NBA.com on Pelican's Defense

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It seems crazy that a team with Asik and Davis can be one of the five worst defensive teams in the league. But that's the case ... and it's why the Pelicans, despite their talent, haven't been able to win more than two straight games all season.

Overall, the Pelicans have been solid defensively with Asik and Davis on the floor together, allowing 101.6 points per 100 possessions, a rate which would rank 11th in the league, in 544 minutes. But they've fallen off after a strong start, they've struggled to score in those minutes, and when either of the two starting bigs has gone to the bench, their defense has been pretty terrible.

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Anderson ranks as one of the worst rim protectors in the league. Opponents have shot 60.0 percent at the rim when he's been there, a number that ranks 91st of 93 players who have defended at least four shots at the rim per game over at least 15 games, according to SportVU.

But neither Asik nor Davis has protected the rim that well either. Among those 93 players, Asik ranks 36th (48.9 percent) in rim protection, while Davis ranks 50th (50.9 percent). And with both Asik and Davis on the floor, opponents have taken 34.5 percent of their shots from the restricted area, a mark which keep them in the list above. So their lack of rim protection isn't just about Anderson.

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Part of the problem is the Pelicans' perimeter defenders. They're starting games with Luke Babbitt trying to defend small forwards and ending them with either Austin Rivers or Jimmer Fredette trying to defend quicker guards.

Part of the problem is their pick-and-roll scheme, which has both Anderson and Davis come out high in an attempt to contain the ball-handler. Anderson is simply too slow footed to contain or recover well. And while Davis will block the occasional jump-shot to start a fast break, the scheme takes him away from the basket. Per 36 minutes, Asik has defended 11.8 shots at the rim, while Davis has defended only 7.5.

The Pelicans' transition defense could also be better. They rank 19th in opponent fast break points per game and 16th in percentage of opponent shots that come in the first six seconds of the shot clock (according to SportVU). But those numbers should be better when you consider that New Orleans commits the third fewest live-ball turnovers per game.

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