The 2023-24 season for the New Orleans Pelicans was a productive one.
After multiple injury plagued “what-if” type years, the Pels finally maintained a general sense of health, with star Zion Williamson playing in a career-high 70 games.
The team won 49 regular season games, a mark that had not been exceeded since the team changed its name to the Pelicans. In fact, it goes all the way back to the 2008-09 New Orleans Hornets, anchored by Chris Paul. That team won 56 games and made the Western Conference Semifinals.
The team’s net efficiency rating was 6th best out of all 30 NBA teams. That was also the best since the ’08-09 team.
Clearly, there were plenty of steps in the right direction, despite the team falling into the play-in tournament.
However, Pelicans fans have heard this before. Hope has been building at plenty of different points in the last decade plus. Let’s go through some of the greatest hits:
Being awarded the number one pick to draft Anthony Davis was supposed to be the thing that vaulted the franchise into being a contender. Instead, things took off slow due to injuries and building the roster around him.
Adding Demarcus Cousins was supposed to take the team from a fringe-playoff group to true contenders. Cousins tore his achilles and left plenty of “what-ifs.”
A series sweep over Portland in the playoffs of the 2017-18 season was supposed to build momentum into true contention. Instead, the face of the franchise was wearing a “That’s all folks” shirt less than a year later.
And then most recently, another top pick to take Zion Williamson felt like the much-needed boost. Injuries and “what-ifs” have plagued plenty of much of his five-year career as well.
So after all that, why should this year be any different?
Well, for one, the team did things that have not happened in a long time last year. As mentioned, there was true progress made towards truly being better. Additionally, the team went out and added a player in Dejounte Murray that it felt like they truly needed. Willie Green has been getting better as a head coach and continues to show progression and improvement overall.
There is reason to believe that the Pelicans are headed in the right direction, even if plenty Pels fans will certainly have a true reluctance to believe until it happens.
On October 23rd, the Pelicans began their season with a win over the Chicago Bulls.
That’s great! 1-0!
Except that Williamson did not play with an undisclosed “illness.”
And then, after an exciting debut, Murray fractured his hand.
It feels like yet another cursed beginning for what has felt like a cursed franchise for some time now.
Here’s to hoping the new “Skelican” jerseys can start to work against he bad voodoo this team has been experiencing.
Dawson Eiserloh is the host of “The LohDown with D-Loh” which is broadcast weekdays (1-3 PM) on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles — Southwest Louisiana’s Sports Station