Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans have a decent shot at the playoffs this year. Photo Credit: Mark Allison, Flickr.com
In the past few weeks, the New Orleans Pelicans have become a drastically different team. Jrue Holiday has replaced Greivis Vasquez as the starting point guard while Tyreke Evans arrived from the Sacramento Kings in a sign-and-trade that sent Vasquez to Sacramento and Robin Lopez to the Portland Trail Blazers. It’s not just that the team is different, however; they are also expected to be better than last year’s edition, which won just 27 games. Indeed, with the added firepower in the Pelicans lineup, it’s not difficult to envision this team being quite scary this coming season. But are the god enough to make the playoffs? Let’s take a look at the arguments for and against the Pelicans cracking the top eight in the Western Conference this season.
The best argument in favor of them reaching the postseason can be summed up in two words: Anthony Davis. The No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft displayed a ton of potential as a rookie and he should be considerably better in his sophomore season. He’s one of the best prospects since Kevin Durant and he could anchor the Pelicans franchise for the next 15 years. He’s an excellent defender and one of the top shot blockers in the league and his offensive game has become more refined over time. Right now, Davis is simply a very good power forward, but he has the potential to evolve to one of the best in the league; the sort of player who can single-handedly bring a team to the postseason. We don’t know exactly how much growth Davis will make in year two, but the Pelicans are definitely lucky to have him on their roster.
The two new guys should help, too. Last year, Jrue Holiday was the lone ray of sunshine on a dreadful Philadelphia 76ers team that was perpetually haunted by Andrew Bynum sitting in street clothes. Even as it was made abundantly clear that this team wasn’t going to be playoff bound, Holiday continued to put in exceptional effort each night and he wound up with the best season of his career. If that’s what he was able to do with such a weak supporting cast, imagine what he can do when he gets to play with guys like Davis, Evans and Ryan Anderson. Holiday may raise his game to yet another level this year, simply because of all the exceptional talent around him.
Still, there are some concerns facing this Pelicans team going forward. For one thing, no one really knows what to expect from Austin Rivers or if he can be relied on in any capacity. In a way, his awful rookie season almost feels like a good thing, if only because he can’t possibly be that bad again. Still, he may be asked to play big minutes and no one can say for sure if he’s up to that challenge. This could become an especially big problem if Eric Gordon is injured once again. Last year, Gordon missed 40 games and the year before that, he missed 57. If Gordon is out for a prolonged period of time once again, Rivers may be forced into the starting lineup or at least asked to play serious minutes off the bench and from what we saw last year, it’s hard to feel especially confident about him thriving in that situation. On paper, this team looks great, but there are serious questions in terms of depth facing this team and that could certainly jeopardize their playoff chances.
The Pelicans should be a much better team than they were last season and a playoff appearance is not out of the question. With that said, it’s certainly not a guarantee either. If Davis makes a second-year leap and Gordon stays healthy, there’s every reason to think this team could grab one of the final spots in the Western Conference. However, if they struggle with injuries and Rivers doesn’t make any significant improvements, they could be in for quite a long year. With that said, this is a team that is definitely going in the right direction.