Pelicans Debut Jeremiah Fears, Derik Queen & Zion Williamson—Will This Lineup TRANSFORM Success?
New Orleans Pelicans shake up their starting lineup, pairing Zion Williamson with rookie sensation Derik Queen—and suddenly, the future looks much brighter. Can this bold new approach unlock the Pelicans’ true potential and keep them competitive in a loaded Western Conference?
Jake Madison takes a hard look at the Pelicans’ 125-118 loss to the Denver Nuggets, spotlighting Queen’s breakout 30-point performance and Trey Murphy’s blistering night from deep. Key topics include the chemistry between Williamson and Queen, New Orleans’ two-timeline dilemma with young talent vs. win-now ambitions, and the impact of poor three-point shooting on closing out tough games. With lineup questions swirling and the trade deadline looming, Jake Madison asks: Is it time to blow things up, or does this revitalized core deserve a longer look? Don’t miss this must-listen analysis of the Pelicans’ evolving identity.
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31 Comments
+/-, all about impacting the game..🧐
Their best game thus far. Yea maybe using Z as a playmaker more often is sustainable for his body
Congratulations Jake!
Mr. ErryDat'rr 👈🏾Thanks Jake! now this is what we've bn waiting for and i don't think willie would have given it to us. we've all felt some type of way with the queen selection but i can truly say that i'm now a believer.
Congrats Jake 🎉🎉
Every time I hear trade Zion I laugh… we will never get another chance at a player like him…yes a lot of people media analyst said Queen and Zion couldn’t play together… I thought it could easily work… all I keep saying is we need the right coach!!!
Derrick Queen looks to be a star!
Encouraging, hopefully Zion starts playing
First of all, the fact that y’all keep depending on Zion who has proven that he’s not dependable is crazy! Second Herb needs to be a starter over Poole! Third trade Zion as fast as you can!
I hope we rehab your 'Superstar" in order to maximize his waning value and then ship his A$$ out to Atlanta (DD, NAW and our #1 in 26).
Queen is what we expected from the 'Messiah' (less the athleticism). Build around him. (Still don't like the trade that brought him here)
Murphy is still a massive weakness on the defensive end; you have a tendency to exaggerate his highlights and ignore his obvious defensive flaws overall (it's not like he isn't a five-year veteran and has to develop). As I said the other day. he's a finisher and should never ever, ever, ever try to initiate the offense. Any way you look at it, he still posted a negative +/- last night. If you are going to accentuate your "Superstar's +/-" to justify his play, then use it across the board
Fears is two years away, but probably worth developing. His decision-making has to improve (he has to play WITH HIS TEAMMATES and not at his 'Helter Skelter' pace to the detriment of the team).
Jonas Valanciunas (14 and 7 in 16 minutes on 80% shooting) isn't good enough to be on the Pelicans? LMAO!!!
He absolutely schooled Missi and Queen in limited minutes.
Congrats on y'alls wedding🎉
Every dayer
I like the starting 5 too let's roll go Pels
Congrats Jake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! enjoy married life!
What they need to blow up is the current ownership. Success and competence starts at the top, and trickles down.
Congrats Jake!!! Have so much fun on you trip!
How dare you get married during the season 😂 jk
Congratulations on your wedding
They need time to play together hopefully they stay healthy
If Troy Weaver traded up to get you, you must be special
Big Congratulations 🎉!!!!
If the Pelicans were better from the 3 point line they win this game . Plus some guy name Peyton Watson had a career night after averaging 6 point a game all year. Good fight Pelicans! ( Third Quarter is atrocious)
If the pelicans keep the lineup that they currently have, then they could improve the 21 wins that they had last year. Maybe win like 37 38 games with a play in seed?
This is the lineup we all watched to see and it works as long as they’re unselfish. It will be pick your poison once teams figure out that keying on Zion won’t work.
So winning the first qtr is significant now? Coping.
…omg I just picked the team too beat a team, to win, and it happened so naturally,
I accept the state of things, but that was cool
True last night's performance was extremely better than pervious games… But the Pelicans still lost another game. No morale victory in basketball….if morale victories were allowed…Pelicans would be a perrinal world champions.
Why would you trade zion when the rookies are on their rookie contracts. Zion is a star, he just gets hurt which is not his fault all the time, just bad luck. Unless you get a huge package for him, hes still the most impactful player on our team. The team actually looked like a nba team when he was on the court. We keep trading our best players away. Dyson is a starter for atlanta, ingram is a starter for toronto. We keep giving away nba starters. Pelicans were built to be deep, let the injured players come back before you make foolish decisions. Pelicans are a really fun team to watch with zion. We are not a contender if you trade zion becuase teams will fleece us because of his injury situation. Pay him for less than the max and keep the team deep. Everybody here keep blaming zion but i see murray and poole on the bench and i dont hear the uproar to trade them. If you can get zion for below arket value, you.keep him.
What just happened here can anybody see that Herb Jones is the problem He should not be starting He is getting all that playing time and scoring little points now I understand some players out there for their defense He's not playing that good defense either that brother played 29 minutes the other night and scored 9 points They need somebody out there that can scope points when the game is on the line like they say you are open for a reason
Michal 🫛 vey looks good to