New Orleans Pelicans: Eric Bledsoe should be benched

(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

The New Orleans Pelicans’ season has not gone to plan even though they are getting big contributions from young stars Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.

It’s possible that fans’ expectations were too high entering the season, but when the Pels added veterans Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe to a team that narrowly missed the playoffs last season, many saw this as a sign the Pels were ready to make a leap as a team.

They’ve mostly just been leaping up and down, as they have virtually the same record that they did at this point last season.

Stan Van Gundy has to take some of the blame for his team’s lack of progress on the defensive end, which is one of the…