New Orleans Pelicans – Season Preview

New Orleans Pelicans – Season Preview
New Orleans has stayed the course.  That much, no one can deny.  Will this be the year that they pull it together?

Rizzo led his squad to slight improvement over the previous season, going 39-43 in the 2013-2014 CSL season and missing the playoffs in the stacked Western Conference.  It’s fair to say at this point, that there should be substantial pressure on this team to make a legitimate playoff push this season.   That fateful and long-awaited playoff charge will be led by none other than the former #1 draft pick….. er, Anthony Davis?  I mean, Marcus Smart?  I mean, wow.  How many teams out there sport back-to-back #1 picks?  None.

And folks, they’re for real.

Rizzo has his work cut out for him in this year’s training camp.  Both Smart and Davis project to be rare talents, but potential is only half the battle.  Hard work, a winning culture, strong leadership and something about stars aligning all have something to do with it.

Also, who do the Pelicans supplant in the Western Conference playoff picture?  OKC, LAC, POR, HOU, SAS, UTA, DEN and GSW were all playoff teams last season.  LAL and MIN have gotten remarkably better and both should be playoff team this year.  Only MEM, DAL, SAC and PHX remain as teams that New Orleans should have the upper hand on – but that still leaves this team on the outside looking in come this next post-season.

Did we mention that Rizzo has his work cut out for him?

Positional Breakdown
*Note:  Ratings will be updated here once TC is complete.



General Greivis returns to New Orleans with a new, significantly more lucrative contract in hand.  Vasquez averaged 27 minutes per game last year with Rizzo’s squad.  He provides above average floor generalship and, contrary to other comparable guards, doesn’t become a defensive liability when not running the offense.  It does seem, however, that Greivis’ days in New Orleans will last only as long as he isn’t trade-restricted, which would leave us to assume that Rizzo sees Smart as his point guard of the future.



Smart already displays elite ability in terms of scoring and handling.  His defensive presence and ability to pressure the ball are also already above average.  As he continues to develop, I’m sure we’ll see a relatively well rounded game.  That being said, is Marcus a point guard or a shooting guard?  I’ll go out on a limb and slot Marcus into the starting shooting guard role for the balance of his career.  Those scoring instincts and his ability to handle the rock just fit too well at that position.  As he matures, his ability to get into the lane while protecting the ball will also help him generate additional points at the charity stripe, something I’m going to be looking for from him this next season.  Additionally, his defensive presence at the two will be more valuable there than it would guarding opposing ones.



Fresh off a shiny new 6th Man of the Year award, Eric Gordon will look to reprise his role as the league’s leading man off the bench.  Though I’m sure Rizzo would give lip service to this, I’m going to be bold and say that it’s time to start making this the Smart/Davis show.  Gordon average fewer than 30 minutes per game last season, but so did Smart.  Like I mentioned earlier, Smart can moonlight as a point guard, but he needs to be getting more significant burn as the starting shooting guard.  If Gordon played roughly 30 minutes as a shooting guard, then that means Smart was playing 12 minutes as back-up point guard (which is roughly 40% of his total on-court MPG).



Gary was touted as a defensive stud during the draft.  While I’m sure the potential is there, I see no current hint of starting level talent and only a chance of potential bench contributions from Harris during his first year in the league.  Rizzo has a training camp with this young guy to prove me wrong, but any improvement in Harris only serves to make the murky shooting guard rotation murkier.  As it stands, Harris lacks the handling or shooting ability to positively impact the court offensively and it looks as if any positive impacts defensively may still be a few years away.



Rizzo treated this guy to a MLE+ extension and I’m not quite sure why.  He shoots 44.1% from the field, but a rough 24.6% from distance.  He rebounds well for a small forward and is slightly above average defensively, but brings little else to the table.  Indeed, this should be Rizzo’s one main goal this season – Find legitimate help at the small forward position.



Dunleavy saw some pretty serious burn at small forward for Rizzo last season, earning close to 26 minutes of playing time per contest.  He shoots the ball well, but frankly brings little else to the table.  Also an interesting free agency move when, perhaps, there were other veteran minimum players out there who supply a little more.



