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Key area where Pelicans are starting to show ‘winning’ pride, per James Borrego
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- Key area where Pelicans are starting to show ‘winning’ pride, per James Borrego
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When the New Orleans Pelicans made a coaching change after a dismal start to the season, one glaring issue lingered behind Willie Green. A tenure defined by disastrous third-quarter collapses required a simple, yet brutal, fix by interim James Borrego . Thankfully, it was not about complicated schemes, but about a mindset that Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen bring every day .
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Double-digit leads evaporated, games slipped, and momentum rarely returned regardless of who was healthy under Green. However, Borrego and the scoreboard suggest those days are over .
"I think we won multiple recently," Borrego began. "If you look at our track record recently, we are winning third quarters, which is a plus."
Reasons for optimism in an otherwise difficult season are hard to come by, especially without control of a 2026 NBA Draft pick. Still, Fears and Queen are showing Borrego, the front office, and the fans that there is still some belief in better days in the locker room.
"We come out with aggression now," explained Borrego. "That had been an issue for us and now we've turned that thing so we've got to continue to stay focused in the third quarters."
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Despite the team's poor record, Borrego emphasized the need to maintain focus on controllable factors. New Orleans hasn't suddenly transformed into a contender (a 3-20 start doesn't disappear overnight), but the Pelicans have carved out an identifiable point of progress.
"We've just got to keep fighting," Borrego stressed. "To me, we are handling the board much better. Our transition defense has got to continue to improve. We've got to stay with our aggression defensively. We turned (the Minnesota Timberwolves ) over 20 times to our 12, so we're trying to win the math game in certain areas."
That shift in tone and competitiveness has been at the center of Borrego's short tenure.
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Borrego has taken over during one of the franchise's most turbulent openings to a season, with injuries, Zion Williamson trade speculation , and inconsistent play all weighing on a young, injury-depleted roster searching for direction. Yet even amid the early spiral, Borrego has tried to maintain a steady message. Fortunately, it is starting to pay off.
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For a team desperate to reestablish structure, the incremental gains matter. Winning third quarters may seem like a modest achievement, but for the Pelicans, it represents the first visible sign that the season hasn't completely slipped beyond repair. Under Borrego, the approach has shifted toward controlled urgency, defending with force, valuing possessions, and attempting to tilt the numbers in their favor in ways they rarely did during the season's first month.
The Pelicans still face a steep climb out of the Western Conference basement, and the front office will soon confront difficult decisions as the trade deadline approaches. But for the first time in weeks, New Orleans can point to something concrete. A stretch of better third quarters won't fix everything. It does, however, mark a start that will benefit Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen 's All-Rookie Team campaigns.
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