Jordan Poole may be the cleanest fix for a Pelicans starting five that hasn’t found its footing under Jamahl Mosley.
New Orleans is 0-3 in the Mosley era, and each of those three losses came after the Pelicans coughed up a lead. Closing games has been the louder problem, but the opening lineup has become impossible to ignore too. The current group is not giving Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III enough chances to get involved, and the touch distribution is a big part of that.
Right now, the two biggest usage hogs for New Orleans are Jeremiah Fears and Dejounte Murray. With both players functioning as natural point guards, the ball has been sticking in the same hands too often, and that has left the Pelicans’ best scoring options short on shots and on-ball reps. The simplest answer is moving Fears back to the bench and sliding Poole into the starting five.
At first glance, that might sound like trading one guard problem for another. Poole is often labeled a point guard too. But the way he has bought in defensively this season, plus the way he and Murray have looked together, gives this idea some real teeth.
There’s also the shooting piece, and that’s where Poole’s case gets even stronger. Yes, starting a player who is shooting 16.7 percent from the field to open the season is a bold swing.
But Poole’s best years with the Golden State Warriors came when he was operating off the ball, not trying to run the offense like a traditional lead guard. His job was to score, stretch the floor and keep defenses honest.
That matters for a Pelicans starting group that needs another spacer beside Trey Murphy III to create more room for Zion Williamson and Murray to attack as drivers.
Poole’s defensive activity has also stood out in a way that changes the conversation. He looks more engaged on that end than he ever has, and he has appeared comfortable next to Murray. That pairing has shown promise in limited action, and the fit makes sense because Poole can lean into a pass-first guard beside him.
The numbers back up that eye test. In 50 minutes together, Murray and Fears have posted a -20.1 net rating, while Murray and Poole have a +21.8 net rating in 18 minutes this season, according to Databallr.
Those are small samples, sure, but the gap is hard to miss. The broader on-court numbers point in the same direction: New Orleans is +12.3 with Poole on the floor and -17.1 when he sits, a 29.4-point swing per 100 possessions.
For a team that has already seen enough evidence to know this setup needs shaking up, that kind of impact should be enough to push Mosley toward a change. The Pelicans even experimented with Poole as a starter during training camp.
Now it feels like time to stop testing the theory in pieces and give it a real run. His off-ball value, his fit with Murray, his defensive effort and his shooting gravity make the move look like the obvious next step.
In Other News...
Pelicans Trade Talk Just Got Real After New Orleans' 0-3 Start
A winless start has a way of turning every roster decision into a referendum, and the Pelicans are already hearing the noise after opening 0-3. In that kind of early-season slump, teams around the league naturally start probing for signs of desperation, especially when a club has talent but no traction. New Orleans, though, is not behaving like a team ready to tear things down.
Herb Jones is part of the reason the conversation has stayed more measured than the record suggests. Even with his limited playing time, the Pelicans have not shown a willingness to move him, and league interest in both Jones and Trey Murphy III has been treated with a high bar for quite some time. For now, the message out of New Orleans is that the slow start has not changed the value the team places on its key wings, even if the questions around the roster are only getting louder. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Get A Real Opening In Denver Rematch
The Pelicans get another crack at Denver after the teams needed overtime on Saturday, and this time the backdrop looks a little different. The Nuggets are still working through a pile of injuries, which matters in a rematch where the margins can shrink quickly and every rotation decision gets magnified.
New Orleans is not exactly at full strength either, with Yves Missi sidelined again and Jordan Poole still on the report, but the opportunity is real enough to notice. Nikola Jokic will still be the fulcrum for Denver, yet the Pelicans can look at this one and see a chance to press a thin opponent in a game that already proved the matchup can get tight late. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Get Immediate Shot To Answer That Denver Collapse
The Pelicans do not have to sit with that Denver collapse for long. After letting a 23-point lead slip away in the previous meeting, New Orleans gets the Nuggets again with a quick chance to show the first game was more of a bad ending than a revealing trend. For the Pelicans, the response starts with keeping Trey Murphy involved on offense, moving the ball with more purpose and protecting possessions a lot better than they did the first time around.
There is also the matter of Denvers new look, because the Nuggets arrive at 1-2 and coming off a loss to Golden State. New Orleans will need to be sharper on the details that mattered most in the first matchup, especially against Trevon Brazile, who was active enough to give the Pelicans trouble inside and on the glass. The first meeting left plenty of room for a reset, but this one will say more about whether the lesson actually stuck. [Read more 🡒]