It’s not fair, is it? Davis has no holes in his game – none – and is only getting better.  Davis averaged 15.0 points on 57.2 percent, 7.8 rebounds, 3.3 blocks and over one steal and assist per game in only 30 minutes.  Davis is only 21 years old and created enough blocks to rank 3rd in the league behind only Ibaka and Udoh.  Rizzo has a full training camp to work on several of Davis’ already impressive skills – where will he focus his attention?  Davis projects to be a stud defender with an instinct for blocked shots.  He projects out well as a strong rebounder with an even focus on both the defensive and offensive glass.  Lastly, Davis will be able to score the rock with increasing efficiency as he acclimates to the CSL game.



Anderson is a rarity in this league, a true stretch four.  Other have the ability, but you would be hard pressed to find someone who can drain the trey at such a ridiculous clip and at such a high percentage.  I wonder though, how much more effective would Anderson be as an actual stretch four?  It seems as though Anderson was the starting small forward for the Pelicans, though Aminu still averaged over 28 minutes per game.  Again, it seems like Rizzo has attempted to fit square pegs into rounds holes for in the interest of fielding his best players – there is substantial duplication at both the SG and PF positions.



Landry was a nice pick up on a one year contract, but again raises the question as to Davis' position on the court.  With both Anderson and Landry on board, it seems that Davis is slotted in at center for Rizzo's young squad.  Landry brings above average scoring, but is quite average elsewhere.



I’m not all that sure what warranted Smith seeing close to 18 minutes of court time last year for the Pelicans and I’m not all too sure why the decision was made to bring him back.  He’s not incredibly bright, nor disciplined, nor defensively gifted, nor a terrific rebounder… but, perhaps he’s a nice guy?  For a center, he shoots a miserable 46.7 percent.  Both Smith and Lopez combined for 27 minutes per game, so it seems as if the balance of minutes available at the five is going to Davis.



Not much to say here about a guy who only averaged 9.1 minutes per game other than… Well, I guess you can’t teach height?

The Questions Remain

Can this squad make the playoffs?  Will Smart and/or Davis take the next step this offseason?  Will players have definable roles on this squad?

Any reason you posted this and not Rizzo? Just wondering.

Jake0890 (MIN) wrote:Any reason you posted this and not Rizzo? Just wondering.

We decided to mix it up.  It's less a fluff piece and more direct.  Plus, I'm going to add to this once TC is over with, but wanted to give everyone a benchmark for Season Preview articles.

Interested to see what Rizzo has to say about his favorite team....

Nice switch up between the two of you. Great read too, it'll definitely be an interesting season to start.

Great job SS and I'll be sure to work on yours in the very near future (hopefully have it done tomorrow). Definitely going to be refreshing to write about another team. Loved your analysis of the squad and I know I will no longer be able to so tight on this roster and loves will have to be made.

Actually AD does have a hole in his game. His DRFL is pretty low for a big man.

Cool idea, the Hornets have a bright future and the Smart/Davis duo will insure they are competitive for the next decade or so.

Great preview man! really like it   

As you pointed out, there's still plenty of talent in the west. But talent I've seen some teams underperform before, teams that look great on paper but later on can't make it work trough all their good players.
I do prefer more balanced teams that make the most of it's good players, and that could be the case here in Nola IMO. As I mentioned earlier on other place, I can see both Davis (specially) and Smarthaving breakout seasons this years, and with them this team reaching the postseason in the west. Everyone mentions the bright future this team has ahead, but this future might have already started for the fun of the Pelicans fans and the league itself!   

Jestor (PHX) wrote:Actually AD does have a hole in his game.  His DRFL is pretty low for a big man.

Fair point - although I show that he still has some room to grow in that respect, he's never going to draw significant contact.

I would've liked to have seen Rizzo spend some cash and make a push for a slight difference maker at a position of need like an Alec Burks or someone to grow with the core he has but that's his tendency, to stay staunch with his assets be patient and grow. Not sure these guys make a playoff push this season though they did make one last season so I very well could be wrong.

Nice idea switching up articles, good read.

Wow, great review. Definitly a team to watch this season. Last year, they were in the playoff hunt until about late Feb where injuries and tough schedule contributed to them slipping out of playoffs... we'll see what happens this year

I like the idea of Season Previews for another team, makes it more interesting when you are writing it up I think instead of always writing about your team.

Anyway, great preview. The Pelicans have a lot of talent, but like stated before, the West is tough and for them to sneak in, one of the other teams would have to fall out. I think this team needs to figure out their identity and the true positions of their players as hinted in this preview. Once that happens, the Pelicans should take the next step.