In a regular season game that ended this morning, the Pelicans easily beat the incoming Rockets 110-97 at the Smoothie King Center to win four straight. They are currently in tenth place in the West with a record of 22 wins and 32 losses, widening the gap with the 11th Blazers and narrowing the gap with the 9th Place Lakers.
And at the same time as the game was going, they also received a piece of good news off the field. The team sent out multiple chips including Hart, Walker, Satoransky, Lozada and draft picks, from the Portland Trail Blazers to McCollum, Nance Jr. and Snell.
While many have a negative view of the Pelicans' deal, believing that the McCollum+ Graham backcourt combination will have natural defensive flaws, and McCollum's contract will also cause trouble for the team to renew Zion, the most realistic goal for this team that has been sunk for many seasons is still the current playoff qualification.
Although never named to the All-Star Team, McCollum has already proven his offensive prowess, stating that he is one of five players who have averaged at least 20 points per game in the league in the past seven seasons after more than 30 appearances, the other four being James, Davis, Harden and DeRozan. McCollum not only has superb jump shot skills, but can also organize with the ball, and when Zion returns from injury, he will be able to create enough space for the latter. Nance Jr. is a complement to the team's interior line, having proven his rebounding ability and solid face-frame offensive skills across the board.
What's more, in the past period of time, the Pelicans have tried to cultivate a backcourt combination with Walker + Lewis as the core, but it has proved that their experiment has not been successful, and the introduction of McCollum is more like a reversal.
At the same time that the Pelicans are getting better, their direct rivals, the Lakers, are still mired in a quagmire of losing, the trading door is about to close, the management is still standing still, after today's loss to the Bucks, Wei Shao is even more open to Vogel, the coach contradictions are getting worse. With the Pelicans steadily impacting the playoffs in a big stride, the Lakers' record looks like there's room for further exploration.