How to Fix the Pels: Wait (Grantland Shootaround)

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How to Fix the Pelicans

New Orleans Pelicans v Dallas Mavericks

Andrew Sharp: The Pelicans were up four on the Mavs near the end of the third quarter when I stopped and thought to myself, They are definitely losing this game. It’s hard to explain why. Maybe it’s because Rick Carlisle is neck-and-neck with Pop as the best coach in basketball, and Monty Williams is … not. Maybe it’s because Monta and Dirk are great all game, but they both get a little more impossible in the fourth quarter. Maybe it’s because the Pelicans are still learning how to win, and losing a bunch of winnable games is just part of the process. I don’t know; I just knew it would end exactly the way it did.

Everyone knew. Right? While the whole world tunes in to watch Anthony Davis this year, there will be lots of nights like this. We should all accept it. Have you seen the rest of the West?

That doesn’t even include OKC.

The Pelicans aren’t making the playoffs.

And that’s OK. We can still enjoy nightly Browgasms, we can still enjoy Tyreke Evans hurling himself at the rim, we can still … well actually, I don’t even know if Eric Gordon still plays in the NBA. But the Pelicans will be fun, win or lose. Just try not to read too much into it when things don’t work.

It’s Year 3 for Brow — in Year 3 of Kevin Durant, the Thunder were the 8-seed. If the Pelicans finish one or two spots lower than that in the MurderWest of 2014, that’s about where you’d expect them. Most younger, sloppier teams have had the benefit of easing into the playoffs on the strength of talent alone, but the West is full of killers right now. Older, smarter, and more clinical on both ends of the floor. Watching the Pelicans try to close against the Mavs is like watching a bear cub face off with a pack of wolves.

I’m writing this just because I can feel the “How do you fix the Pelicans?” articles coming, and there’s one simple answer:

Wait.

And maybe fire Monty Williams, and definitely get rid of Gordon, and hopefully find a 3-and-D James Posey clone in the draft or free agency.

But mostly, just wait. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Take a second and imagine this same Pelicans team playing this same Mavericks team two years from now. The Mavs * won’t have a chance.

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