New Orleans center Missi is No. 7. The Pelicans have been ravaged by injuries, and it’s made life a bit harder for the Cameroonian big man. A truly elite athlete in terms of explosiveness, Missi hasn’t exactly received premier service on his rim runs without CJ McCollum, Dejounte Murray or Zion Williamson, who has played in just 30 percent of Missi’s minutes to this point.

Four of Missi’s most common lineup mates so far have been Jose Alvarado, Jordan Hawkins, Javonte Green and Brandon Boston Jr. I’m intrigued to see what Missi looks like when the guards get back and the Pelicans get healthy. He looks more ready to play than I expected, and he’s the kind of athlete who profiles best playing around better players.

So far 12 games into the season, BI is averaging:

1. Three more 3’s a game, from 3.8 last year to 6.8 right now. I will say we did see something similar last season, with Brandon coming out the gate having quite a few games with 6-7 3’s that eventually waned as the season went on. Hopefully the willingness to let it fly continues

2. The exact same percentage on double the attempts. BI said he practiced his shooting all offseason and was his main focus and it really does seem like it. 35% on 6.8 attempts isn’t exactly great, even bordering on the edge of average to good, but you’d hope as the season goes on he gets more comfortable

3. Half as many ft attempts. I’ve seen the discourse that BI has a really bad whistle, but this also coincides with the amount of jump shots he’s now taking and less driving to the rim. 3pt/Rim attempts are the most important shots in the league, so hopefully BI starts attacking the rim a bit more as he cuts down the amount of middies he’s taking

Outside of the stats, I’m sure everyone has seen the lackadaisical effort BI has been putting out at times. BI has always been a methodical player, but it really does seem different out on the court this year, like he doesn’t care as much. It’s a contract year and it seems like all the cards are stacked against BI with him having to prove himself with a team of bonafide scrubs. Add onto the discourse and drama from last season and I get the same feeling as AD’s last season, that BI won’t be around much longer.

I’ve never been someone sold on Zion nor BI being a number one guy. I was the one saying during our best season ever that I saw holes in this team philosophy, design, and coaching that would hold us back from achieving anything meaningful. After quite a long time since that post, I do have some different feelings about this team. The biggest one? I don’t think there’s anything basketball related that could make me happier right now than seeing a Zion Williamson traded notification from espn popping up on my phone. In years 4-5 I was near done with him, but was still mesmerized by the potential. Now I just want him gone from the team. He becomes a Lebron clone somewheres else? Could care less, if anything that’s a sign gods real because that’s nothing short of a miracle being worked.

What they're missing: healthy players

Of the Pelicans' top six players coming into the season, only Brandon Ingram has played more than six of their first 11 games. At times, he has been the only healthy member of that group. Trey Murphy III made his season debut Monday after a preseason hamstring strain, Dejounte Murray was lost to a broken hand in the season opener that required surgery, and long-term injuries to Herb Jones and CJ McCollum followed. On Saturday, Zion Williamson was ruled out with a hamstring injury.

Add guards Jordan Hawkins (back strain) and Jose Alvarado (hamstring strain) to the injured list, and coach Willie Green has been forced deep into his bench on the perimeter.

Even if New Orleans returns to full strength, center depth will remain a question mark. First-round pick Yves Missi supplanted journeyman Daniel Theis as the starter to begin November, but neither player is shooting even 46% from the field, problematic at a spot where the average player shoots 54%. It's possible Williamson could fill that void as an undersized 5, but the Pelicans didn't have enough perimeter depth to try those lineups for extended minutes before he went down. -- Pelton

What they can pull off

Among all the teams on this list, New Orleans has the most flexibility to pull off a trade. The Pelicans control their own first in the next seven years and could add to their collection if Milwaukee's pick falls in the top four in 2025 or 2027. New Orleans can also swap firsts with the Bucks in 2026.

From a roster standpoint, every player is trade eligible except for Javonte Green, Daniel Theis and Jaylen Nowell. Trey Murphy III signed a rookie extension in October, but an included poison pill restriction means the extension has yet to go into effect, making his contract difficult to move.

New Orleans is $2.4 million below the first apron and cannot exceed the threshold in a trade. However, with injuries mounting, should the Pelicans be in a holding pattern until this roster gets healthy? Or should they start to make calls? Brandon Ingram is in the last year of his contract and can become a free agent if no extension is reached prior to June 30.

New Orleans is $3.5 million above the luxury tax but is expected to drop below the threshold ahead of the trade deadline to avoid paying the penalty for the first time in franchise history. It has the partially guaranteed contract of Jaylen Nowell, as well as three contracts worth $2.1 million each (Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Daniel Theis, Javonte Green).

