re: Should Zion come off the bench?

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I don't know why everyone is so afraid to admit it - maybe because they fanboy Zion so much - but as of now, the team plays better without him.

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Because it is factually false.

The team has been worse when Zion is not on the court this season. Not an opinion, this is a fact. Data is tracked when a player is on the court vs not. That data was tracked for Zion. We are better when he's on the court, just like we've been for the 3 seasons he's played with the Pels.

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The offense looks better because CJ, Herb, and Trey have all hit shots the last two games.

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Correct and part of that was Willie admitting and putting new found emphasis on creating and taking three pointers.

I'd still like to see BI take more, but overall it has led to our best looking shooting games of the season.

Now if Willie would combine that with a bit more possessions with cutting Zion, PNR Zion, and Point-Zion, trade in some of those low post plays for more of the handoff and screens that get him the ball at the arc to go downhill and attack/collapse the defense, I think you would see this team dominate even more. Cause that sort of stuff should open up wide open looks for CJ/Trey/BI/Jonas/Herb/whoever, or allow Zion to attack in the manner he is strongest, which is downhill. Allowing CJ to play off the ball more.

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I know you disagree, which is completely fine

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In fairness, this isn't my opinion disagreeing with your opinion.

This is a fact, we are factually better with Zion on the court vs Zion off the court this season.

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In fairness, this isn't my opinion disagreeing with your opinion.

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Yes, it is.

I've said the offense has looked better/more fluid. You can disagree with that, or you can provide me with a data point that the offense has been less fluid.

I put this in the game thread for Memphis, but I think a big issue has been putting Z on the block and then playing around with the ball for 10-15 second trying to get it to him. That stops the flow of the offense. It's not Zion's fault - but it is what it is.

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is a literal fact that the Pels are better with Zion on the court this season.

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As it's always been. The problem is Val and Z aren't a huge advantage to us like we hoped but knew would be unlikely. Not that jv doesn't have a place on this team, but starting out well early is so huge in an NBA game that Val may need to go to the bench much earlier when we play smaller teams

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Do you not think data is tracked for the Pels offense with a player on the court vs off?

It is a literal fact that the Pels are better with Zion on the court this season.

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I believe you're missing the point. My point is talking about the look of the offense the past two games.

If we're going by your standards, it's a literal fact that the Pels record is better without Zion than with Zion. No getting around it - it's a fact.

No, Zion does not come off the bench. However, the positive developments in the last two games have crystalized some areas that need to be addressed for the team. The observations are that Jose, Murphy, Nance, and Dyson have all earned increased playing time. Additionally, the team plays best when the defense is firing on all cylinders and the ball is moving.

Coach Green has partially addressed the situation, as I believed he would before the season, by running a deep (11-12 man) rotation. You find out who steps up and is capable of additional run. Obviously you do not want to continue that number of players in the rotation as the season progresses but you establish a pecking order.

Obviously a trade may be in play in the next couple of months, however if we are progressing at a .600 clip you may not have to make a major move. Additionally the deep rotation gives Coach Green game specific match up advantages and a buffer in case of injury.

At this point, I'd lean in to the defensive advantages of the team and decrease starter minutes down to 28-30 for Zion and perhaps CJ also. Zion needs to match his defensive intensity with his offensive intensity and right now I do not believe he is in prime condition to do so. CJ has been working his way out of an early season slump and may have needed the additional run, but there is no need to put 36 minutes of wear and tear on his body at this point of the season.

This would allow (along with moving lower rotation players down to reserve roles as the season progresses) consistent minutes for Dyson and TM3. Zion's minutes will naturally increase as we move into the latter half of the season when he can sustain maximum intensity on the defensive end along with being better integrated into the Pelicans offensive philosophy.

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I would replace Herb with Trey in the starting lineup.


Same thought. Herb isn't the same and Trey has gotten much better.

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If you have to choose one, this would be the swap. I know he made two last night, but just looking at his shot, I don't see him being a legit three point threat or even getting over %32 or so. This year at least. He definitely needs more time with Fred.

That being said, we need defense more than we do offense with this starting lineup so I wouldn't make any swap, we're playing winning basketball with this lineup. Herb brings more value to the 1st unit than he does the 2nd and vice versa with TM3. Herb is best as a cutter and very underrated at driving/finishing at the basket. It's hard to say don't shoot the three because every look Herb gets from three is wide open.

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3-1 without him.

Offense looks much more fluid when he hasn't played. We've actually created open/easy looks these past two games which hasn't been the case here recently.

CJ actually shooting well has definitely helped out. Hopefully we'll keep this style of offense up when he comes back. No doubt he can distribute and kick out to open threes when he's on the court.

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We have had plenty of open/easy looks with Zion in the game. It is just that players (like CJ) were not hitting the wide open shot. There is such a recency bias because CJ has actually made the open shot the last couple of games. Somehow, that is because Zion did not play.