The New Orleans Pelicans will restart the NBA 2019-20 regular season on July 31 with an overall record of 28-36. The Pelicans through 64 regular season games prior to the coronavirus pandemic were 13-19 at home and 15-17 on the road. Rookie star Zion Williamson was quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with on the offense end for the Pelicans. Williamson missed the first 45 games of the regular season after undergoing knee surgery.
The leading scorer for New Orleans is Brandon Ingram with an average of 24.2 points per game, while Zion Williamson is the second-leading scorer with an average of 23.6 points per game and the second leading rebounder with an average of 6.8 per game. Derrick Favors is the leading rebounder with an average of 9.9 per game and Lonzo Ball is the leader in assists with an average of 7.0 per game. New Orleans has six players averaging double-figures in scoring.
The 2019-20 NBA regular season for New Orleans has been defined by one word - injuries. The Pelicans were unable to get off to a quick start after rookie sensation Zion Williamson went down with a preseason knee injury. However, the Pelicans were beginning to pick up victories, winning eight of their final 13 before the season took a four-month hiatus. Williamson was not the only player injured as Jrue Holiday, Ingram and Ball each missed 8 games or more due to injuries.The Pelicans starting 5 of Ingram, Williamson, Favors, Ball, and Holiday were finally gelling when the NBA season was halted.
New Orleans will have a solid shot at qualifying for the Western Conference playoffs as the Pelicans are just 3 ½ games behind eighth place Memphis and are tied with ninth place Portland but trail in the tiebreaker with the Blazers. The Pelicans biggest problem when the season returns will be the lack of playing time it's nucleus has head with one another due to the previously mentioned injuries to four of the current five starters. The Pelicans will also have little to no postseason experience as the team is very young.
The New Orleans Pelicans must start the NBA restart at the top of their game if they want to qualify for the postseason. The improved play of the Pelicans just prior to the season being suspended proved New Orleans has the talent to reach the postseason. The only question is if the players can gel as a unit quick enough to qualify for postseason play. The answer to that is yes. The Pelicans will qualify to play in the postseason but will be eliminated early.