clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Ten Surprising Facts about the Pelicans 1st Half of the NBA Season

Ten surprising facts about the Pelicans first 42 games that will make you both optimistic and depressed.

By Joseph Billiot

One: The Pelicans have not won a single game unless they scored over 100 points. The Pelicans are 0-20 when scoring less than 100 points in a game.

Two: Norris Cole has pretty much been the worst statistical player in the NBA. According to ESPN's real plus minus, which measures an individual player's team impact on point differential, Norris Cole ranks 430th out of 431 measured players. His RPM is an apocalyptic -6.09.

Three: Tyreke Evans has a higher PER (19.1)  and 3-pt shooting percentage (39%) than Jrue Holiday (18.4)/(38%)

via GIPHY

Four: Alvin Gentry has used 20 different starting lineups through 42 games.

Five: The Pelicans defense was very bad, but has been very good of late

Six: The Pelicans have one of the best "Big Three" lineups in the league with Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans, and Anthony Davis. That trio has a +23 net rating. Per a 100 minutes the Pelicans trio scores 117 points and only gives up 94.5 points.

Seven: The Pelicans have had the most impactful amount of injuries in the NBA. The Pelicans have had the 5th most games missed by players period. Tyreke Evans has also been the third most missed player in terms of PER and amount of games missed.

Eight: The Pelicans had a really hard schedule to start the season. According to ESPN's Strength of schedule ratings, the New Orleans Pelicans have played the 5th toughest schedule so far.

Nine: Through the first half of the season, the Pelicans, lead by Jrue Holiday and Ryan Anderson, have the highest scoring bench in the NBA. The Pelicans bench is averaging 41.7 points per a game. The Pelicans bench has also been good overall, tied for 6th in overall point differential.

Ten: Even though the Pelicans had the worst start in franchise history, going just 1 - 11 through their first dozen games, the Pelicans remain in the playoff hunt. The Pelicans are are just four games back from the 8th seed in the Western Conference, which is roughly the same position they were in last year at this point.

More From The Bird Writes