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Can Alvin Gentry guide the Pelicans to the Promised Land?

Much has already been written on the New Orleans Pelicans’ recent hiring of Golden State Warriors associate head coach Alvin Gentry, as well the additions of defensive specialist Darren Erman and former NBA player Robert Pack. Michael McNamara of Bourbon Street Shots wrote about the Pels opting for experience and pace in Gentry. Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated wrote about Gentry’s plan to unleash Anthony Davis in an uptempo offense. Meanwhile, Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com brought up the fact that many of the Pelicans’ players have not played in an uptempo style offense during their NBA careers.

In AD’s recent Q&A with DeAntae Prince, the superstar expressed excitement about the potential for Gentry to help the Pels become true contenders.

From Prince’s Q&A with Davis:

“Prince: Do you have a sense of what places he can put you in on offense to capitalize on your skills?

Davis: That’s something we’ll have to sit down and talk about, figure out how he wants me to play, how I like to play and mix in the two. It’s going to be interesting. I like what he did with Nash and Amar’e. Not saying we have a Nash or Amar’e, but the way he utilized that pick and roll, it was a great thing to watch. We’ll definitely sit down and try to figure out how he wants me to play and try to go from there.”

Davis’ humility in the face of astronomical ascension is amazing. While the NBA Finals have served as a reminder that bully-ball can still work in today’s NBA, Davis’ otherworldly athleticism is undoubtedly better suited to an up-and-down, free-flowing game with constant ball movement, player movement and pick-and-roll action.

Tyreke Evans knows a thing or two about bully-ball, but unless or until he becomes a more willing and efficient outside shooter, it’s obvious he’s not really cut out for slow, grind it out, half-court hoops. One of the keys to Gentry and the coaching staff having success with the Pelicans in the short-term will be nurturing players like Evans to improve in areas they don’t excel. For Evans it’s playing off the ball, perimeter shooting and defense. For Davis it will be improving his defensive fundamentals and developing a more reliable post-game. For a hopefully healthy Jrue Holiday it will be continuing to improve his shot selection.

On Bourbon Street Shots’ most recent “In the NO Podcast,” Amin Elhassan, ESPN analyst and former colleague of Gentry in Phoenix, called him “an excellent communicator and motivator.”

Elhassan also talked about Gentry’s admiration for Jrue Holiday. Few people will bat an eye if you say Davis, who nearly eclipsed Wilt Chamberlain’s PER record this past season, has already exceeded Amar’e Stoudemire at age 22. However, put Holiday  in the same breath as Steve Nash and you’re bound to get some strange looks. And rightfully so. Nash was one of the best point guards in NBA history.

From “In the NO Podcast,” Elhassan spoke about the comparison.

“That’s not fair to make that comparison, and I don’t think that’s an expectation anyone should go in [with]…Anthony Davis is this team, and he’s going to be the tie that raises all the ships at sea.”

“And so for Holiday, or Evans, or whoever happens to be the ball-handler, they don’t have to be Steve, they just have to the best version that they can be, and that obviously involves getting the ball up. A lot of people when they think about running teams they think, ‘we’re fast-breaking every time.’ That’s not the case. Mike D’Antoni used to talk about this. It’s not about fast-breaking every time. It’s about when we go into our offensive sets, even in the half-court, it’s with pace; we’re doing it quickly, we’re making quick cuts. Watch the Warriors now. When they play on offense It’s not a lot of stagnation, not a lot of ball pounding in the same spot, and people slowly ambling up to set a screen then rumbling down the lane. It’s a lot of quick motions like a ballet. Guys are in and out and here and there, and that’s what the ball-handlers burden will be–to make sure everyone’s moving and not getting stuck in place.”

“By the way, I just wanna say Alvin’s a big fan of Jrue Holiday. When we had him in for his pre-draft workout as an 18-year-old at the time, I can honestly say I can’t remember a guy, maybe other than Joakim Noah, who came in and wowed, not only in the workout, but in the interviews, lunch and the dinner, Jrue Holiday gave everyone a great impression. We definitely admired him from afar when he was in Philadelphia. I don’t think Holiday has to be Nash. I think the great thing that Alvin does is convince you to be great at who you are.”

One thing Holiday is that Nash was not is an elite defender. Holiday’s combination of size, strength, speed and smarts makes him one of the few players capable of consistently harassing and containing the likes of Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and other top talents. Offensively, Holiday hasn’t played in an uptempo offense since high school, and left UCLA for the NBA after one year partially because of the coach’s slow pace of play. After playing for Eddie Jordan, Doug Collins and Monty Williams during his six-year career, Gentry is the perfect man to take Holiday’s offense to the next level.

Let’s not forget: Holiday just turned 25 on Friday. At 24 and 25 Nash was still a work in progress, and he didn’t have half of the physical tools that Holiday does. Gary Payton wasn’t “the Glove” right away when he entered the league. Chauncey Billups’ Detroit Pistons weren’t a fast-paced team like the Pelicans will be, but he didn’t settle in and become “Mr. Big Shot” overnight. Jason Kidd wasn’t blowing the NBA away as a 24-year-old either.

It was only a couple years ago that Steph Curry, the 2014-15 NBA MVP and shoot-first version of Nash, was known as the former Davidson star with glass ankles. Things change pretty quickly, and plenty of point guards become special players over time. We can’t all have the incredible and immediate success of a Chris Paul or Magic Johnson. It’s not like Holiday hasn’t shown flashes of brilliance offensively, either, and many of the guys who’ve played wing alongside him in Philly and NOLA have been below-average shooters. Without a healthy and continually improving Holiday, the Pelicans aren’t going anywhere for the next few seasons in the Wild West.

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If the Pelicans re-sign center Omer Asik (who had his best season on a fast-paced Rockets team), Eric Gordon opts into his $15 million deal, and there aren’t any surprise trades, the top seven players in the rotation will likely be Davis, Holiday, Gordon, Asik, Ryan Anderson, Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter. I also think there’s a good chance Norris Cole is re-signed this summer to provide depth at point guard.

Gordon shot the lights out in 2015 after returning from a torn labrum, and he should benefit a great deal from Gentry’s offensive approach. The Pels have some solid three-point shooters in Gordon, Anderson, Holiday, and even Pondexter, but adding more solid 3-and-D wing players should be Pelicans’ GM Dell Demps’ number one priority going forward.  If New Orleans can avoid a third straight injury-plagued season, 2015-16 will be a rainbow ride of excitement in the “Big Easy.”