The New Orleans Pelicans aren’t pretending this offseason overhaul was a massive one. It wasn’t. But after back-to-back years without reaching 30 wins, the message from Media Day was unmistakable: the standard on defense has to rise, and fast.
Joe Dumars said the team expects a much better season even with a roster that didn’t change dramatically. That belief starts with the defensive end, where New Orleans finished last season No. 23 in the NBA with a 117.6 defensive rating. Given how little the roster shifted, and the fact that several of the new additions aren’t best known for stopping people, that’s a serious ask.
Still, Dumars framed the additions of Bennedict Mathurin, Trendon Watford and AJ Johnson as a matter of “quality over quantity.” Johnson’s defensive reputation hasn’t been strong, but Dumars pointed to his frame as something worth building on.
He also described Mathurin and Watford as very “tough.” For Dumars, the bigger point is that defense is driven by commitment as much as anything else.
"I've said this to a lot of people in the building, defense is just about how hard you want to compete to not let the other guy do what he wants to do. You can talk about technique, but how bad do you want to stop this guy? That's what defense is."
That mindset is part of why Jamahl Mosley and his staff could end up being as important as any player move New Orleans made. The Pelicans clearly see the coaching group as a major piece of the equation.
Mosley’s recent track record helps explain that confidence. With him and mostly the same assistants, the Orlando Magic posted a 113.6 defensive rating last season, which ranked No.
- Even in Mosley’s first season there, when Orlando won just 22 games, the team still finished with a better defensive rating than New Orleans did last year, coming in at No. 19 with a 112.3 mark.
But Dumars also made it clear the fix can’t come from the outside alone. The players already in place have to bring more, especially the core that has been here through the recent struggles.
“I don’t think all your improvement is brought from the outside,” said Dumars, citing the need for a better effort from within.
That message seemed to land. Herb Jones called the hiring of Mosley "music to my ears," and the overall tone around media day pointed in the same direction. Player after player talked about defense, and the group sounded eager to learn from a staff that has a reputation for getting teams to play with more edge on that end.
Dumars said Mosley’s main job is to get the roster competing defensively. It may not be the flashiest selling point, but New Orleans believes it’s the one that can change everything.
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