Why the Pelicans MUST SOLVE the Zion Williamson-Derik Queen Defense Problem NOW
New Orleans Pelicans face a pivotal second half—can Zion Williamson and rookie sensation Derik Queen form the foundation of a winning future? Jake Madison spotlights the crucial need to assess their defensive chemistry, revealing why this pairing holds the key to the team’s long-term blueprint. The search for the ideal fifth starter intensifies, as the podcast explores player archetypes like Aaron Gordon and debates if current options such as Sadiq Bey or potential trade targets could unlock new levels for the Pelicans.
Competing every night isn’t just about the standings—it’s about building winning habits in Jeremiah Fears, Derik Queen, and the young core. Jake outlines how staying competitive, rather than tanking or trading core players, will accelerate rookie development and set the standard for a winning culture in New Orleans. Which roster choices will shape the Pelicans’ identity—and is a new era about to begin?
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14 Comments
Everyday!!
Yeah!!! You nailed it. When I saw the second segment topic, I immediately thought, Aaron Gordon.
Queen is POTENTIALLY our Joker
3M3 is our Cam Johnson
Fears is POTENTIALLY our Jamal Murray (in a perfect world, I would prefer Dejonte' Murray)
Herb is our Christian Braun
But there's nobody on this roster who is our Aaron Gordon
Thank you for finally stating what I've be preaching for three years. To consistently win in this league you need….
DEFENSE!!! DEFENSE!!! DEFENSE!!!
I love your Scottie Barnes idea; may I offer another. Though he's shorter than Gordon, I would love to get JHart back.
It took a while for this show to happen, but now that it's here, I do, indeed, applaud it.
We need three point shooters barely have any
Merry Christmas, Build a plan around sticking with Zion long-term…Queen-Zion-Jones-Murphy-Fears with Jordan Poole and Dejountae Murray(returning) become the main players so a Center that is similar to Matlovic but an upgrade seems to be the ideal 5th starter option to me. Able to anchor the interior defense and serve as a floor spacer due to 3pt range. Helps resolve some of the issues of playing Zion and Queen plus it means making a decision in how to balance the minutes and starting spots amongst all the backcourt players and/or deal some of them.
Why should he go back in the starting line-up? Physically he can't play big minutes.
Offensively, Yes. Defensively, they'll never gonna work. DQ fit best with 7 foot mobile stretch big (who can swith, protect the rim)
How games are we gonna have to win to get into the play-in? Do a whole 3 weeks of shows diving into the intricacies of that.
Why on earth they stopping the development of yevs missi
I would love to see 1/Fears 2-Herb/jones 3 Zion 4-Queen 5 Missi
Trade Zion, need uh real center uh big man that play defense an rebound,trade sum of them guards to got too many of tha same kind of players on this team if you can't play defense get rid of em, Zion don't play real defense, Queen uh rookie he'll get better Zion won't ,Queen gon be tha black joker, Zion just gon be hurt again mail his ass outta Louisiana 😄💯
These two young men are unstoppable post Queen he will create fouls let them double him Trey will have 30 pts off threes.this will work.
Every dayer comment
Only thing I disagree with is we can and should trade Zion in season. We can still be competitive in winning games, but teams are not desperate for a Zion move in the offseason they get desperate mid season
Hi Jake