* “Remember when former Pelicans general manager Dell Demps traded for the Rockets’ Ömer Aşık in July 2014? That was a huge moment for the franchise at that time because of the (defensive) limitations that continued to haunt their roster…boy, have the times changed in New Orleans.”
* “Just how dominant has Zion been this season? You can use his expected field goal percentage (61.7%) as evidence. Or maybe his player efficiency rating (26.3). Or the fact that he’s averaging 25 points with less than 16 field goal attempts per game. But nothing is more convincing than his plus-minus numbers this season.”
* “When looking at their roster, out of the 13 regular rotation pieces used by the Pels this season, all of them have a PER of over 11.0.”
* “The combination of the team’s ‘big three’ of Zion, Ingram and guard CJ McCollum has been more than just successful; they have been utterly dominant. While the trio has only logged 20 minutes or more together in nine separate games this season (356 possessions in total), during that time the Pels have outscored their opponents by 18.9 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass.
Check out the rest of my thoughts about the Pels’ early season by clicking here: [https://outrightsportsnews.com/outright-sports-nba-column-here-come-the-new-orleans-pelicans/](https://outrightsportsnews.com/outright-sports-nba-column-here-come-the-new-orleans-pelicans/)
by OutrightSports
