Can the Pelicans make the leap to the playoffs this year?
Anthony Davis is already in mid-season form, Omer Asik has brought about what we can expect this year, Jrue Holiday has looked good so far, and Jimmer Fredette may be able to revitalize his career in the Big Easy.
A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about the Pelicans’ potential to become this year’s version of the Phoenix Suns – a team that flies under the radar but is able to compete for a playoff spot by season’s end. And so far, the preseason has done nothing to deter that notion. Anthony Davis is a bona fide MVP candidate and may have a good enough surrounding cast to propel his team to the postseason. It’s scary to think that Davis will actually be playing in his more natural power forward position, given how great his success was against opposing centers last year. I’m reluctant to suggest that he’ll achieve a much higher level statistically this year, however there’s absolutely no reason to think that he won’t build upon last season’s average of 20.8 points and 10.0 rebounds. Davis finished fourth in the league in PER (Player Efficiency Rating), behind only Kevin Durant, Lebron James and Kevin Love; it’s about time that he enters that elite ballers’ club for the MVP discussion, too.
After Davis, one may assume there is a significant drop-off in talent. However, Asik and Holiday can be more than helpful supporting characters in the Unibrow Show. Holiday is a very capable point guard who can shoot the ball, as well as distribute. He posted a career high of 8.0 assists per contest in 2012-13 and then followed that up with a nearly identical 7.9 assists per game (in 34 games) in 2013-14. If Holiday can post a similar number, he should finish in the NBA’s top 10 in assists. It helps his case even more that Jimmer Fredette is now playing in the Pelicans blue and gold. If Jimmer can manage to continue shooting lights out (he’s shooting 55 percent from deep this preseason and 53 percent overall) when the regular season begins, he can be a very valuable catch-and-shoot role player for the Pelicans. Imagine the possibilities for Holiday when Fredette catches fire.
Down low, Davis’ help comes in the form of a trade from Houston (finally). Asik gets his wish to be a starting center, while the Pelicans (and presumably Davis) get their wish in the form of a true center to take the pressure off Davis inside. Asik brings rebounding and shot-blocking abilities- two areas where Davis excels, but the rest of the team does not- to a frontcourt that featured Ryan Anderson for the majority of the time paired up with the Brow. There may not be much in the way of offensive output this season, as Asik has told coach Monty Williams that he plans to “stay in the offensive background and do the dirty work” this year, according to Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune. If that’s truly the case, then it should allow Davis to prominently feature his offensive repertoire, while not worrying as much about defense or rebounding.
Outside of the frontcourt, New Orleans still has plenty to offer. Ryan Anderson, while still a power forward, mostly operates outside of the arc, and he’s got more than one person with him. Tyreke Evans, Eric Gordon, and to a lesser extent John Salmons, can all put up points on the wing. Gordon and Evans should be the second and third options on offense, and while both are capable of scoring between 15-20 points per game, they can be fairly inconsistent at times. Austin Rivers and Russ Smith should also get some chances to play a significant role off the bench.
The Southwest Division, where New Orleans calls home, may very easily be the toughest division in the NBA this year. For that reason, the Pelicans will need to steal as many intra-divisional games as possible while battling other teams in the Western Conference, such as Golden State and Portland, for the seventh and eighth positions. The road to the playoffs in the Western Conference will be extremely tough, as usual, but the Pelicans finally have the makeup of a team ready to breach the gates of postseason glory.
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