Pelicans Embrace Chaos, Stick With Bizarre Starting Lineup Amid Losing Streak

The New Orleans Pelicans are rolling out the Jeremiah Fears and Karlo Matkovic experience alongside Zion Williamson again on Monday, which means the franchise has officially embraced the chaos.

When your starting five is Zion, Herbert Jones, and what sounds like a randomly generated NBA 2K Summer League roster, you know things have gone completely off the rails in the Big Easy.

"Fans on social media have expressed frustration over the coaching staff's rotation decisions and the refusal to start other bench players."

New Orleans is reeling from a brutal three-game skid, dropping consecutive games to Denver, Sacramento, and Atlanta. The defense has completely collapsed, surrendering 132 points to the Kings and another 121 to the Hawks over the weekend.

To be fair to Fears, the young guard is actually producing. He is putting up 13 points and 4.5 assists a night and just cracked the top 10 all-time for points and steals before his 20th birthday.

But pairing him in the starting unit with Matkovic, who averages a whopping 2.2 points and 2.8 rebounds, is the basketball equivalent of taping a flashlight to a Roomba and calling it a home security system.

For anyone staring at the betting board, this rotation is an absolute minefield. Outside of Zion inevitably having to carry the entire offensive load, the usage rates for this group are a total mystery.

Trey Murphy III is also back in the starting mix after popping up with a patellar issue just a few days ago, adding another layer of unpredictability to how the minutes and shots will shake out.

We will find out quickly if this desperation unit can finally stop the bleeding when they travel to face the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night. If they get run off the floor again, expect the coaching staff to shuffle the deck before the Utah Jazz come to town later this week.