Positive Takeaways For The New Orleans Pelicans This Season
The New Orleans Pelicans failed to make the playoffs once again this year, but even in the worst seasons there are silver linings.
Although the New Orleans Pelicans didn’t reach their goals this year, there are certainly some positives they can take away from the season. For instance, the arrival of Jordan Crawford late in the season added some excitement and scoring to a team that desperately needed it.
Below I outlined some of the other positives this season that can be carried over to next year.
A healthy Jrue Holiday
Jrue Holiday’s injuries since joining the New Orleans Pelicans in 2013 have been well documented. He’s missed 107 games over his first three seasons with the Pelicans due to numerous injuries, including a stress fracture and stress reaction to the same knee.
Related Story: New Orleans Pelicans--25 Best Players
This season, Holiday rightly took some time off in the beginning of the season to be with his wife, Lauren Holiday, who had been diagnosed with a brain tumor.
Once Jrue returned to the lineup the Pelicans saw an immediate impact as he helped his team win four straight after starting the season with eight straight losses and a 2-10 record.
New Orleans Pelicans
The wins couldn’t maintain, but Holiday’s mostly injury-free (missed three games in early December with a toe injury) season has been a welcome sight; made more so due to his exceptional play this season.
On the year Holiday 15.4 points, 7.3 assist, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.
Cheick Diallo
Cheick Diallo has had limited opportunities this season, but has made the most of them (which I’ll be writing more about this in the coming days).
In his first significant action in the NBA, Diallo dropped 19 points and 10 rebounds during 31 minutes of play in a loss vs. the Clippers on Dec. 10.
When he was relegated to the D-League this season, Diallo averaged 15 points off 50.2 percent shooting and 8.5 rebounds while showing the potential that scouts saw in him while at Kansas.
His latest impressive feat came in the last two games of the season. Diallo posted back-to-back double-doubles with a 19 points, 11 rebound performance coming against the Los Angeles Lakers and a 12-point, 16-rebound effort against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Only time will tell if Diallo will earn himself a larger role next season, but all indications are that he’s passed his first test during rookie year and has provided something for the New Orleans Pelcians to be excited about going forward.
Boogie trade
The best and biggest surprise of the season for the Pelicans was the trade that landed elite center DeMarcus Cousins.
After a perceived falling out with the Sacramento Kings management, most of the NBA community saw the parting as inevitable.
More from Hoops Habit
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
- NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers
Yet, Dell Demps and the Pelicans were still able to finesse Cousins away from the Kings by dangling a personal favorite of Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, Buddy Hield.
Hield, plus a top-three protected 2017 first-round pick and a few throw-ins and the deal was sealed.
Pairing Cousins with Anthony Davis no doubt provided some risk. Both players have a similar skill sets, leading to questions of how they would play together. Then, there’s always the risk of DeMarcus leaving after the 2017-18 season when he’s due to become a free agent.
Boogie seems to be buying into the culture and future that the Pelicans want to build and any uncertainty about whether the two big men can play together should be put to rest.
After enduring some growing pains in their first few games post trade, the two big men found their balance and at times looked dominant together as Pelicans started to take off late in the season before ultimately being eliminated from the playoffs.
Next: 50 Greatest Duos Of All-Time
With the addition of DeMarcus Cousins, the Pelicans; future looks much brighter than it did when the season started. If the Pelicans continue to put the right pieces in place, then they a chance to go from fringe playoff team to a legit contender.