How many games will the New Orleans Pelicans win in 2017-2018?

The New Orleans Pelicans had an interesting summer/off-season. They were able to sign Rajon Rondo to a 1-year/ 3.3 million deal and re-sign Jrue Holiday. Together with DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis they could make some noise in the Western Conference this year. 

Last year, Cousins was traded to the Pelicans after the all-star break but he could not find his rhythm next to Anthony Davis and the team could not compete for a spot in the playoffs. This year, however, is different. Cousins and Davis have been training all summer long together, trying to find ways to be successful on the court, while both of them are playing. Holiday will be starting the training camp together with Rondo, and so the Pelicans have a legit chance of making the stacked Western Conference playoffs. 

Rondo’s addition is huge, as he can come off the bench, manipulate the offense, make the players around him better, and bring the winning mentality to New Orleans. In the two games he played in the 2017 playoffs with the Bulls, the Bulls won both games away from home at Boston and were up 0-2 on the Celtics. Rondo then was injured and the Celtics won four straight. This shows how Rondo can actually be a problem for the other teams in the league, mostly in games that matter and especially if he finds ways to make Cousins and Davis even better, while also helping them in pick & roll situations, spreading the floor and the spacing they should have on the court. So this is why Rondo’s addition can play a huge role in the team’s success this upcoming season. 

Moreover, Alvin Gentry will have to find a way to make Cousins and Davis an unstoppable duo, one of the best frontcourt duos the league has ever seen. The talent from both of them is there, but the coaching staff will have to find ways to how to utilize them properly together on the court and make each other better defensively and offensively. The Western Conference is stacked, with many different teams trying to make the playoffs this year, but this team will find the way to be at least in the contention. Rondo’s addition, his leadership, and experience (31 years old) will make this team better, will make Cousins and Davis an unstoppable duo together and role players will step up, hustle on defense, knock down open shots, while also having the winning mentality on their mind. 

The weakness the Pelicans have is the lack of depth at the shooting guard / small forward spots and the lack of depth they have on the bench. If they had a player like a Jordan Clarkson, Jamal Crawford, J.J Redick, Lou Williams to start or even come off the bench, they would be a lot better on both sides of the court and would have someone to help Cousins/Davis and Holiday/Rondo. The Pelicans’ front office will start looking for ways to become even better this season by trying to get someone, who can score the basketball while Cousins and Davis are on the bench and who can cover up some spots on the bench. So the Pelicans will be all around trade rumors for this season also. 

Finally, to conclude the Pelicans will have to find the rhythm as a team from the beginning of the season, if they really want to contend for a spot in the Western Conference playoffs, in what could be the most stacked Western Conference of all-time. So, can they actually make the playoffs this year, would you consider them as a contender or a pretender for the playoffs?

By MorningNBA team / morningnbadaily@gmail.com