A prediction of the New Orleans Pelicans' starting lineup for opening night, ahead of the start of training camp.
The New Orleans Pelicans have failed to reach 30 wins in back-to-back seasons, but still believe that they have enough talent to make the playoffs.
That's because for much of the last two years, they haven't had to play their best players together due to injuries. That has led to the losing, which has now put the Pelicans at a crossroads.
They have young players' development to worry about in Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, but they also want to win right now while they have someone like Zion Williamson to build around.
There are a lot of different ways that they can go with their lineup right now with a clean bill of health, but because of their current goals, that could cost the younger players some minutes.
Heading into training camp, here's a prediction of who New Orleans will trot out against the Indiana Pacers on October 21:
PG Dejounte Murray
SG Herbert Jones
SG Trey Murphy
PF Zion Williamson
C Yves Missi
The most glaring part of this prediction is that neither Fears nor Queen will start the year in the lineup. Jones, Murphy and Williamson are all pretty much locked into place.
At least for Queen, that is exactly why Missi receives the nod on opening night. Joe Dumars has made it clear that he wants to give time for Queen and Williamson to work together, but doing that in the starting lineup might not be the best idea.h
Missi offers more rim protection and defense than Queen, which is what this group of players needs more than an offensive initiator. DeAndre Jordan has been hard at work this offseason, helping reshape Queen's body and helping build that defense, but it may take more than a couple of months.
At least in the second unit, more offensive opportunities will be available to Queen. There is also a chance that he comes out and surprises this offseason, forcing his way to a starting job.
It'll be harder for Fears to accomplish that, given that he has to earn his spot over an established veteran like Murray. He was also much better in that bench role over the second half of his rookie campaign.
Both players have already faced the adversity of getting benched as rookies. They are both very exciting talents, but are going to have to earn those starting jobs back with this new coaching staff.
