New Orleans Pelicans: Underneath The Losses, There’s Reason For Optimism
The New Orleans Pelicans have gone 3-6 and given plenty cause for concern since acquiring DeMarcus Cousins from the Sacramento Kings. But underneath the losses, there’s also reason to be optimistic.
The New Orleans Pelicans are 3-6 since the All-Star break. That’s 3-6 since they brought the basketball world to a halt with a trade that unprecedentedly brought two supreme big men together.
And 3-6 since the playoffs became the only goal for a team who only a week prior looked more primed for a lottery pick than one with any chance of a playoff run — even though at the time of the trade the Pelicans were only 3½ games out.
Now with 16 games left in the season, the Pelicans are 5½ games behind the Denver Nuggets for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference — and at 26-40, they are also tied for the seventh-worst record in the league.
Understandably, people are concerned. Some of those people are in charge of important decisions for the New Orleans Pelicans. And one of those decisions revolve around head coach Alvin Gentry.
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Gentry, right or wrong, is likely on the hot seat. His team will more than likely miss this year’s playoffs.
But it’s the lack of offensive improvement and his failure to progressively utilize the super-powered frontcourt he currently possesses that will no doubt end his tenure as the Pelicans head coach.
The offense, despite adding a player who scores 27 points a game, has had a drop in offensive efficiency from 102.3 prior to the trade to 98.5 after – making them the only team in the NBA to post a sub-100 rating since the All-Star break.
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Also since the break, the Pelicans are scoring 99.9 points a game, ranking them 28th among all teams. Their FG percentage of 42.8, is dead last, while their three-point percentage is in the bottom four during that same nine-game span.
Those aren’t good numbers for a coach who is looking to hold onto his job — especially one who specializes on offense.
While it’s fair to criticize offensive guru Gentry for not being able maximize or at least use the talent of both Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins to the team’s benefit, not all the issues are on him.
Gentry is working with a limited backcourt after a deal for Boogie that also extracted Buddy Hield, Langston Galloway and Tyreke Evans from the lineup. It didn’t help that Jarrett Jack, one of the guys brought in to fill the void, got injured shortly after signing his 10-day contract with the club.
Hollis Thompson was brought in as a guy who could help take advantage of the added attention down low by spacing the floor and spotting up for threes. That hasn’t worked out thus far as he’s currently shooting 25 percent from three and 26.8 percent overall since joining the team.
E’Twaun Moore, as he’s done all year, has picked up some of slack on the perimeter, shooting 45 percent from three in the eight games he has played since the break.
The addition of professional scorer Jordan Crawford has helped the team in the three-point shooting department, as he’s gone 10-of-18 from three in his three games since joining the club.
But with a team-wide three-point percentage of 31.7 since the break (well below the 35.7 percent they were shooting prior to the All-Star break), the lack of quality shooting is still an issue that needs to improve.
Gentry, in a short amount of time, has had to scrap some of his small-ball system for one that more fittingly suits the talents of having two All-Star bigs. He’s worked in some more high- and low-post looks for Cousins in an effort to maintain familiarity to what Cousins did in Sacramento.
And as a result, the pace has slowed down from 100.13 to 98.55 since the trade.
Gentry is trying to work Cousins into his offense, but in order to accomplish that, you need availability.
Cousins on most nights is in foul trouble or tech watch from the opening tip – and many nights, it’s both.
He definitely hasn’t helped himself or the team during his short stint with the Pelicans, already earning a suspension for his season total of technical fouls as well as being assessed a $50,000 fine for barking back at some unruly fans.
At age 26, that negative energy has to start being channeled into on-court production. Cousins needs to take a note from the greats who use any slight as motivation rather than a distraction. For the record, I’m not as down on Boogie’s antics as most.
He’s an emotional player (which I love) who I believe really just cares about winning. The game needs players like him. But when your emotions trump your drive to win and you start hurting your team, that’s when you have to take a step back and figure out where the line should be.
So while there’s justifiably cause for concern, there are also reason to still be optimistic.
In the small sample size given, it’s clear to see that Cousins and Davis already have chemistry. The former Kentucky products can play together and should be thriving as teammates with more time.
They’re currently having trouble executing the double high pick-and-roll consistently, but man when they get it, the Pelicans’ offense will be a hard one to stop – especially as the Pelicans’ brass continues to build around their elite frontcourt.
Both players possess a versatile inside/outside game. Both players work well off the high pick-and-roll on their own and both can stretch the floor and expand the offense in the half court. And additionally both can dominate the game at any given time.
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It’s that last point that’s interesting. We’ve seen both players take over at various stretches during the last nine games.
Most recently we saw Davis, on his birthday, take over late in the fourth quarter and overtime on his way to 46 points and 21 rebounds to help seal the victory against the Charlotte Hornets.
While Davis was dominating, Cousins sat on the bench during the latter parts of the fourth quarter and overtime.
The problem is that when one player is having a big quarter the other is not. They’re taking turns being the guy rather than working together every quarter every night.
This was the case against OKC on Feb. 26. AD dominated the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder with 24 points before Boogie to took over the second with 19 points.
Defensively, both work well in tandem. As versatile as they are on offense, they are just as much on the defensive end. Both are quick enough to switch onto guards/wings and defend them well on the perimeter.
They can guard their man one-on-one in the post and can come over to provide weak side help defense when needed.
As a unit, the Pelicans defensively remain stout. They’re holding opponents to 44.7 percent shooting with a defensive rating of 103.2; which ranks them eighth since the break and matches their eighth-place ranking prior to the break, in which they touted a rating of 104.6.
But while there may be positives the team can point to, the concerns remain. And the ramifications of missing the playoffs this season will only heighten those feelings of unease.
Will soon-to-be free agent Jrue Holiday want to stick around if the Pelicans fail to make the playoffs once again?
Will Cousins subsequently follow Holiday out the door in the following year when it’s his turn to test the free-agency waters?
These questions make fans uneasy and helplessly feel like something that can potentially be big will self-destruct before it has even has time to grow?
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The Pelicans can indeed be something special. The right pieces around the big three (assuming Holiday stays) will need to be brought in and the right coach will need to lead the charge. Cousins will have to mature.
He and Davis will need time to learn how to play more cohesively together while mastering the high pick-and-roll offense.
There is concern. Getting into the playoffs would most definitely ease a lot of those concerns. Unfortunately the playoffs don’t look like a realistic possibility right now.
So it’ll be up to the same important people in the Pelicans’ front office who will ultimately decide the fate of Gentry and who will also be charged with the important task of not screwing this up.
They’ll need to alleviate the rising concerns by keeping their trio together and putting together a compete playoff roster around them.
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By accomplishing those goals, the Pelicans’ front office, led by general manager Dell Demps, would essentially negate this season’s missed playoff opportunity and give the Pelicans’ fan base plenty of reasons for optimism going forward.