Grading the Pelicans Starters at the Mid-Way Point

Devonte’ Graham: C+

Graham was brought in to be a consistent shooting threat, which the Pelicans really haven’t had since Ryan Anderson. Up to this point, he is shooting right around league average from three. Graham would be a solid player off the bench on my ideal team, but thus far has not proven that he really deserves a starting spot on an NBA team.

Josh Hart: B

I love Josh Hart. He continues to improve every season, and is rewarded with an increase in minutes every year. Watching Hart, you can tell just how hard he works. Hart would have an A if he was more consistent with his shooting, but as of recently he has really cooled down from beyond the arch.

Herb Jones: A

Herb Jones was not supposed to be playing 30 minutes a game this year, but he is and he’s doing it very well. Jones is often defending the other team’s best player, yet is still averaging the most steals and second-most blocks out of all rookies. On top of that, the Pelicans have given him the responsibility of bringing the ball up the court and setting up plays recently. It is clear that Herb is continuing to develop into a very effective NBA player.

Brandon Ingram: B+

Ingram is the best player on the team obviously. And he had a stretch where he was averaging nearly 30 a game. But I’m staying away from stats on this one. I’ve watched somewhere around half the games so far this season, and at least three times a game I see a sloppy turnover on a fast break by Ingram. This happens in important situations too. He’s still super young, but as of right now he has not been clutch enough when we needed him most, and therefore his grade takes a small hit.

Jonas Valanciunas: A

Valanciunas is so much better than any other Pels big man I’ve seen since Tyson Chandler (besides AD of course). Omer Asik, Jahlil Okafor, Derrick Favors, Steven Adams, we’ve had too many ineffective bigs to count. We finally have our guy, and he can shoot threes. He’s shooting twice as many threes as any other time in his career and hitting at 40%. Pretty solid. 

As a whole, we really don’t have a bad lineup. They are not performing to their highest potential right now. But a common theme I referred to here was the shooting. I think if the shooting is more consistent from the top guys like Hart and Ingram, this team could easily crack the playoffs.