Six-foot-10 power forwards that are capable of shooting the lights out do not grow on trees. Phoenix found a diamond in the rough with the surprising resurgence of Channing Frye last season, and his presence on the court alone wreaked havoc for teams defensively (the Orlando Magic took note of this and nabbed him this summer with a four-year/$32 million contract).
A pick and roll involving him and the slashing Goran Dragic was nearly impossible to contain. Opposing defenders would stick to Frye like white on rice, which would allow for driving lanes to open up for Dragic (or Eric Bledsoe when he was heathy). If Frye’s defender went to help on Dragic’s dribble drive, he would simply fling the ball back to Frye for a wide open 3.
For this reason and many more, Phoenix won an astounding 48 games last season.
The Pelicans hope that Ryan Anderson will have a similar effect for their offense this upcoming season given that he is basically a more gifted version of Frye. Phoenix chose to utilize Frye by starting him in all 82 games, but he did not finish each one and only would play on average 28 minutes per game. His play was pretty much dictated by his outside touch.
Anderson will most likely be the opposite of that for New Orleans this season as it appears that he has been knocked from the starting rotation (at least for now) by newcomer Omer Asik.
Ryan is a prolific shooter — he is shooting 3-pointers at a 38 percent clip for his career — and will be able to utilize his shooting prowess by taking over short stretches of games for the second unit. The fact that he shoots 38 percent from deep is pretty remarkable enough, being 6’10” and shooting like that is unfair.
Anderson will make most of his damage by being a weapon within the pick and roll. His shooting will create a similar conundrum for defenses that Frye did for Phoenix last season. One player that needs open driving lanes in order to be successful is Tyreke Evans, so pairing him with Anderson on the pick and roll seems like a match made in heaven.
Evans has a crafty knack for getting into the lane with his above-average handles and big men would be weary to leave Anderson unguarded behind the 3-point line.
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The problem is that in most cases, the defender will be unable to defend both players and something will be left open. New Orleans could even insert a third player into the corner (either Eric Gordon or Luke Babbitt, most likely) as a third option to swing to if the defense is able to rotate properly. Through intuitive thinking and decision making, this play should produce an open shot more times than not.
Anderson’s presence on the floor would benefit the likes of Anthony Davis as well. With post double teams slowly becoming an inevitable expectation for Davis in the future, having Anderson’s shooting on the floor is a big plus compared to Asik’s clunkiness. Defenders would think twice before leaving Anderson in favor of double-teaming Davis, thus creating more room to operate and higher percentage shot opportunities.
The toughest part about becoming a top flight offensive player is adjusting to double teams and acknowledging where they are coming from. Having Anderson on the floor would make that transition a tad easier for Davis one would think.
An Anderson/Davis duo is an interesting wrinkle for coach Monty Williams to consider on occasion because of the offensive benefits it could bring. It is not stretch to envision Anderson coming into the game for Asik halfway through the first quarter and act almost as a sixth starter of sorts. It really will all depend on Asik’s impact on the defensive end of the floor.
Expect Ryan Anderson to be New Orleans’ version of Channing Frye this season, and perhaps springboard the Pelicans to a similar 48-win campaign that the Suns just enjoyed.