What Pelicans must do to finish January on high note

Yesterday at 03:40 PM

In the month of New Year’s resolutions, the New Orleans Pelicans have taken a step forward throughout January. They handed the worst record in the NBA off to the Washington Wizards, got Zion Williamson back into the lineup and have been competitive in almost every game they have played.

The Pelicans have gone 5-4 throughout the first half of the month, doubling their win total and showing their ability to compete against some of the league’s best teams. The Pelicans lost to the Celtics on the road 120-119 and beat the Dallas Mavericks 119-116.

There is still plenty of work for them to do as they are bringing up the back in the Western Conference and are 11 games out of a spot in the play-in tournament, but improvement has to start somewhere and the Pelicans appear committed to changing the energy surrounding the team.

How can the Pelicans finish January strong?

Do whatever it takes to keep Zion Williamson on the floor

Williamson has appeared in three games for the Pelicans since returning from injury on Jan. 7 in their loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He did not miss a beat, scoring 22 points with six rebounds, four assists, one block and three steals while shooting 9-of-15 from the field.

Williamson showed out once again in the Pelicans’ 119-113 road win over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night. In 24 minutes of action, Williamson had 21 points, seven rebounds, nine assists and shot 10-of-14 from the field.

The Pelicans are simply a better team when Williamson is on the floor. They as well as Williamson himself hope his days of being a constant fixture on the injury report are behind him and that he will be able to make a consistent impact on the team as they attempt to return to form as a competitor in the West.

Capitalize on a manageable stretch to close out the month

After a difficult stretch to end the 2024 portion of the schedule, the Pelicans finish the month of January with an eight-game slate that includes contests against some less-stiff competition.

The Pelicans have back-to-back games with the Utah Jazz – who sit 1.5 games ahead of them in the West – on Friday and Monday night. Then they have the Milwaukee Bucks, an above-average team, at home on Wednesday night.

The competition shoots back up with a road test against the Memphis Grizzlies, currently the No. 3 seed in the West, next Friday night. After that, however, it’s road matchups against the Charlotte Hornets and Toronto Raptors, two of the Eastern Conference’s worst teams, on Jan. 25 and Jan. 27. The month closes out with home games against the Mavericks and Celtics, two perennial contenders, on Jan. 29 and Jan. 31.

If the Pelicans manage to come out on top in five or six of these eight games, it could give them the confidence to keep trying to improve and put their best brand of basketball on the floor as the season goes along.

Keep Trey Murphy III hot

The 24-year-old guard has been on fire throughout his fourth season in the NBA. Murphy is averaging 21.6 points, five rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 44.9% from the field.

Murphy has ended up with more than 30 points in three of the Pelicans’ January contests, coming close to setting a new season-high – currently 35 points in the Pelicans’ Dec. 27 loss against the Memphis Grizzlies – with 34 points in the New Year’s Day loss against the Miami Heat.

If Murphy can continue to run at this pace with Williamson back in the lineup consistently and the guard duo of CJ McCollum and Dejounte Murray contributing at a high level, a turnaround could be coming for the Pelicans sooner than anticipated.

The eight games the Pelicans have on their schedule to close out the month could go a long way toward deciding what kind of season this will ultimately end up being for the team. Despite the rough start they had, the Pelicans could use this set of games to chip away at the hole they are in. At the same time, they could fail to capitalize on the opportunity to put together some momentum and fall even further behind.

If the three things mentioned happen for the Pelicans, they could continue turning the season around and building up confidence to take with them into the offseason as well as the 2025-26 campaign. Additionally, if Brandon Ingram could find his way back onto the floor after being sidelined with an ankle injury, the Pelicans would be in an even better position to get things heading in the right direction.

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