5 things that went wrong for New Orleans Pelicans in the 2020-21 NBA season
The New Orleans Pelicans' 2020-21 NBA season ended on a rough note. Despite having a generational talent in Zion Williamson and the 2020 Most Improved Player in Brandon Ingram, the Pelicans couldn't make it through to the NBA playoffs. They ended their season as the 11th seed in the Western Conference, two wins shy of the NBA play-in tournament.
Now their franchise superstar Williamson is reportedly upset with the franchise's front office and members of his family want him on another team.
David Griffin and the New Orleans Pelicans must figure out the team's mistakes and improve their roster for next season. Here, we take a look at 5 things that went wrong for the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2020-21 NBA season.
#1 Players and coaching staff weren't on the same page
The New Orleans Pelicans and coach Stan Van Gundy didn't see eye to eye this season. There was evident resistance from the players against their coach and reports suggested the side blatantly disobeyed his orders.
Coach Van Gundy publicly criticized his players and was often called disrespectful for airing the team's dirty laundry in the open. He is credited with being a defensive-minded coach, but the New Orleans Pelicans were ranked 22nd in defense this season. The players were not responding to his coaching and there was obvious turmoil in the locker room.
After one season with the team, the New Orleans Pelicans announced that they are parting ways with Van Gundy. The past season hasn't quite worked out the way the organization and fans wanted it to. But if the coaching had been on point, their 2020-21 campaign might have ended differently.
#2 New Orleans Pelicans were horrible at defense
As mentioned earlier, the New Orleans Pelicans were abysmal on defense. They were ranked 22nd in the league in defensive rating and 24th in points allowed. The Pelicans were also 29th in three-pointers allowed, 19th in opponent FG% and 24th in opponent 3P%.
They didn't guard the perimeter or the paint well, and allowed teams to rain down threes on them. When they couldn't respond with threes of their own, the side inevitably lost games.
Even with Zion Williamson scoring like a machine in the paint, those numbers often led to nothing as the team easily gave up points on the other end. Eric Bledsoe and Lonzo Ball are good defensively but the Pelicans didn't implement the right defensive strategies as a team.