defense in each of the last four seasons) have seen the seventh biggest drop in points allowed per 100 (

-2.4

) from last season.

But much of that is about opponent's 3-point shooting. While their opponents have shot much worse from beyond the arc (33.4% vs. 36.6% last season), they’ve shot better (and more often) in the paint (60.2% vs. 58.8%). When the Pelicans faced an opponent on their level on Friday, they allowed the Grizzlies to score 132 points on 101 possessions (shooting 18-for-38 from 3-point range) in a game that was mostly over after 17 minutes. The Pelicans now have the league’s fourth biggest differential between their record against

the 14 teams

that are currently at or below .500 (7-1) and their record against

the 16 teams

currently over .500 (4-7), and two of those four wins against the latter group were with the Warriors resting four starters.

The Pelicans will have two games against each of those groups this week, though one of the good teams (Toronto) has been shorthanded. The Pelicans will have their first meeting with the healthier Nuggets on Sunday. Denver and New Orleans played once after the CJ McCollum trade last season, with the Pelicans

losing in overtime

after trailing by 21 points in the first quarter." ~

NBA.com

New Orleans has feasted on and will face two sub-500 opponents in OKC and San Antonio. It will be necessary for this trend to continue as the Pels are still without CJ McCollum (health and safety protocols) and Brandon Ingram (toe contusion).

Ingram's injury occurred on Friday against Memphis and is listed as doubtful against the Thunder. Without CJ and BI, more burden will be placed on Zion Williamson to get the offense started.

It will be imperative that he and the other young guys step up and carry the load until those guys are healthy enough to return.