Some Pelicans thoughts from Zach Lowe’s tiers column

[https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/insider/story/\_/id/34732456/lowe-annual-nba-tiers-ranking-league-best-worst-teams-nets-lakers](https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/insider/story/_/id/34732456/lowe-annual-nba-tiers-ranking-league-best-worst-teams-nets-lakers)

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>The Pelicans soared on offense when [CJ McCollum](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/2490149/cj-mccollum) and [Brandon Ingram](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3913176/brandon-ingram) shared the floor. They hit half their midrange shots in those minutes, and it’s tough to maintain that Nowitzkian efficiency. But that’s where McCollum and Ingram live; they won’t fall back much. [Zion Williamson](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4395628/zion-williamson) will compensate for any drop-off by single-handedly transforming a team that struggled to finish at the basket into a dunks-and-layups machine. He is like some super-human combination of Shaq and Bo Jackson.
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>McCollum, Ingram, and Williamson have to divide ballhandling duties, but that shouldn’t be hard. Pushing pace is a cure-all. In the half court, Williamson’s ability to do everything — run inverted pick-and-rolls, screen for either guy, post mismatches — will unlock read-and-react freedom.
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>The looming question is Williamson’s durability. Give him 60 games and New Orleans should be a top-10 offense — and that’s probably selling the Pelicans short. If they can approach league average on defense, 48-50 wins is attainable. The pathway there is minimizing (at least some) the time McCollum, Williamson, and [Jonas Valanciunas](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/6477/jonas-valanciunas) share the floor, and the Pelicans have enough good defenders to do it: [Herb Jones](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4277813/herbert-jones), [Larry Nance Jr](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/2580365/larry-nance-jr). (a critical player), [Jose Alvarado](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4277869/jose-alvarado) (a cat burglar playing basketball), perhaps [Trey Murphy III](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4397688/trey-murphy-iii) and [Dyson Daniels](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4869342/dyson-daniels).

Feels like a pretty accurate summation of where we stand heading into the season. That’s kind of how I expect us to handle the rotations. I think it’s a little telling that Graham didn’t warrant a mention; I expect Willie will give him minutes to start the year, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Jose, Trey, and Dyson take more and more of those as the year goes on.

by newvpnwhodis