The Pelicans are two preseason games into the Jamahl Mosley era, and the same questions are still hanging over the roster: who fits in the starting group, and can this defense hold up with any kind of consistency?
Thursday’s 128-118 loss to Miami didn’t answer either one in a reassuring way. It did, however, give Jeremiah Fears another chance to show he belongs in a bigger role.
That’s the part that stands out most right now. Preseason scores only matter so much, but the way New Orleans has arrived at those results says plenty. Mosley is trying to build a new standard, yet the opening two games haven’t given him a lineup that clearly demands to stay together.
The Pelicans opened against Oklahoma City with Dejounte Murray and Herb Jones next to Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III, and Yves Missi. On Thursday, with Murray sidelined by a toe contusion, Fears and Bennedict Mathurin took over the backcourt spots.
That change does not automatically mean anything permanent. It doesn’t prove Mosley has picked a preferred five. What it does show is that the competition is still wide open.
Murphy has shot 36.8% from the floor through two games. Williamson is at 46.7%. More troubling, New Orleans has been outscored by 33 points in Murphy’s minutes and by 21 in Williamson’s.
Those are small samples, and they barely cover more than 30 minutes apiece. Still, they underline the bigger issue: the Pelicans’ two biggest offensive pieces haven’t yet consistently tilted the game in New Orleans’ favor.
Williamson’s ability to collapse a defense and Murphy’s ability to stretch one should give this team a usable base. The players around them have to support that, sure. But Zion and Trey also have to make those lineups work.
Mosley can keep shuffling the rest of the deck. That’s part of the job. But this is still a league built around stars, and his top two have to give him more to build on.
Fears has been one of the bright spots. He looks stronger, more assertive, and his shot is giving New Orleans something real to think about.
Through two preseason games, he’s averaging 13.5 points in 18.3 minutes while shooting 50% from the field and hitting four of eight from 3-point range.
That doesn’t mean he’s suddenly Steph Curry. It does mean defenders have to respect the jumper, and that changes the conversation.
Fears already has the burst to get into the lane. If opponents can’t simply back off him on the perimeter, they have to close space earlier, and that opens the door for him to get downhill.
That matters even more when Williamson is on the floor. The Pelicans need a point guard who can create without letting defenses load up on Zion’s driving lanes.
There’s still a clear area Fears has to clean up. He has four assists and six turnovers through two games. If he’s going to win the starting job, his pressure has to turn into cleaner possessions for the whole group.
Murray’s absence gave him the chance on Thursday. If this trend keeps going, it could make the opening-night decision a lot more interesting.
The other side of the story was rougher. Miami put up 33, 40, and 35 points in three quarters, won the fast-break battle 30-11, and outscored New Orleans 58-40 in the paint.
The Pelicans also turned it over 22 times, and Miami turned those mistakes into 30 points. That’s the kind of sloppiness that makes any defensive effort harder than it needs to be. If New Orleans is serious about improving on that end, it can’t keep giving away chances before the defense is even set.
There were some encouraging moments. New Orleans held Miami to 20 points in the third quarter, and through two preseason games the Pelicans have a defensive rating of 112.8, better than the 118.9 they posted last season.
But one good quarter isn’t the same as establishing a standard. Mosley needs this group to get back, stop the ball, and protect the rim throughout the regular rotation, not just in bursts.
His track record offers some reason for patience. In Orlando, his biggest defensive jump came in his third season, when the Magic climbed from 18th to third in defensive rating.
Even so, New Orleans is being asked to move faster than that. Building a defense takes the right pieces and time together, but the front office expects a playoff team now. That means the Pelicans need visible progress sooner.
No one should expect Mosley to have an elite defense in place immediately. What he can be expected to do is establish habits that point the team in the right direction.
The message has been delivered. The next test is whether the Pelicans can actually live it.
In Other News...
Pelicans Fans May Not Expect Zion In This Training Camp Debate
Training camp has already produced one small, friendly debate inside the Pelicans locker room, with Derik Queen weighing in on which players have been the most explosive above the rim. After watching practices, Queen put Karlo Matkovic at the top of his dunker rankings, with Trey Murphy III and Yves Missi also drawing notice for the kind of finishes that tend to stand out when the pace picks up.
The list offered a little snapshot of what has been showing up on the court, and it also explained why Zion Williamson was not near the top of it. Queen said Williamson has not been dunking much in practice, a detail that says more about what has been happening lately than about Williamsons well-known athletic ability. For a team that knows how much rim pressure Williamson can create, it is still the kind of training camp note that makes people lean in a little closer. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Final Roster Spots Just Got More Interesting
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Moores return gives New Orleans another chance to evaluate a young player coming off a long layoff, and it also underscores how much business still needs to be sorted out around the final roster spots. The Pelicans have been using Summer League to sort through those decisions, and Moores presence now adds another layer to a picture that had already been shifting behind the scenes. [Read more 🡒]
Jordan Poole Is Forcing A Pelicans Lineup Decision
Jordan Poole has given the Pelicans something to think about early in preseason, and it is the kind of decision a coaching staff would rather have than the alternative. His play has looked sharper and more disciplined than it did a year ago, with the kind of shooting and creation that can ease pressure on the rest of the offense, especially when Zion Williamson is on the floor and the half-court gets crowded.
New Orleans now has to weigh whether Pooles early run is enough to bump him into the starting conversation for the next game against Dallas. The fit is appealing because his playmaking could help stabilize the group, but the bigger question is whether this version of Poole holds up long enough to matter once the games start counting for real. [Read more 🡒]