Last year was one to forget for both Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans. After making the playoffs in their second year of rebranding, the club went into the tank in 2015-16. Injuries were widespread and consistency was nowhere to be found. This offseason has been significantly underwhelming, with the free agency defections outweighing the additions. However, they drafted quite well with the pair of Buddy Hield and Cheick Diallo. But the fate of the 2016-17 Pelicans rests solely on the shoulders of their main man Davis. Can The Brow stay healthy and will his club back to the postseason? Looking into my NBA Magic 8 Ball, the reply is hazy, try again later.
The Pelicans’ first foray into the NBA’s second season was a short one. The Golden State Warriors were their opponent in the first round. Predictably, the series ended in a sweep. But it was a step in the right direction for a franchise that struggled to maintain a direction. Last year was a giant leap backwards though.
They replaced Monty Williams, who had overseen their franchise transition, with Alvin Gentry. It was an underwhelming hire that produced even more underwhelming results. Gentry is a journeyman coach in every sense of the word, with his longest stop in any coaching capacity being a hair under six seasons. Yet still the expectations were high in the Big Easy. A breakout season for Anthony Davis, significant contributions from the other starters, as well as from an improved bench, were expected. None of it came to fruition and the Pelicans finished an abysmal 30-52.
This summer saw two of those starters, Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon, leave for Houston. While both had their injury concerns, their departure still stings. The club is hoping that Hield and Diallo can help soften the blow, even though they are much different players than the defectors. Pressure will be high on the rookies since little else was done in free agency to mitigate the losses.
New Orleans overpaid for Solomon Hill, a player whose skill set isn’t the greatest compliment to Davis down low. Langston Galloway, E’Twaun Moore, Alonzo Gee, and Terrence Jones aren’t NBA starters. Who is filling in the gaps around Davis? Jrue Holiday will be one guard and Omer Asik should be the token man in the middle. But once again, neither particularly mesh well with New Orleans’ superstar. Holiday is a shoot first point guard, who really can’t shoot all that well. Asik’s rim protection allows Davis free reign on defense, but his cumbersome nature and awkwardness make him a liability more than five feet away from the tin.
Unless Gentry feels Hield is ready for a starting role, the shooting guard spot is up for grabs. Tyreke Evans, once a point forward in Monty Williams’ system, is a forgotten man. Galloway, Moore, and Gee are better suited off the bench. The preseason should shake out a winner, but it will be a weak point all year. The other wing will be weak as well until Quincy Pondexter returns from his knee injury. Hill and Dante Cunningham can make due, but neither can get it done offensively like Pondexter was starting to do before he blew out his knee.
The onus is on Davis. He missed out on an all-time payday last season by not making an All-NBA team. If he wants to be viewed in the NBA’s upper echelon, he needs to show he can make his teammates better. That is double true this year with this transitionary cast of characters. The Pelicans are not one of the eight best teams in the Western Conference on paper. They are viewed by pundits to be twice as likely to end up in the lottery than the playoffs. I lean towards agreement with that sentiment, but could be swayed the other way if Davis lives up to his massive potential.
There are many teams to leapfrog into the playoffs in the West, but as has been shown throughout the years in the NBA, a transcendent player can bridge that gap very easily. Davis has that aura about him, but needs to grasp it in 2016-17. If he snares that proverbial brass ring, I think the Pelicans could be a shock to the system. If he is complacent with just “really-goodness”, I can’t see New Orleans having anything other than All-Star Weekend to celebrate this season.