New Orleans would drop below the tax if one of those three players is traded and Nowell is waived prior to the Jan. 7 guaranteed date. The Pelicans also have three second-round picks and $7.2 million in cash that they can include any deals. -- Marks

What's next for New Orleans?

Difficult decisions await the Pelicans, but history indicates they might stand pat and ride out their rash of injuries. New Orleans is one of two teams that has never paid the luxury tax. That's not expected to change, as the franchise is expected to waive Nowell as injured players start to return to avoid the tax, in addition to dumping a minimum contract at the deadline. -- Michael C. Wright

Hi guys!

I’m new here! A lifelong Pels fan living in Denver. And as much as I have wanted to cheer for the nuggets, I’ve remained painfully loyal. Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy going to their games as I honestly think they have the best player in the world right now playing for them. But I have a question. Because every time I go on Twitter people are rightfully upset and demanding that Willie be fired? I get this sucks right now especially. But is that really the answer? I’m not defending Willie by any means lol. I just don’t know what position that would put us in. I mean, they won 49 games in the west last year and that is no easy task. I feel as if everyone had high hopes after the first game against the bulls this season. But, unfortunately, everyone is hurt. I know the Pels looked bad in a lot of situations, but I also thought they looked great in a lot of others. I just don’t know how it would help the team starting over from a coaching standpoint. Just looking for some people besides twitter as I feel they get way too emotional 🤣.

He's started a couple games for the mavs and he got a hair cut. I miss him.

So everyone this is officially my first season watching the NBA. I chose this team because I live in Baton Rouge & I tend to root for the home team. I have a question & hopefully I don’t get downvoted to hell for it, but I’m wondering with the team not doing the best right now in general, am I doing myself a disservice by not watching other NBA games? I’m trying to get more into the sport of basketball & learn a lot & I feel I may be missing out on some things since again we haven’t had the best start & I don’t want my vision of what the NBA actually is to be one sided if that makes sense. Does anyone have any advice on this for a noobie? By all means I’m gonna watch the Pelicans no matter what win or lose (I’m a Saints fan so I’m use to disappointment lol) & I’ve already purchased Pelican+ for the whole season. Thanks!

Can we please stop posting stuff about Dyson? Sure he's averaging 3,6 STLs at the Moment, but we're 10 Games into the season. It's still a very small sample size. Certainly great to see h ball Out, but let's not forget why we traded him. We are already struggling in offense without him, and he has NOT improved offensively. He is still a ball Stopper. He is 27% from 3, scores 14 Points per Game, but on 13!!! FGAs. He still averages the Same assists as well. All that with 11 more minutes a game. He also had 6 Turnovers in the last Game where he had 6 Steals, which essentially cancels each other out. He is still a liability, His defense was never in question. The steal average will go down as the season goes on and I don't think he averages way more than the guy we got for him by the end of the season. Stop acting like we made a mistake by trading him for a real Point guard like Dejounte instead of keeping this bum.

A couple weeks ago I made a decision that could possibly have ruined our season. As a Pels fan living in Indianapolis, Pels @ Pacers only happens once a year because of the East/West schedule. I saw the game was before Thanksgiving this year, so I bought tickets before the season started - there’s no way we have anyone injured before January’a annual injury bug. Obviously this team is now cursed because I didn’t wait until the day of the game to buy. I apologize

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Bro turned into a really solid contributor and all defense caliber player for the hawks. Where was this in the pelicans 🤦‍♂️ or was it just the pelicans not knowing how to develop players.

The guy is a fucking basketball terrorist. He’s never been a good coach. He had a fluke run in the play-in and got 2 fucking wins against a team in the first round. I don’t understand how that justified(s) keeping him around for so long. Missing the playoffs the year after that and then getting bounced in 4 games last year, why the fuck is this guy still the head coach of my basketball team?

Injuries can only excuse so much. At the end of the day, this guy doesn’t know how to call winning plays in clutch situations. The Pelicans are the worst team in the NBA in the fourth quarter. They cannot win close games. If the score is within 8 points late, the Pelicans will lose. This is the truth. You have to imagine at a certain point, all of these “injuries” may just be the players not being motivated to play for this fucking bonehead. Just like with DA and the Saints.

We have Mike D’antoni on our coaching staff. Fire Willie and let him be the interim. We may still be ass. So then screw it. Trade Z, BI, and CJ for picks and a few young guns. Let’s be the Thunder. Embrace the suckage for a season or two. We’re not winning a championship with this nucleus, let’s be real.

Dyson Herb Trey Hawkins Missi

• Draft capital from Zion, BI, CJ, and no DJM trade