By the end of the night, the New Orleans Pelicans will sit at precisely the halfway point of the schedule, and despite both records looking less than ideal, a 19-22 mark sounds a heck of a lot better than 18-23.
Although one shouldn’t take much from pummeling the league’s worst team, it’s also not wrong to say the Pelicans had everything working, and since Elfrid Payton’s returned, there have definitely been more positives than negatives.
Overall, New Orleans is 7-2 when their starting point guard has been in the lineup. Although Nikola Mirotic isn’t back yet and E’Twaun Moore will miss tonight’s game after bruising his quad in the win over the Cavaliers, Payton seems to be as vital as Anthony Davis or Jrue Holiday to the rotation.