Fansided

Power ranking NBA head coaches: 2015-16 season

By John Buhler

Oct 23, 2015; Manchester, NH, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens gestures from the sidelines during the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Verizon Wireless Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 23, 2015; Manchester, NH, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens gestures from the sidelines during the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Verizon Wireless Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 17, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry against the Denver Nuggets during the first half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 17, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry against the Denver Nuggets during the first half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

26. Alvin Gentry, New Orleans Pelicans

Alvin Gentry came to the Crescent City to help give superstar power forward Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans a defensive identity. Gentry, who once coached the Phoenix Suns as a glorified interim, was the defensive guru of the 2014-15 NBA Champion Golden State Warriors.

New Orleans made the playoffs for the first time in the Anthony Davis Era last season under then head coach Monty Williams. The Pelicans had a top ten offensive team in 2014-15 (108.2, eighth in the NBA), but that wasn’t enough to keep Williams in New Orleans.

The Alvin Gentry Era with the Pelicans has had a disastrous start. Not only have the Pelicans not been sound defensively, 29th in the NBA with a team defensive rating of 111.0, but New Orleans is significantly worse on offense, 20th in the NBA with a team offensive rating of 103.0.

A -7.9 point differential does not bode well for a team’s overall success. Gentry’s club is 2-11 on the year and are beginning to look like they’ll be out of the Western Conference playoff picture. It doesn’t help that general manager Dell Demps has given Gentry so many players that aren’t NBA caliber, but Alvin Gentry was originally thought as the perfect mentor for Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans.

It’s still early, but it feels like the New Orleans Pelicans made a big mistake in hiring Alvin Gentry as their head coach over the also available Tom Thibodeau.

Next: 25. Sam Mitchell

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