Sports are often times the ultimate example of life not being fair.
You can do everything correctly sometimes, and still not get results. You can execute a gameplan to perfection, only to have the ball bounce against you. You can put together a roster that seems great on paper, but have your star player get injured.
Or you can have your best eight players all get injured at the same time.
For the New Orleans Pelicans, the 2024-25 season began with excitement, intrigue, and hope. Last year was finally a season in which most of their key players stayed healthy for a significant portion of the year. Despite having to play in the play-in tournament, there was a feeling of optimism that this core was ready to take the next step.
Offseason moves were praised, as the Pels went out and acquired Dejounte Murray to be their point guard. The team used some of their depth to acquire that asset, which felt like the perfect move to make.
Opening night was a victory inside the Smoothie King Center, and all felt well. The Pels were getting Zion Williamson back in a couple days, and their new point guard shined in the debut. However, about 20 minutes after the conclusion of that game, reports came out that Murray had actually broken a bone in his hand during the win.
That would begin a series of unfortunate events that spiraled out of control. The Pelicans would lose Williamson, Jose Alvarado, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III, Brandon Ingram, and Jordan Hawkins for multiple games over the next few months. At one point, seven of the top eight players on the roster were all injured at the same time.
Through the mess, New Orleans barely found any on-court success. After a 2-0 start, the Pelicans have lost 23 of their next 26 games. Despite various players returning throughout the run, nothing has seemed to click to get this team back on track.
So that’s where we are. Where do we go from here?
The problems are layered, as are most things. If this was the first such season, you could chalk it up to bad luck and move onto next season. That is not the case.
The Pels are five years into the Zion Williamson experience and he has played more than half of the season just twice. Williamson is the second number one pick that New Orleans has had in the past 15 years, also getting Anthony Davis. Davis’ time in NOLA was also hampered by injuries and mismanagement of the roster.
Almost every member of this organization has been turned over since that time, so it is not as simple as cleaning house. That approach didn’t work.
Additionally, there is a true feeling that it takes a top-10 player in the league to truly compete. The Pelicans are supposed to have one of those in Williamson.
Can you make a change at head coach? Sure.
While Willie Green has not had a fair hand this year, his team still has been uncompetitive far too often. Even after some players returned, wins have not. His system has shown signs of life, but has never fully come to fruition during his time in charge.
Will that fix all of your problems? Likely not.
But I think the main issue here is the Pelicans have already tried so many fixes. Plenty of changes were made to the medical staff in recent years after so many problems keeping players healthy.
Trades have been made to supplement the roster. Coaches have been brought in to help this team make changes. None of those fixes have given them any sustained success.
And worst of all, the feeling around this team is still “What if?”
It would be one thing if the roster was mostly healthy for a long stretch and struggled. It hasn’t happened. So the (possibly false) hope still exists and tempts you to keep things mostly the same.
This season is likely lost, and one thing is for sure: the New Orleans Pelicans need something to change. Whether that’s personnel, coaches, or just luck, that is up to the franchise to decide.
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