5 Zion Williamson fixes James Borrego should engineer immediately

Hope has flickered like a malfunctioning traffic light at the Smoothie King Center for too long, so it is The New Orleans Pelicans made a not so bold turn yes James Borrego. Joe Dumars had little choice after being given the go-ahead by team governor Gail Benson. The decision to fire Willie Green was not made it depends on a roster that depends on Zion Williamson or deficiencies in personal coaching talent. Front office made the switch to Borrego because, despite injury-riddled explanations and three years of trust from ownership, the vibe was gone. Jose AlvaradoDerrick Quinn and Herb Jones could only do so much.

Borrego’s tenure began with back-to-back games against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder and the still-dangerous Golden State Warriors. Hardly a fair starting point. But even in those losses, something felt different. The ball moved. The pace quickened. The players talked more in the huddle. There was life again. Something has changed; maybe it was a new voice or the same old despair. Either way, the Pelicans were showing signs of life. The locker room doors open differently now in New Orleans. There is a palpable shift in energy, a resetting of expectations, a flickering of something that has been absent for a while.

That spark alone won’t solve everything, especially on the traffic light which is the most important. For that feeling to last, Borrego must immediately address five critical issues to salvage a season marred by injuries, fan frustration, coaching turmoil and a lackluster performance that doesn’t do the city justice.

Solving the starting line-up puzzle

Borrego’s first big decision was his smartest: starting Derrick Quinn. Novak didn’t just earn it, he demanded it. Troy Weaver raised eyebrows when he surrendered an unprotected 2026 first-round pick to secure Quinn, the kind of divestment move that gets general managers fired if it doesn’t work out. But Quinn looks like the favorite for Rookie of the Year and future All-Star. From the fans to the front office, New Orleans hasn’t fallen this hard for a rookie since Chris Paul arrived two decades ago.

Crowning the queen was easy. The real challenge comes when the bodies are brought back to health. Zion Williamson should be back before Thanksgiving, bringing his 22.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, which should help. Williamson’s zero three-point attempts and troubling 3.4 turnovers in 31.5 minutes are not. Dejounte Murray is sidelined until around Christmas, maybe later. Saddik Bey’s ankle is keeping him day to day.

Murray’s ball handling would be a boon to stability-starved rotations. Williamson’s dominance in the tight end is unmatched, but integrating him without disrupting Quinn’s rhythm will require finesse. Borrego needs a plan when everyone is healthy. Who’s sitting? Who accepts reduced minutes? Can Williamson and Queen co-exist? These are no longer hypotheticals.

Zion Williamson is losing value

Everyone knows about Zion’s side. But its value is no longer measured by potential. It’s availability, and more quietly, functionality. Five games. That’s the sample size for Zion Williamson this season. In those five games, he looked like the player the Pelicans hoped he would become: productive throughout with 2.2 combined steals and blocks, still capable of dominating in the limited zone. But he hasn’t attempted a single 3-pointer and practically guarantees a personal foul on offense about every 10 minutes.

Building around a player who can’t consistently stay on the court and refuses to modernize his offensive game is an impossible task. His limited area success rate doesn’t matter if the defense can drop off him over 15 feet. His playmaking doesn’t make up for the offensive geometry he destroys. Williamson’s value to this franchise has become a central question that Borrego must answer, not only in terms of production on the field, but also in terms of how the entire system accommodates his limitations.

The cold truth is that New Orleans has looked more cohesive, more functional, more modern without Williamson in the long run. Trey Murphy III and Brandon Ingram mostly led those postseason runs. The Queen’s appearance gave fans something that Williamson no longer provides: the hope of availability. Borrego’s experience as a head coach should help balance the max contract.

The pelicans have been kicked out

Borrego’s job is to get more variety out of Williamson’s game without ruining what already works. However, the All-Star’s rebounding numbers were slightly inflated thanks to collecting personal fouls for second-chance points. Those offensive rebounds are important, but they are isolated events. The Pelicans need to dominate on the glass to give themselves any chance of beating the best of the West.

Against the Thunder, the Pelicans had one team rebound in the first quarter. Micah Peavy grabbed the first player credited with a rebound on ESPN’s play-by-play tracker with 39.6 seconds left. Bouncing isn’t just a weakness; it is a failure of identity. New Orleans ranks 26th in team rebounding, a fundamental failing that undermines everything else Borrego is trying to implement.

Yves Missy, Sadiq Bey, DeAndre Jordan, Kevon Looney and Karlo Matkovic all face reduced playing time once healthier bodies return. One of them (probably the worst jumper) may not see the floor again this season. However, the crisis extends beyond the obvious suspects on trial. Herb Jones, the team’s best defender, was a ghost on the glass. He ranks 12th on the team in rebounds per 100 possessions, behind Jose Alvarado and Jordan Hawkins. This is unacceptable for a wing of its size and engine.

The solution is not complicated: someone has to want basketball more. Schemes help, but rebounding remains tied to effort and positioning. Right now, the Pelicans have neither. Borrego doesn’t need a big All-Star. He just needs someone to stop the bleeding.

Smoking hot Herb Jones

Herb Jones shot 40% from three-point range in his last full season and carries a career mark of 36.6% from beyond the arc. This season, faced with constant deficits and offensive droughts, he pressed early. His shot selection suffered, forcing turnovers that better offensive teams should never need.

Fortunately for the Big Easy’s NBA Play-In hopes, Jones is still not letting up on defense either. Against Golden State, Jones put on a defensive clinic against Stephen Curry. Employing every baiting, pinning, tie-up hold through trick screens, Jones employed a full arsenal against all First Team defenses. Jones locked down James Harden when the Clippers visited. Luka Doncic and Devin Booker were horrified when they explained their experiences to Not on Herb.

The defensive force did not disappear. Borrego has to get Jones back into the offense. Allow him early corner views. Script actions that force the defense to honor him. His value is too high to let him wander. The Pelicans need their best defender to start pulling double figures again.

The last act of Jose Alvarado

Jose Alvarado is the spark plug off the bench that the Pelicans have always wanted for three years. “Grand Theft Alvarado” is more than a meme; the star of the Puerto Rican national team is an energizer, a grinder and a cult hero.

But he’s also a pending free agent. Alvarado has a player option for next season and, barring injury, will decline it. They’ll be asking for years and money that New Orleans probably can’t offer. For a team that just traded away a future unprotected first-round pick to acquire talent, Alvarado represents a rare path to another asset.

Increasing Alvarado’s value before the trade deadline, either as a hidden starter or a sixth man for a spark plug, helps everyone. Any strong performance raises Alvarado’s market value. Every game he spends on the bench loses an opportunity to recoup funds that the franchise desperately needs. With Murray eventually back and the cupboard bare for shortstops, Alvarado represents one of the few paths to filling organizational depth.

Borrego inherited a franchise caught between desperation and the need to rebuild, with a superstar whose body wouldn’t cooperate and a salary structure that had become a straitjacket. Nevertheless, he decided to take on the job, and with it the responsibility to extract something functional from the chaos. These five fixes won’t solve everything (some problems are too deep for any coach to fix mid-season), but they’re the bare minimum needed to keep this season from being a total disaster.

The clock is ticking. The Pelicans must act quickly to salvage an otherwise lost season.