The jury was split on the New Orleans Pelicans coming into the 2014-15 NBA season. There’s no denying the talent dispersed throughout the roster, particularly at the top, but there’s also no escaping the fact that this is a team that hasn’t really gotten to play a full season together when healthy. We now have one month of this season to look at and things are starting to take shape.

Obviously the first undeniable thing about this team is that Anthony Davis is a superstar. He’s no longer in-the-making or on the verge of becoming one of the league’s best; he’s there. There has been no player in the league that has produced at the level that Davis has to start this season. Despite Davis’ efforts, though, the Pelicans sit at just 7-8 after the first month of the season.

Looking at the production from their big-time players on the roster, it’s hard to peg why the Pelicans have struggled to start the year. Guys like Jrue Holiday, Ryan Anderson and Tyreke Evans have been solid for this team over the first month of the season and even unexpected key contributors like Austin Rivers have been playing at a high level.

When it comes down to it, though, their defense has been their biggest issue so far this season. With Davis and Omer Asik on the interior that seems hard to believe, but they are in the bottom-10 of the league in terms of defensive efficiency, allowing 105.2 points per 100 possessions to this point. A lot of that has to do with relying too heavily on their big men to clean up things at the rim, but it also has to do with coaching.

Arguably the biggest question mark about this team coming into the year was if Monty Williams could effectively coach this team to reach their potential. After a month of the 2014-15 season, they haven’t come close to that potential. At some point, you have to hold Williams accountable for that. As of right now, though, it’s hard to say that the Pelicans, as a whole, have been anything more than average to start the year.

Final Grade: C