The New Orleans Pelicans have played 101 minutes of basketball this season.
That’s 48 minutes in the season-opening road loss to the Memphis Grizzlies and 53 minutes in Friday’s overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs at the Smoothie King Center.
It’s a small sample size in the long grind of an 82-game season, especially for a team with so many new faces. But here are five things we have learned about the Pelicans so far:
### Peak Zion
Zion Williamson looks as good as he has since arriving in New Orleans in 2019.
Forget the 27 points he scored against both the Grizzlies and Spurs in the first two games of the season.
Scroll past the 9.5 rebounds he’s averaging.
Skip the six assists per game he’s dished out.
Heck, there’s no need to even talk about the league-best four steals per game he’s had through the first two games of the season.
The real stat that matters is the one under the “minutes played” column.
He played 33:28 against Memphis in Wednesday’s season opener and 36:59 against the Spurs in Friday’s home opener. The minutes played against the Spurs are more than Williamson played in any game last season.
“It means a lot,” Williamson said about his minutes. “It definitely shows the work that I’ve put in. It definitely shows that my coaches and the staff trust me to go out there and do that. It felt great ... and I’m going to keep that momentum going.”
Count Spurs coach Mitch Johnson among those who said this could be a special year for Williamson.
“He’s a dynamic player that continues to add to his game,” Johnson said. “He’s a unique athlete, something like we’ve never seen. It’s good to see him healthy and playing at a high level. I’m sure he’s ready for a rock-star year because he looks very sharp.”
Johnson has a rock star of his own in Victor Wembanyama. Wemby scored 29 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked nine shots Friday. He’s the reason the Spurs were awarded 22 nationally televised games this season.
The Pelicans, meanwhile, are on national TV just twice. If Williamson continues playing like he’s playing, he’ll show the league they got it wrong.
### Still falling short
The Pels are 0-2 because of their inability to finish games.
They got outscored 41-22 in the third quarter against the Grizzlies.
“If we’re trying to win, we can’t have quarters like that,” Williamson said.
On Friday, the Pels trailed 109-107 when Wembanyama fouled out with 4:17 remaining in overtime. These are the kind of games the Pelicans should win, but they didn't.
“I thought we got a few good looks that we missed,” coach Willie Green said. “They made a couple more plays than us. That’s really what it comes down to.”
The inability to finish games or put a full four quarters together is why the Pelicans have lost nine games in a row dating to last season.
### Trusting the newbies
You knew rookies Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen would contribute this season, but nobody expected the duo to play in crunch time in their second NBA games. But there they were — along with Williamson, Trey Murphy and Jordan Poole — in the final minutes of regulation and most of the overtime period Friday night.
Queen played 35 minutes and finished with 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Fears played 29 minutes and scored 13 points to go with four rebounds, two steals and an assist.
“I saw a lot of poise from both guys at the end of the game, throughout the whole game really,” Green said. “You can tell they want it.”
As far as the other new pieces Joe Dumars brought it, you knew what Poole would bring. But the addition of Saddiq Bey is one that may be even better than anyone imagined.
### Biggest early concerns
The 3-point shooting, particularly in the second half, has been underwhelming. The Pelicans have made 20 of 59 3-pointers. They are 14 of 34 beyond the arc in the first half.
The numbers dip in the second half, when they have made just 6 of 25. After Friday night’s game, the Pelicans’ 29.5 3-point attempts per game ranked 27th in the league.
They’ll need to shoot more of them. But more importantly, they’ll need to make more. And the lack of size with Yves Missi, Kevon Looney and Karlo Matkovic all nursing injuries is also a concern. The Pels got outrebounded 59-45 Friday night. The addition of DeAndre Jordan should help.
### It feels different
This will sound like I’m talking out of both sides of my mouth after mentioning the record earlier. Yes, they are 0-2. But there appears to be some promise with the depth and talent. The talent alone should make this team fun to watch.
“I just think our sense of urgency as a team and as players as we have grown in our careers is higher,” Murphy said. "I feel like we are playing with a lot more fight than we have played with in the past. So I think it’s a step in the right direction.”
Two games into the season, he may be right.
Too bad they don’t have the wins to show for it.