The New Orleans Pelicans may be dealing with a deeper problem than meets the eye

The New Orleans Pelicans They haven’t been a franchise in the NBA for very long as they are now in the early stages of their 23rd season.

During this time, the team finished the year with a winning record of just nine times, and its deepest playoff run ended in the Western Conference semifinals, which occurred in both the 2007–08 and 2017–18 seasons.

It’s hard for a small franchise to find a foothold in the NBA because most of the NBA championships over the years have gone to big-market teams like Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics.

While the organization has certainly faced a lot of adversity over the years, it hasn’t done itself any favors with the NBA Draft until recently, including a name that may surprise many: Zion Williamson.

Before you hit the “close” button, take a moment and think about it realistically.

In the five seasons since Zion was drafted, the team has made the playoffs twice and exited early both times.

Yes, last year’s early exit can’t be attributed to Zion because he was injured, but that’s a big part of the problem, more often than not, he’s the one who’s injured.

Since the Pelicans selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, the team has played in 393 games (including this year).

Zion Williamson played in just 186 of them, appearing on the court in just 47.3 percent of New Orleans’ games.

Even often injured Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has played more games relative to how many games his team has played.

The 76ers selected Embiid third overall in the 2014 NBA draft, and since then he has played in a total of 804 games.

Embiid took the court in 433 of those games for a 53.9% save percentage.

However, it’s not just injuries that are holding the team back.

When Zion is on the court, opposing defenders, as well as everyone on the court, know exactly what he will do.

He is an extremely ball-focused striker whose only move is to get to the basket, regardless of fouls.

As we saw in the two contests against Portland Pioneers this weekend it could easily be stopped, making the entire offense more difficult in the process.

This is a problem for the organization itself, which is trying to appease a superstar and trying to build a team around Zion and his one strength instead of building a more balanced offense with deep threats and a strong defense outside of Herb Jones.

Unfortunately for the Pelicans, it doesn’t look like things will get better anytime soon.