Anthony Davis represents a bright future for the New Orleans Pelicans /Photo via Flickr
Right now, New Orleans Pelicans fans should be feeling pretty optimistic. Sure, they had a rough go of it last year, but the potential for them to become a great team in the next few years is clearly there. Anthony Davis showed a lot of promise as a rookie and as he continues to develop his skills, it seems increasingly likely that he will blossom into a star. Additionally, Greivis Vasquez has turned out to be a much better point guard than anyone would have thought and appears to be the answer at that position for New Orleans for years to come. And if the former Hornets had a better record, Ryan Anderson likely would have been in the running for Sixth Man of the Year. So, there’s a lot to be happy about in New Orleans, but what can Pelicans fans expect from their team next season?
Well, they probably won’t be a contender just yet. They’re too young and they don’t have quite enough depth to hang with the more serious teams in the Western Conference. Still, cracking the playoffs as a lower seed is not an unrealistic goal. The biggest key for them is going to be Davis. If he makes the leap we all want to see him make, that alone could get the Pelicans into the playoffs. As anyone who watched him at Kentucky knows, he is a force of nature who can impose his will on just about anyone when he wants to. But while his play was solid last season, he hasn’t quite harnessed that power into his professional career, likely because he’s very young and gaining that killer instinct on such a high level takes some time. But with a year under his belt, Davis should be used to the speed and strength of the NBA and he might be poised to make a huge improvement. If he does, the Pelicans will be a real force to contend with.
But of course, the team doesn’t live and die with Davis. There are other players who will be crucial to the team’s success in the future and Vasquez is one of the biggest ones. While his excellent season last year was commendable, one has to wonder if it’s really sustainable. Is he capable of averaging nine assists per game year in and year out? If he is, the Pelicans are set at the point guard spot. But if he regresses in that area, it could cause real problems for the Pelicans offense. Vasquez did an excellent job of getting players who were young, unpolished and, in some cases, just flat out lacking in talent involved with the game. This is still a young roster, one that is very mistake prone. If Vasquez is unable to have the same grasp on the offense that he did in 2012-13, we could watch them falter considerably.
Naturally, we can’t forget the case of Austin Rivers, the much-hyped rookie who had one of the worst seasons of any player in NBA history. While thinking about Rivers may not be a comfortable activity for Pelican fans, there’s more hope for him that one might realize. First of all, it would pretty much be impossible for Rivers to play any worse than he did last season and now that he’s been in the league for a full season, he won’t look as lost on the court as he often did as a rookie. In the nine games he played in after All-Star break, Rivers actually did show some improvement, shooting an impressive .509 from the field. Rivers likely turned off a lot Pelicans fans with his performance last season, but he has the potential to win them back. If Rivers can hone his skills and become a useful player for New Orleans this season, that may put them over the top with regards to their playoff aspirations.
The Pelicans are a young, flawed team, but they are also an intriguing one. In Davis, they have a player who could on to become a superstar for the next decade. In Vasquez, they have the best point guard no one ever talks about. In Anderson, they have a stretch 4 that any coach would drool over. Even Rivers represents an untapped potential that could have huge dividends in the future. For the coming season, squeaking into the playoffs is the Pelicans’ best hope. For the years beyond that, however, there’s no telling what they might be able to accomplish.