Eight games into the NBA season, the New Orleans Pelicans are hurting. Bad. They have had injuries to nearly all of their starters and have been forced to cope with a number of different combinations to their lineup.
The Pelicans are giving up an NBA-worst 111 points-per-game to opponents and are tied for the worst point differential in the Western Conference (minus-9.3). Only once this season did the Pels hold an opponent to under 100 points and it resulted in the team's sole win under new head coach, Alvin Gentry.
Injuries have decimated their season, forcing all but two players on the current roster into the starting lineup. That is not including Tyreke Evans, Norris Cole, and Quincy Pondexter, who all have yet to play in a game this season. Evans and Cole are both at least a month away from returning, while Pondexter's return date is a little more cloudy. Meanwhile, Jrue Holiday's minutes have been limited as he recovers from offseason leg surgery, forcing the Pelicans to go deep into their backcourt. Anthony Davis and Kendrick Perkins have also been dealt injuries. While Davis is listed as day-to-day with a bruised hip, Perkins has been ruled out for two-to-three months.
While roster changes do not need to be immediate, at 1-8, the Pelicans can only go so much longer under these circumstances. History has shown that you simply cannot build a team around an All-Star big man. While tradition has outlined a "Big Three" as the championship formula, recent trends have indicated that a well-balanced team is the ticket to the NBA Finals.
The Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs have won the past two NBA Finals with great team basketball that carried over from the regular season into the playoffs. The Warriors had 2015 MVP Stephen Curry leading the way, while the Spurs were led yet again by their trio of future Hall-of-Famers in Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili.
But it has been five years since a team won The Finals with a big man as their star player and that was the Dallas Mavericks with Dirk Nowitzki. While Nowitzki was the lone All-Star on the Mavs that season, he had a future Hall-of-Famer in Jason Kidd as well as Shawn Marion and Jason Terry. Further back, it was the Los Angeles Lakers who won three consecutive championships led by Shaquille O'Neal. O'Neal had previously been to The Finals with the Orlando Magic in the 1994-1995 season, but it took the best player of this generation in Kobe Bryant for Shaq to finally get a ring.
Anthony Davis made a case for MVP last season as he dominated on both sides of the ball. Even with no other prominent scorers around him, the Pelicans made the playoffs. Then, it was a quick four games against the Warriors that sent the Pelicans home for the summer. Now, in November of 2015, it is more clear than ever that Davis needs another star.
History has indicated that a stud big man is a key piece to a championship team. The Spurs even showed what can be done with two powerful post players in the 1998-1999 season, as Duncan and David Robinson guided the franchise to its first championship. But a big man by himself, like the Pelicans have in Davis, is no good.
No team in the NBA is hurting as bad as the Pelicans in 2015. Nine games into the season, they are in rough shape and will have to play the waiting game to get back on track and climb up the Western Conference standings. But, as the clock continues to tick louder and louder and with the need for another All-Star on the back of their minds, the Pelicans would be wise to make a move soon before the damage is irreparable.