The New Orleans Pelicans did not change their team much this offseason, but they did add a new coach in Alvin Gentry. He is just coming off an NBA title with the Golden State Warriors as an assistant coach. Gentry is a great basketball mind that should be able to help superstar Anthony Davis and co. get further in the playoffs.
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Davis, Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans and Eric Gordon makeup the core for the Pelicans, and each player must play at an extremely high level if the team wants to make it past the first round of the NBA playoffs next season. Davis has already had his coming out party to show how elite he is, but he still has not reached his full potential, which is flat-out scary.
Davis For MVP
Davis can do just about anything on a basketball court at an extremely high level. He is probably the best rim-protector and shot-blocker in the league, and he is a fantastic finisher on the offensive end. Last season he averaged 24.4 PPG, 10.2 RPG and 2.9 BPG and he even averaged 31.5 PPG, 11.0 RPG and 3.0 BPG during the playoffs against the Warriors, one of the best defenses in the league.
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The Brow showed last season that his game has no limits at all. He can step out and shoot deep midrange jumpshots or he can score from up close, he has not developed a three-point shot, but do not be surprised if he does.
Davis made a real case for MVP last season, especially since he led his team to the playoffs in a very tough conference, but Stephen Curry and James Harden did the same thing with better numbers. Next season, Davis is going to keep playing with a little chip on his shoulder and try and take the Pelicans to a new level.
Next year’s MVP race is Davis’ to lose and the season has not even started yet.
The Pelicans Have More Than Just Davis
Davis did basically lead the team to the playoffs last season, but the Pelicans have an underrated supporting cast around Davis that still has a lot to prove. Hoilday was a former All-Star, but he has not been very healthy in the past couple seasons. Evans has been pretty steady for the Pelicans, and he is really great at attacking the rim.
Gordon started to show some positive signs during the postseason last year by hitting from deep and scoring the basketball more efficiently. These three players are probably not in their primes anymore, but they still have the game to push the Pelicans to the playoffs.
Ryan Anderson is another player that showed some great signs during the postseason by showing that he is getting back on track with his game after a gruesome injury. Omer Asik will also help the team because of his ability to protect the rim and rebound, but Asik and Davis on the floor at the same time created some spacing issues.
The team also has added Kendrick Perkins and the team has Norris Cole, who brings championship experience to a roster that doesn’t have much playoff or championship experience.
Overall
The Pelicans are much more than just Davis, and even though the team did not really change much this offseason, the Pelicans still have the ability to make a push for the playoffs. They did get swept by the Warriors last season, but they were almost in every game.
Everyone knows that Davis is one of the best players in the NBA and teams try to guard him and limit him, but teams cannot seem to stop him still. Davis will be the MVP of the league next season, especially if he can lead the Pelicans to a higher seed in the playoffs.
Curry, LeBron James, James Harden, and Kevin Durant are still superstars that will compete for the award, but other than LeBron, not one of those players affects the game in such a huge way on both ends of the floor.
LeBron has two other stars on his team, which sometimes limits his scoring, so this should be the year for Davis to be the MVP.
“Fear the Brow,” but also fear the Pelicans.
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