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| The New Orleans Pelicans added Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans to improve their playoff chances. But it will be Anthony Davis who is the biggest key to their growth and improvement this season. (Image from: Getty Images) |
The Pelicans had a busy summer bettering their roster. Their major moves included drafting Nerlens Noel then trading him to the Sixers for point guard Jrue Holiday. Next, arguably their best and most improved player last season, Greivis Vasquez was traded to the Sacramento Kings in a package that brought over former ROY Tyreke Evans to the Pellies. In minor deals, they signed Anthony Morrow and Greg Stiemsma after they lost Robin Lopez to bolster their bench. The best news for NOLA, Anthony Davis looks healthier and stronger.
The Pelicans finished last season at 27-55 and 14th in the Western Conference. Injuries were a big factor to their poor outing with Eric Gordon playing only 42 games, Anthony Davis in 64, Austin Rivers in 61 and Jason Smith only 51 games. All of them are expected to be ready once training camp starts on October 1st. Since they lost two of their top scorers to a bunch of games (Gordon & Davis), it was not a surprise that NOLA struggled on offense and finished in the bottom fifth of the league. Even with Greivis Vasquez having a career-year with assists (9.0), the Pelicans finished at 23rd in passing due to their lack of scorers, shooters and finishers. The arrivals of Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans (maybe even Morrow) aim to fix their offensive problems. Defensively, they were in the middle of the league and that should improve if Anthony Davis gets better at protecting the paint and staying in the game.
Speaking of Anthony Davis, he is the biggest key to the emergence of the Pelicans as a possible playoff contender. The "Brow" had a decent rookie season (13.5 pts & 8.2 rebs) but he struggled with a myriad of minor injuries that prevented him from playing more games and more minutes. He was quite efficient when playing (21.7 PER, top 15) so the goal is to have him play more minutes. Davis only played 64 games and averaged 29 minutes. In comparison, 2013 ROY Damian Lillard played all 82 games and averaged 39 minutes. It is no secret that NOLA needs Davis on the floor to be successful since he can do many things on both sides of the court.
Davis was able to display his shooting range but he struggled making jump shots where he made 116 out of 335 attempts for a clip of 35%. He needs to improve on those numbers to keep his defenders guessing because Davis has the ability to put the ball on the floor from time to time. His low post skills are adequate and adding more moves will definitely help. Physically, he needs to increase his strength and stamina to stay active on defense. The Brow was touted as an excellent interior defender from college but his rebound rate and blocks are not above average. He has this season to improve those as well.
The Pelicans are hoping that Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans (plus Eric Gordon) provide them with superb back-court play. NOLA can field a small ball lineup with Evans at SF, Gordon at SG, Holiday at PG while Davis and Anderson play the front-court. This lineup offers a lot of driving and dishing that could provide open shots for Anderson from the wing (one of the best corner shooters) or a ball dump to Davis in the lane (made 91% of his shots in the paint).
Regarding their bench, 2012 #10 pick Austin Rivers figures to be an improved player this season. He could be the first player off the bench if Ryan Anderson becomes a full-time starter. Rivers was terrible last season before he injured his hand. He averaged 6 points and shot poorly from all areas of the floor. Overall, he shot 37% from the field and made only 55% of his FTs. But wait, there is some optimism for this season because during the Summer League, Rivers already improved his shooting to about 46% although that was against substandard competition. Rivers and NOLA hope that continues during the actual season.
So, can the Pelicans really make the playoffs? They have a realistic shot if Kobe and the Lakers struggle or Dirk and the Mavs falter. I have already written that the Blazers are more likely to grab one of the last two playoff spots in the West which leaves NOLA battling the Nuggets, Lakers and Mavericks for the last slot. It is highly unlikely the Pelicans make it but that's a lot better than having ZERO chance which was the case last season.
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