The Pelicans Keys to Their Playoff Push

Dec 4, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard

(30) shoots the ball against New Orleans Pelicans center

(3) during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

2.The Team Defense MUST Improve

New Orleans has blown the door of off opposing defenses so far this season. Unfortunately, the opposition has returned the favor.

The Pelicans rank in the bottom five teams in regards to defensive efficiency. With players such as Davis and Omer Asik who make such a significant impact on that side of the ball, that defensive performance is unacceptable.

Individual defense does not tend to be the main problem. For the most part, the rotations, switches and help defense have been responsible for most of the Pelicans’ struggles. The top offensive teams in the league thrive on these lapses in communication, as the Trail Blazers demonstrated this past weekend. Allowing Davis to roam the court and seek his prey while allowing Asik to defend the rim works in theory, but without everyone else on the court performing in sync those two pillars will crumble, allowing easy shots to be converted.

Improvement in this department is very much a possibility. Considering the slew of injuries that plagued the team last year and the addition of Asik this past offseason, the Pels’ core has not yet had much experience playing with each other.

As the season continues to move along, New Orleans’ defensive must start to move in the right direction.

Next: The hard part is almost done