The New Orleans Pelicans are leaning into a new identity - and it’s one that might finally unlock the full potential of Zion Williamson while addressing the team’s long-standing Achilles’ heel: defense.
Under the guidance of assistant coach James Borrego, the Pelicans are undergoing a deliberate, physical transformation. It's not just a tweak here or a lineup shuffle there - it's a philosophical shift.
Borrego is bringing back a brand of basketball that’s been largely pushed aside in today’s pace-and-space era: Bully Ball. And in New Orleans, that means getting bigger, tougher, and more disruptive - especially on the defensive end.
Let’s start with Zion. Offensively, his ceiling has never been in question.
He’s an All-Star for a reason - a downhill force who can collapse defenses and finish through contact with the kind of efficiency that warps scouting reports. But the question has always been: how do you build a sustainable defense around a player whose value is so tied to his offensive usage?
The answer, at least for now, is to shift the burden off Zion on the defensive end. Instead of asking him to be a point-of-attack stopper or a constant help-side eraser, the Pelicans are surrounding him with size and length - players who can take on the heavy lifting defensively while allowing Zion to conserve energy for what he does best.
That’s where guys like Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, and Saddiq Bey come in. Borrego has leaned into a bigger lineup across the board - from one through five - and the early returns are promising.
Since making the switch, New Orleans has jumped from 17th in the league in rebounds per game (43.9) to 10th (45.9). That’s not just a stat bump - that’s a sign of a team starting to play with more purpose and physicality.
“We’ve added a little more size to the lineup,” Borrego said. “We've slowly but surely been making progress in this area… we’ve been putting attention on the board.”
That attention to detail matters. For a team that’s flirted with relevance but hasn’t quite broken through, defense has been the missing piece. Borrego isn’t sugarcoating it - he knows the Pelicans can’t compete at a high level if they’re sitting near the bottom of the league in defensive efficiency.
“Physicality, number one, in the half court,” Borrego emphasized. “Just being more handsy, physical, and aggressive - at the expense of fouls, too. We're trying to turn this thing through our physicality.”
That’s a notable shift. Most teams try to avoid fouls; Borrego is willing to live with a few more whistles if it means his team is setting a tone. The Pelicans aren’t trying to be polite on defense anymore - they’re trying to be a problem.
And that mindset isn’t just about effort - it’s about identity. Borrego made it clear: if the Pelicans want to be taken seriously in the Western Conference, they need to defend like it.
“There’s not a relevant team that’s going to be 28th, 29th, or 30th in the league defensively,” he said. “Just not going to happen.”
He’s not wrong. The teams that have made real progress - the ones that go from fringe playoff squads to legitimate contenders - do it by locking in on the defensive end.
Talent gets you in the conversation. Defense keeps you there.
By embracing this new direction, the Pelicans are trying to change more than just their on-court rotations - they’re trying to change their culture. No more settling for Play-In Tournament appearances.
No more hoping Zion can carry the load on both ends. This is about building a team that can punch back - one that’s big, physical, and ready to grind out wins the hard way.
It’s early, and there’s still work to be done. But if this version of the Pelicans continues to take shape, they might finally be on the path to becoming more than just a highlight reel team. They might become a problem - the kind of team nobody wants to face when the games start to really matter.