Pelicans Have Huge Lineup Decision to Make After Bulls Win

Will James Borrego stick with his starting five or ride the group that led the Pelicans to victory on Monday?

Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Pelicans ended their nine-game losing streak on Monday and defeated the Chicago Bulls 143-130 with their best performance of the season. Building a first-quarter lead with the help from their bench, the Pelicans never gave up control of the game, cruising to their third and easiest win of the season.

The biggest takeaway from the game involved James Borrego's rotation decision. Finding success early with the lineup consisting of Jose Alvarado and Yves Missi, Borrego started those two over Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen in the second half. This paid dividends as the Pels maintained their lead in the second half and Alvarado and Missi both finished +14 in their minutes. Alvarado and Missi ended up playing season-high in minutes, 32 for the former and 29 for the latter.

In contrast, Queen and Fears were marginalized, playing 17 and 24 minutes, respectively, and each taking only nine shots for the game. Whether this will be a trend going forward or will remain a blip in the Pelicans' season will be fascinating to watch.

James Borrego Has First Massive Decision to Make as Pelicans Head Coach

The Pelicans' next game is against the Grizzlies in the Smoothie King Center. The starting five Borrego will have will speak volumes about what the Pels' priorities are for the rest of the season.

Borrego has been desperately trying different lineup combinations to find what works. He could very well decide that he has found something with Missi and Alvarado, and give them larger roles over Queen and Fears. This would be understandable for a team desperate to build momentum and get some wins.

At the same time, the future of Pelicans basketball belongs to Queen and Fears. If Queen has to play less than 20 minutes per game so that the Pelicans win 28 games instead of 25, that is not in the long-term interest of the organization. This would be a case of a head coach trying to save his job and a front office trying to save face rather than having a long-term vision that makes sense for the franchise.

There is also no guarantee that what the Pelicans got from their bench on Monday is sustainable. Missi had ten offensive rebounds, Alvarado got going early, and Micah Peavy had great moments on both ends of the floor. Borrego may have just trusted this group in this specific matchup because they were playing so well and could very well go back to making Queen the go-to guy on Wednesday. All eyes will be on how the Pelicans' rotation shakes out against the Grizzlies.