Portland Trail Blazers vs. New Orleans Pelicans Preview

The Pelicans have been the 17th best offense in the league under Borrego and have the 24th best defensive rating. The offense has obviously been impressive thanks to a fast-paced style that Borrego loves. It can also easily be argued that the defense is overachieving, given that the team’s starting point guard and center are rookies.

But more importantly, the Pelicans play with effort and discipline. The young players are playing hard and improving, while Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy fit right in alongside Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen. Considering the future of Pelicans basketball lies with the Fears-Queen-Murphy trio, whether Borrego gets the most out of it should be more important than the number in the win column. That should be enough to land him the head coaching job in New Orleans.