The numbers are ugly, the film is worse, and the results are sinking a season of promise. Zion Williamson's prideful New Orleans Pelicans know their defense has been a glaring, season-long vulnerability, a leaky dam threatening to wash away any NBA Play-In Tournament aspirations. Herb Jones can only do so much alone. Thankfully, interim head coach James Borrego has a four-layer blueprint that begins with the simplest corrections and builds toward the more complex habits required of a functional NBA defense.
However, Borrego did not mince words about where the emergency repair must begin. The Pelicans sit at 28th in Defensive Rating (119.7) for a reason.
“Well, the low-hanging fruit for this team defensively is transition defense number one,” the 48-year-old began. “Can we get our defense set and not give up the rim, the dunks, layups, and wide open threes in transition, period? Like, that's the low-hanging fruit to me. That is unacceptable if we are giving that up in transition.”
This is coaching shorthand for a lack of effort and discipline. Easy baskets before the defense is even organized is a demoralizing, game-breaking sin. For Borrego, fixing this isn't strategic nuance; it's a non-negotiable demand for professionalism and hustle. Until the Pelicans stop gifting uncontested buckets, any discussion of systemic improvement is moot.
Assuming they manage to get set, Borrego points to rebounding as the next immediate failure point. Zion Williamson could do a lot of reputational repair work by just cleaning the glass consistently. The Pelicans sit 22nd in total rebounding (42.9) as a team, 28th in defensive rebounding (30.3).
“Secondly is the board,” Borrego stated. “Like, if we can take care of the easy stuff, clean up the boards, the second chance opportunities, and only give teams one shot, that's another layer.”
Defensive stops are not complete until the rebound is secured. Allowing extra possessions through offensive rebounds is another form of self-sabotage, breaking the spirit of a defense that just worked for 24 seconds.
Zion Williamson's Pelicans bullied
New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) prepares to face the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center.
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Borrego sees these first two layers as interconnected for these young Pelicans, the basic building blocks for a competent defense.
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“Those two areas, if we could just improve those two areas,” Borrego believes, “we're going to see an uptick in our defense.”
Moving from team-wide effort to individual pride and responsibility is part of the recipe.
“The third layer, I would say, is just the one-on-one drive,” stressed Borrego. “There is accountability in this group right now to guard the ball one-on-one. And if you're not, there is accountability for it. Everyone knows how much you're getting blown by or if you're doing a great job on the ball. There is clarity in that.”
This is a direct challenge to the Pelicans’ perimeter players. Schemes to hide a defender who consistently gets beaten off the dribble do not exist. Borrego is implementing a system of clear, visible accountability. Film sessions and metrics are leaving no place to hide for poor on-ball defenders. Too many teams still rely on the pick-and-roll after all.
“The fourth layer would be our pick-and-roll defense, which has been a really poor area for this team all season,” admitted Borrego. “We're trying to clean up the pick-and-roll defense, the one-on-one defense, the transition defense, and then limiting teams to one shot. If we move the need in all of those areas, we should be a much-improved defense.”
The pick-and-roll is the bedrock of modern NBA offenses. Chronic failures here indicate poor communication, schematic confusion, or a lack of cohesion between bigs and guards. Fixing this requires not just effort, but intelligence, trust, and repetition. It’s a four-step program starting with sheer effort, moving through individual pride, and culminating in collective execution. For a team that's been among the league's worst on defense, the bar for improvement is mercifully low.
Sprint back to stop the easy stuff, hit someone to secure the ball, stand your ground on the perimeter, and finally, execute the coordinated dance required to thwart the NBA’s bread-and-butter action. It’s a scaffold that builds from effort to execution. Whether the Pelicans have the collective will and focus to follow the roadmap will determine if their season has a pulse or if their atrocious defense becomes its final epitaph.