Bold Pelicans predictions: Zion Williamson's postseason honors, a flurry of 3s and more

It's time to get the 2024-25 NBA regular season rolling.

After an offseason full of shocking transactions and endless drama, the real games are almost here. While the regular season officially begins on Tuesday, the New Orleans Pelicans play their first game on Wednesday at home against the Chicago Bulls. With this new roster and uncertainty surrounding some prominent figures in the organization, what should Pelicans fans expect from this team?

Here are my bold Pelicans-related predictions for the 2024-25 season.

Zion makes its first All-NBA team

This shouldn't come as a shock to anyone who's been following our NBA coverage over the past few weeks. I made this prediction in a story we published earlier this month, and I'm more confident today than I was then.

Zion Williamson is coming off perhaps his best offseason as a pro and is in better mental and physical shape than he was at the start of his previous five seasons. His performances during training camp and preseason workouts have only encouraged those within the organization who were confident in what Williamson can do this year.

For the first time, the Pelicans are leaning toward building an offense that maximizes spacing around the franchise by removing the bulky big men who have taken up space on the team throughout their time in New Orleans. He will also get a chance to play alongside a true point guard, Dejounte Murray, who is capable of running the offense most of the game and taking some of the shot creation burden off Williamson.

Last season, after the All-Star break, Williamson averaged 23.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists. This was due to Williamson getting into better shape as the season progressed. I think his performance is improving in all three categories, especially in an offense that makes it easier for him to get to the attack.

While his offensive performance last season was quite impressive, his defensive improvements were even more remarkable. He was the only player in the NBA to have more than 35 steals and 25 blocks after the All-Star break. He caused more havoc than some of the game's best defenders.

If he can show that level of energy on both ends of the court again, people around the league will take notice.

McCollum breaks the Pelicans' 3-pointers record in a single season… again

Last season, CJ McCollum needed just 65 games to break the Pelicans' previous 3-point mark in a single season, which was held by Peja Stojaković.

McCollum finished the 2023–24 season with 239 3-pointers, seventh in the NBA, despite playing in only 66 games. He was the only player in the league to make more than 200 3-pointers in fewer than 70 games. The drastic change in McCollum's shooting profile, from mid-range ace to 3-point bomber, not only made him a much better complement alongside Williamson and Brandon Ingram, but also immediately made him one of the NBA's most productive 3-point players high volume specialists.

Murray's arrival should take more responsibility on the ball away from McCollum and allow him to focus even more on causing damage from distance. McCollum needs just 108 3-pointers this season to pass Jrue Holiday for No. 1 on the Pelicans' all-time list. That would be quite an accomplishment considering he only played 167 games as a member of the Pelicans.

As long as he stays healthy, McCollum should exceed that number. I expect him to finish the year somewhere above the 250 3-point mark.

In fact, let’s make another mini prediction on this topic…

McCollum, Ingram and Murphy rank in the top three career threes

I've already made the case for McCollum to leave Holiday before the end of the season. Ingram and Murphy can do it too.

Ingram ranks fifth on the season with 517 3-pointers made, while Murphy is tied for sixth with 442. To move into second place, they must surpass Stojaković's mark of 553 3-pointers. That should be easy for Ingram, who has spent much of the offseason placing more emphasis on taking shots from distance and deep. If he stays healthy, Ingram can overtake Stojaković before December.

Trey Murphy III, on the other hand, is 3 points behind Stojaković at 111. Murphy battled a hamstring injury early in the season but is expected to be back on the pitch soon. Even after missing 57 games last season with a nagging ankle injury, he still made 169 three-pointers.

If he stays healthy, he will overtake Stojaković and give Ingram a good run through the end of the year to see who finishes the season No. 2 on the franchise's 3-point list.

Murray recorded seven or more triple-doubles

While we focus on the record books, let's add one more historic achievement to the list.

Even though Murray only recorded two triple-doubles in his two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, his new role with the Pelicans should allow him to utilize his skills as a versatile guard who can impact the game anywhere on the court.

The Pelicans' leader in triple-doubles is Chris Paul with 11. Right behind him is Elfrid Payton, who had six in his only season with his hometown team in 2018-19. During Murray's final season with the Spurs in 2021-22, he collected a whopping 13.

I'm not bold enough to predict that he will break Paul's single-season record, but considering how much this team will need Murray's rebounding and playmaking, I would expect him to be on Paul's heels until the end of the season becomes.

Ingram will not be traded before the trade deadline

He and the Pelicans will have to deal with the ongoing Ingram saga until both sides find a solution. It hasn't been a distraction so far, and knowing how Ingram operates, I wouldn't expect him to get in the way of a team that has such a good chance of returning to the playoffs.

As much as Ingram would like to have some level of certainty about what his future holds – be it in New Orleans or elsewhere – I don't expect that to happen before the end of the season.

Even if he has an outstanding season, it's unlikely the Pelicans will agree to a new contract with him before he hits unrestricted free agency next summer. There may be a few teams motivated to pursue Ingram based on his play and how their respective seasons went this year, but anyone who really wanted Ingram in their building that badly would have found a way to keep him in Winning over the summer.

I think other teams will return to pursuing Ingram in the summer rather than giving up assets to acquire him. Not to mention, Ingram could end up playing a crucial role on a Pelicans team that finds itself once again fighting for its playoff life down the stretch. Would the Pelicans really send him away if it meant their team had a worse chance of returning to the postseason?

Missi ends the season with more starts than Theis

This may be the craziest of all my predictions, but I was intrigued by Yves Missi's performance among the starters last week in the preseason finale against the Houston Rockets. In that game, the rookie center caught three lob passes – two from Murray and one from Ingram – and made massive blocks from Alperen Şengün.

Yves Missi blocks Sengun, who gets a layup at the other end pic.twitter.com/5svCsKLz2A

— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) October 16, 2024

Missi finished the preseason with three steals and six blocks in 51 preseason minutes. The 20-year-old big man still has a lot of room for improvement when it comes to the nuances of the game, particularly foul-free defense. But it's hard to ignore how special his physical abilities are and how much threatening a lob in the starting lineup could spread the field. His vertical spacing could also provide natural ball and body movement for a unit that relies heavily on isolated scorers. Veteran Daniel Theis is solid, but offers no advantage.

Hawkins has a 40-point game

Jordan Hawkins was the biggest winner of all the Pelicans in the preseason. He did enough for Pelicans coach Willie Green to say he will “absolutely” be in the rotation once the season begins, and he showed a maturity on offense that was markedly different from the player he was in the Had difficulty getting minutes in second half of season last season.

In three preseason games, Hawkins averaged 16.3 points per game while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 42.8 percent from three-point range. What stood out even more was his 14 free throw attempts in those three games. The Pelicans' new focus on small ball and shooting 40+ threes every game will make it very difficult to keep him off the floor this year.

The second-year guard has a much better sense of where his shots are coming from and how to take advantage of the way defenses are trying to limit him. This is the same guy who scored 31 points in his seventh game as a pro on the road against the Denver Nuggets last season.

When Hawkins gets hot, it's a problem for opponents. And as his game has matured, he has learned to score points without relying solely on the 3-point line. There will be a few times this year when he catches fire and his teammates will do everything they can to ensure his confidence continues to grow.

(Top photo: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)