New Orleans Pelicans: Josh Hart has been the odd man out
By Jason Reed
The preseason has been great for the New Orleans Pelicans thus far but it has not been great for every player on the Pelicans.
The New Orleans Pelicans are off to a hot start in the preseason. The Pelicans are undefeated in their first four games with this new-look team that consists of several young and exciting players.
The way that the Pelicans have won these games has been great as well. The last three wins all came in the come-from-behind variety, two of which came against playoff teams from a year ago in the Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs.
Wins and losses do not really mean anything in the preseason and we are reminded time and time again that a small, preseason sample size is not indicative of what is to come for the entire NBA season.
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However, we can still single out individual performances to get a good idea of what is to come. For example, Zion Williamson has been electric thus far for the Pelicans and has checked all the boxes. His great game against Rudy Gobert and the Utah Jazz perhaps being the most telling.
We also can get an idea of how the rotation is going to be built. Veterans Derrick Favors and J.J. Redick have not gotten a lot of playing time but we know that will not be the case in the regular season. It is the rest of the rotation that needs to be figured out.
And through four games, there has been a noticeable odd man out. Josh Hart, who came over from the Los Angeles Lakers in the Anthony Davis deal, has seen his stock fall the most this preseason.
Hart is a very talented bench guard that had several huge games with the Lakers in two years. He is a combo-guard that is capable of playing either position and has a well-above-average rebounding ability for the position.
However, Hart just has not done anything in the preseason thus far. He did not play in the last game, although he has gotten decent playing time in the other games.
But he has not really done much in that time. He played 23 minutes against the Utah Jazz and scored one point with two assists and three rebounds. He had 11 points, four rebounds and three assists against the Chicago Bulls and had six points and two rebounds against the Atlanta Hawks.
Those are not terrible numbers but it definitely is not indicative of what Hart is capable of. The problem for Hart is that the other guards on the team have thrived, which does make his role with the team up in the air.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker has arguably been the most impressive player of the preseason for the Pelicans and has shown that he has the playmaking ability to get over that rookie hump. He is going to get more minutes than previously expected.
Frank Jackson has also been great as well in the preseason and is making his case to play a bigger role at the point guard position.
And even though he has not done much either in the preseason, Redick is still going to get good minutes off the bench.
dark. Next. Zion will be a rookie all-star
All of that bundled together is going to result in less playing time for Josh Hart in the regular season, making him the biggest odd man out of the preseason for the New Orleans Pelicans.