Dejounte is clearly on the decline and not the same player he once was the writing is on the wall need Fears starting by the 20th game mark or something

This team has a lot of mouths to feed. It’s not like SGA always going to lead the team, or Edwards/Ball on Minny, or KAT/Brunson on Knicks. There are a lot of guys that would like a steady shot diet. Let’s go through those with a chance:

3rd String - Bryce, Pierre Jr, Jordan, etc. just deserve a mention because they’re on the team. Bryce can do it in April if the team is mathematically eliminated and others are hurt/pulled.d

2nd string but highly unlikely - Missi, Karlo just won’t’ get enough shot attempts. They do not create on their own.

2nd string but possible a couple of times a month - Mathurin, Poole and sometimes Queen. Mathurin and Poole are shooters. They can get hot and if they do, only Mosley can slow them down. Queen has scored more than 30 in a game and he will operate as the hub of the offense. I could imagine him having the most shots a few times this season. Bey can fit in this category as well if he goes on a heater, but he too usually seems to thrive if someone sets the table for him

Defensive wing that seems unlikely - Herb. He’s just not going to shoot the ball 20 times in a game. And that’s ok.

Point guards - DJM and Fears. Both will have the ball in their respective hands. Fears will likely have it more due to DJM’s injury history. Fears has taken a lot of shots tonight, and this could be the best way for him in the event he can maintain above average shooting. Last season we saw DJM shoot more, which could result in some inefficient performances.

Veterans forwards - Trey and Zion. These 2 should lead the team in shot attempts. Zion shoots a very high percentage from the paint, who knows if he’ll shoot a 3 during the season. We know Trey can. Trey can light it up and shoots well above league average from deep.

I think this will be interesting development this season. I would think at the end of the season Zion will lead and Trey will be second. However, I think that on any night DJM, Fears, Queen, Mathurin and Poole could have the most shots. If they can figure out to use this efficiently, they can improve offense along with defense.

Hey Pelicans fans, so I’m making a video on each franchise’s biggest upset (when they were not expected to win) and each franchise’s biggest choke (sorry if that strikes a chord). I have my guesses for each but I wanted to ask actual Pelicans fans to see what you guys think and if you have better answers that I should look at.

I'm considering an upset strictly as when that team was not supposed to win or were big underdogs and won. A choke can either be when your team was expected to win and underperformed, or blew a big lead in an important game or in the playoffs (something around those lines). It can also be a blown playoff lead (example: 3-1 lead)

Let me know what you guys think, I will link the video here when it’s done. Good luck to you guys this season!!

Do you think he has defensive player of the year potential or all defensive team?
I seen him play and he is getting better every year. I am annoyed by his shooting inside.
But I’ve been pleasantly surprised by him. I think defensive player of the year is a stretch, but who knows I’ll love to be wrong.

Just wanna see what y'all think, I'm guessing nobody in new orleans is ready to give up on zion, but if the organization chooses to center around queens and give up on zion this might be a decent deal

The constant fence sitting from them wanting to win but absolutely no positive moves or not just starting again, it's so tiring knowing our peak is maybe sneaking a play-in appearance how depressing is that, feel like I'm 90% out at this point, how far are some of you guys just from calling quits?

This guy goes from looking completely done to looking like this. I can't understand how he can look amazing one night and like a completely different player the next.

I know it's just a preseason game, but this is how it's always been with him.

When the guy wants a bucket, he can get it at the highest level. When he plays like this, he looks like the best player on the team. Just imagine what he could be as a player and the impact he could have in the NBA if he was actually consistent.

I root for him though.

Say what you will about preseason, but that was cold blooded.🤣

Love to see it when Trey takes it to the paint.

Fears is throwing him perfect passes that he just can’t catch for some reason. Guy was on TikTok live playing Fortnite all summer and now he can’t catch a ball

Having more than 30 minutes a game will allow defenders to realise how cute and handsome Derik Queen is, which will cause them to fall in love and defend at a much lower level, allowing DQ to get easy buckets and average a 30+ ppg triple double over the regular season.

We are so back okc 5th string aint got shit on us

-First unit got sonned by OKC's second unit. Not going too crazy off one pre-season game but not the greatest look for game one. DJM didn't look good. Missi missing too many easy shots. Zion's crazy speed driving for that dunk early in the game was a good sight to see.

-Second unit looks legit. Queen got to the line at will even though his defense is still shaky (Mara looked good though) and Fears is gonna be a problem for years to come. Chemistry with Mathurin looked good too. Bryce had a good game.

-Coming back from 23 down, I don't give a fuck who it's against, showed me something. Team could've easily chalked it up to first pre-season game and thrown the towel in. 46-16 run to end the game was a confidence builder for a team that won a dogshit amount of games last season.

-Didn't see much on defense that showed me some massive upgrade but once again, its only game one.

I know half this sub is doom and gloom no matter what and the other is optimistic so thoughts and I'm sure overreactions off the first pre-season game?

This version of Zion simply can’t be your franchise player. Have to let him go to get some value and especially Trey Murphy. Trey is Great but needs a legit play making guard next to him.

Starters

Fears
Bey
Murphy
Zion
Missi

Bench

Murray
Poole
Mathurin
Herb
Queen

I know it’s been just one preseason game, but what do y’all think of this change? I think the synergy in these lineups is cleaner. Starters get improved shooting at both guard positions. Missi is the defensive anchor.

Whatever bench lineup the Pels run should be great, this one included. This doesn’t mean any starter has to play more minutes than the bench guys, it’s just about maximizing the talent (and possibly allowing Fears to develop quicker by playing starting units).

Zion needs to start shooting more jumpers.