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New Orleans Pelicans: Can they make the leap this season?

By Eric Saar

Sep 29, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward/center Anthony Davis (23) poses for photos during the Pelicans media day at the New Orleans Pelicans practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 29, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward/center Anthony Davis (23) poses for photos during the Pelicans media day at the New Orleans Pelicans practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports /
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Can the New Orleans Pelicans make the jump and secure a playoff spot in the NBA‘s Western Conference this season?

The New Orleans Pelicans have not made the playoffs in the four years since Chris Paul was there. As the seasons have gone by they’ve accumulated a slew of assets and have put together a solid team around their cornerstone of Anthony Davis, an up-and-comer who could easily be one of the best players in the world for the next decade.

They’ve gone through turmoil in terms the hurricane in 2006, owner changes and nickname changes. Now they are starting to gain a semblance of stability to more than just their roster, giving them confidence going forward.

Roster

New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) dunks during the second quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) dunks during the second quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

It all starts with Anthony Davis. He is their starting power forward who is becoming a two-way player, dominant on both sides of the court. On offense, he has developed a mid-range shot that is reasonably consistent along with an array of moves down low. He’s actually better on defense now that he has put on some muscle and weight with great defensive instincts and the incredible length to capitalize on the instincts. He is even able to occasionally block jumpshots out to the three-point line.

In a trade with Houston, New Orleans got a sneakily important piece to their team. Omer Asik. He’s big, he’s tall, he’s somewhat skilled on offense. The best part about the Turkish addition is it allows Davis to play power forward instead of center, play against less physical players, giving him the upper hand as he dominates them with his length and finesse.

Tyreke Evans is the de facto starting small forward with the often injured Eric Gordon at shooting guard and Jrue Holiday at the point. That’s a pretty good starting lineup, especially if Evans can play up to his potential and if Gordon can stay healthy. There won’t be many games where that group will have a talent advantage over others, but they all are veterans who can beat unexperienced teams with their basketball IQ and vet know-how.

Off the bench is sharpshooting stretch-four Ryan Anderson, who should excel as a sixth man.

The rest of the bench is pretty mediocre as Jimmer Fredette, Al-Farouq Aminu, Alexis Ajnca, Melvin Ely, Patric Young, Jeff Withey, Austin Rivers, John Salmons, Luke Babbitt, and Russ Smith round out the roster.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Last year with different players injured, the Pelicans were slightly below average in most categories. They were 18th in points per game at 99.7 per game and 19th in points allowed per game at 102.4. That means that on average they are losing every game by three points. That’s unacceptable.

They have a decent shooting team with Holiday, Gordon, Davis, and Anderson and a pretty good defensive team.

Oct 6, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday (11) shoots over Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague (0) during the second half at Philips Arena. The Hawks defeated the Pelicans 93-87. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 6, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday (11) shoots over Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague (0) during the second half at Philips Arena. The Hawks defeated the Pelicans 93-87. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /

It’s going to be interesting to see if Davis has any big scoring games in him or if he will just be a 20-10 guy nearly every night with little variation.

Attitude

They are hopeful and optimistic. They have young pieces that can grow together as a unit.

While they play in the brutal Western Conference, their playoff berth window is opening, while others are closing.

They have one of the superstars in the league, who will be transcendent in this league, with the upside to be a Hall-of-Fame player if a few things fall right.

It takes three things to be inducted into the Hall-of-Fame. For one, you have to be a supremely talented player. You also have to win a couple of championships as a prominent piece on the team and your stats have to be good. The final cog is to not do anything off the court to dissuade those in charge from voting you in. Davis seems to have everything on track.

They need to have some luck with health and some internal improvement, but their future is bright.

Predictions

In the best case scenario, the Pelicans are better than the Lakers, Kings, Nuggets, Timberwolves and the Jazz. That lands them as the tenth-best team in the Western Conference, and narrowly missing the playoffs. There are just too many teams with more firepower that the Pelicans can’t compare with.

If Davis goes down with injury or if there is no growth from the other players the Pelicans could easily be a bottom-feeder again and headed for another lottery pick. They could conceivably be the worst team in the conference.

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