To keep postseason hopes alive, Pelicans must prove they are not among NBA’s bottom feeders

Zion Williamson injured his right hamstring in the New Orleans Pelicans’ first game of 2023, and he has yet to return to the floor.

Since then the Pelicans have been in a tailspin. They have a 10-23 record in the new year, the NBA’s fourth-worst in that time.

To have any shot at qualifying for the postseason, the Pelicans must show they are not bottom-feeders by beating the teams that are.

In their next four games, the Pelicans face three NBA teams that are either in 14th or 15th place in their respective conference. The Pelicans play the Houston Rockets (17-52) on Friday and Sunday in Texas. Then, they return home for games against the San Antonio Spurs (18-51) and Charlotte Hornets (22-49) next week.

“We’re still in it,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said Wednesday. “Our focus is one game at a time. I know that is a cliché. That’s our mindset. Let’s go get one on the road in Houston. Then let’s go from there.”

On Tuesday, the Pelicans trailed the Los Angeles Lakers by 35 points at halftime in an eventual 123-108 defeat. Despite suffering a disheartening loss to a team they are competing against for a play-in tournament spot, the Pelicans are still a ½ game out of 10th place — the lowest spot they can finish and still qualify for the postseason.

“We have to improve, starting with me,” Green said. “I got to put our guys in the best possible position to be successful. That’s what we are committed to. Our players are committed to it. Our staff is committed to it. We have whatever amount of games that’s left to go after it.”

The Pelicans were 10 games over .500 before Williamson was hurt in a Jan. 2 game against the Philadelphia 76ers. In 2½ months without him, they have fallen to three games under. They have 13 regular-season games remaining.

The Pelicans’ biggest issue has been their inability to score without their most dynamic offensive player. They rank 26th in points scored per 100 possessions in 2023.

The Pelicans lived at the rim before Williamson ‘s injry. They took almost 40% of their shots inside of 4 feet, according to Cleaning the Glass.

Post-Williamson hamstring injury, they are attempting roughly 32% of their shots at the rim. They have replaced those rim attempts mostly with midrange jumpers, which they are converting at a so-so rate of 43.6%.

New Orleans’ lack of outside shooting only exacerbates the team’s struggles. Since Williamson went down, the Pelicans have two players converting 3s at a healthy rate. In 2023, CJ McCollum is hitting 37.4% of his 3s on 7.7 attempts and Trey Murphy is making 37.6% of his 3s on 6.1 attempts. Brandon Ingram (31.3%), Naji Marshall (28.4%), Herb Jones (30.3%) and Dyson Daniels (19.4%) are all sub-32% 3-point shooters in 2023.

The Pelicans must figure out how to score more efficiently without Williamson if they want to make the postseason again. The Pelicans are supposed to issue another update about Williamson’s status next week. It is unclear if he will be able to play again this season. The Pelicans haven’t ruled him out, but members of the organization haven’t projected confidence that he will be back either.

While the Pelicans wait on Williamson’s hamstring to heal, they must be more competitive, or they risk missing out on the postseason for the third time in four years.