CoatesHall

Let me put on my tin foil hat for a second... Are we certain LSU isn't trying to get tossed from the SEC to avoid paying an exit penalty? Did LSU just sale a stake in future TV revenue to private equity? Maybe they think they can get a bigger payday with the Big 10 or signing a streaming deal with Amazon or similar?

They should have been playing Zion and Queen together the whole second half of the season so they could have learned to play together when the season was already lost instead of trying to get Messi and Deandre starts over Queen.

I like that they made a push after the All-Star break and didn’t just roll over. But let’s be real… most of those wins came against teams actively trying to lose. When they face legit competition, they’re still struggling unless multiple key guys are out.

At this point, priorities should shift.

I want to see the rookies get real run these last 8 games. Let them play through mistakes, and build some confidence going into the offseason.

But the most important shift?!

They have to stop staggering Zion and Queen.

These final games are basically lab. You have to find out if those two can share the floor in a real way. That question is way bigger than squeezing out a couple extra late-season wins.

If they can figure it out, you are in a solid position going into next year.
If they can’t, then they have to look at moving one of them.

The sooner they answer this the better.

No more avoiding it. Run them together so there is some data to work with.

Sorry bro, I didn’t realize Dyson was topping you nightly. I take it back .

Queen isn't in the best shape for a pro athlete, and he was hurt all off season so he wasn't able to work out as much as he should have, the length of the NBA season may be taking a toll him. And getting benched may hurt a rookies confidence a little too, so that may be a factor.

Yeah, hopefully they can lock Bey up for somewhere in the 15-20 million a year neighborhood. He would still be a steal at that price if he keeps it up. And that would triple is salary, so maybe he would go for it.

What I've noticed about Queen is he needs minutes to get into the flow of the game. Even as a starter, he was usually a slow starter in the first half, then seemed to settle into the game in the second half. I don't see him thriving in a low minutes role, at least not this season. Maybe with this year under his belt and a full offseason to train with the team he will be able to play hard from the first minute he steps out there.

It's not the Pelicans fault who they are playing, but keep in mind we are playing a tanking team and we beat a short handed Warriors.

Jazz Starting 5
Median Games Started: 18

Warriors Starting 5
Median Games Started: 11

Pelicans Starting 5
Median Games Started: 36 (And that's WITH DM and DJ not playing the whole season).

Hopefully they can keep it up, but I'd wait until we play the Lakers and Suns to decide how good this lineup is. We are in the middle of one of the easiest 4 game stretches of the season.

Look at DJs first 2 starts.

DJ - 54 minutes total

DQ- 39 minutes total

KM- 36 minutes total

The reduction in DJ's minutes tonight is just proving my point. The 76ers start is justifiable for DJ. A giant like Drummond would have bodied a rookie like Queen. But there was no reason for DJ to get the start against a small Warriors lineup. But tonight's numbers are about right. DJ shouldn't play more than 10 or so minutes a game, unless we are matched up against Jokic, Ayton, Gobert etc. The guy who will own the guys we are trying to develop.

Anyone know when TM3 should be back?