There is a hard spell in the early part of the season for New Orleans.

The New Orleans Pelicans have not had a good season. The squad has now dropped five straight games after opening the season with a 4-1 record. The most recent loss came against the Dallas Mavericks, 136-124, with New Orleans behind by as much as 29 points. After the game, Zion Williamson, the 2019 No. 1 overall pick, spoke openly about his role during this challenging run of games that New Orleans is going through despite scoring 18 points on 7 of 11 from the field.

“We had a team meeting last year,” Williamson remarked. “We discussed a few areas I should improve on. particularly when committing to the programme. It’s hard at the moment. Right now, I’m stepping back a bit. I also have faith in the procedure. Right now, I’m making every effort to buy in.”

Williamson has previously mentioned attempting to step into a different position this season. Following Friday’s loss to the Rockets, Williamson detailed the adjustments he’s had to make this season.

Williamson stated, “I was able to facilitate a lot more last year.” “This year, it’s kind of like taking a back seat a little bit and letting everybody else get in their rhythm and being unselfish.”

The Pelicans, who are presently ranked 10th in the league, are playing at a quicker pace than they did the previous season. Their 16th-place finish in that category the previous year has been a focal topic for third-year head coach Willie Green. The club is attempting to get away from players like Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum controlling possessions, hence has ball movement.

But in all their efforts to put a new system in place, New Orleans has failed to score or stop anyone on the other end. However, given that McCollum has missed the last four games due to his ongoing recovery from a collapsed lung, context does matter. A bruised right fibula has also kept Herbert Jones out of the lineup for three games. The success of the Pelicans is largely due to those two players. Being without Jones, one of the Pelicans’ top defenders, will also have an effect, as will losing McCollum’s scoring and seasoned presence.

The Pelicans had the fourth-worst defence and the fifth-worst offence in the NBA after McCollum and Jones were sidelined. Williamson in particular is averaging a career-low 21.6 points on 51.5% shooting from the field, despite attempting roughly the same number of shots as he did prior to his injury last season. For most players in the league, those would be impressive stats, but considering that Williamson has averaged up to 27 points on 61.1% shooting from the field this season, his output has been lacking.

Williamson has every right to be irritated by the number of losses New Orleans is accruing, but it can’t be good for team morale for him to openly express that he finds it difficult to accept the Pelicans’ system. Maybe this is only a case of temporary dissatisfaction, since, as sports have shown us innumerable times, winning usually makes everything better. However, it might pose a future threat to Green’s job security if Williamson is sincere in his concerns about how he’s being used offensively. Green’s term as coach has been hindered by injuries to players such as Williamson and Ingram, and he is now without numerous key players. If New Orleans can’t improve, Green might find himself on the bench if the franchise star isn’t happy with way the team is using him offensively.