The New Orleans Pelicans won four straight games and briefly appeared to be finding their footing. Four losses later, they're facing questions that go well beyond their 4-8 record.

After Monday's 51-point loss to Golden State, head coach Jamahl Mosley said his team had been "punched in the mouth" and failed to respond. Two nights later, the Pelicans suffered another embarrassing defeat, falling 145-111 to a Brooklyn Nets team that entered the game with just two victories.

The loss completed the worst three-game stretch in franchise history, with New Orleans outscored by a combined 101 points. That stretch also included a 16-point defeat to a Los Angeles Clippers team that had lost seven consecutive games.

Injuries have contributed to the collapse, but several weaknesses that now overwhelm New Orleans were there during its winning streak.

A comparison of the Pelicans' first 12 games, divided into three four-game segments, shows how much they improved during their brief success and how dramatically they've regressed.

The numbers behind the Pelicans' rise and Ffll

The improvement during the winning streak was legitimate. New Orleans became more efficient offensively, defended better, and forced turnovers at a higher rate. Its net rating improved from minus-5.2 to plus-9.7.

However, the quality of the opposition puts those victories in perspective.

Sacramento and Utah have been among the NBA's weakest teams, while Memphis has gone 1-3 since losing to New Orleans. The Pelicans' convincing victory over Atlanta was encouraging, but it's their only win in three games against Eastern Conference opponents. Their other two matchups ended in losses to struggling Indiana and Brooklyn teams.

New Orleans earned those victories, including a road win over an undefeated Memphis squad. Still, two required overtime, and the results offered limited evidence that the team's underlying weaknesses had been resolved.

The defense has fallen apart

The Pelicans' defensive improvement was one of the biggest reasons for their four-game winning streak. They were forcing turnovers, creating opportunities in transition, and making opponents work harder for their points. Over the last four games, that progress has disappeared.

New Orleans has surrendered 422 points in its last three outings, including 83 in the first half against Brooklyn. Opponents have found open shots, extended possessions with offensive rebounds, and repeatedly taken advantage of a defense that struggles to recover once things start to go wrong.

The decline is staggering. After posting a 107.4 defensive rating during the winning streak, the Pelicans have allowed 137.0 points per 100 possessions during their four consecutive losses.

More concerning is how familiar some of these problems should be.

Defensive rebounding was an issue even when New Orleans was winning. The Pelicans compensated by forcing turnovers and generating extra possessions. Now opponents are protecting the basketball, and New Orleans is producing roughly half as many steals as it did during the winning streak.

Those additional scoring opportunities have disappeared, while the Pelicans continue to give opponents second chances.

After the loss to Golden State, Mosley acknowledged that his team had allowed its offensive struggles to affect its defensive performance. That's a big problem for a group that entered the season emphasizing defense as a foundation of its identity.

Statistics can't tell us how well players communicate, how consistently they execute assignments, or how committed they are to helping one another defensively. But the results leave little doubt that the Pelicans are a dysfunctional unit.

And with the offense struggling to score consistently, the defense has become incapable of keeping New Orleans competitive.

The offensive warning signs never disappeared

Even during the winning streak, the Pelicans attempted just 25.8 three-pointers per game. They shot 35% from beyond the arc, but their limited volume meant they still depended heavily on paint scoring, free throws, and forcing turnovers to generate offense.

That approach worked when New Orleans was shooting efficiently and limiting opponents' opportunities. It has become far less effective as the defense has deteriorated.

During the current losing streak, New Orleans is attempting 27.8 threes per game compared to 40.5 for its opponents, a difference of nearly 13 attempts each night.

The Pelicans are shooting 36% from deep during those four losses, slightly better than during their winning streak. Their difficulty is generating enough perimeter opportunities, particularly when opponents can create substantially more attempts.

New Orleans' offensive rating has fallen from 117.1 during the four wins to 109.1 during the losses, almost identical to the 109.7 it posted while opening the season 0-4.

That regression raises questions about the offense's sustainability, particularly when Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III are unavailable.

The Pelicans have several players capable of scoring, but fewer who can consistently set up their teammates. The uncertainty surrounding the guard rotation, limited shooting across lineup combinations, and overlapping offensive skill sets and limitations have made it difficult to create any offensive identity.

Those concerns existed before injuries began affecting the rotation.

The Pelicans have more than a losing streak to fix

Twelve games are a small sample, and four-game stretches can be influenced by the quality of the opponent, shooting variance, and who's on the court on any given night. New Orleans deserves credit for its four victories, but the improvement wasn't comprehensive.

The absences of Williamson, Murphy, and Yves Missi have affected the team's scoring, size, and defensive versatility. Still, injuries don't account for the scale of the recent losses or the defensive problems that existed before the losing streak.

After Wednesday's loss to Brooklyn, Mosley accepted responsibility for his team's defensive failures.

"I'm not doing my job getting these guys to sit down and guard the way that we need to guard," he said.

That acknowledgement matters, particularly for a coach hired to establish a stronger defensive identity. Mosley must improve the team's execution and find more effective lineup combinations, while the front office faces questions about a roster with persistent deficiencies in shooting, playmaking, and defensive consistency.

The Pelicans entered the season professing playoff expectations. Through 12 games, they've shown they can compete when enough things go right, but little ability to sustain their success once circumstances become less favorable.

The losing streak hasn't revealed an entirely different team. It has exposed the consequences of problems that were never fully addressed.