NO Pelicans struggling against Jazz with no Favors

[CelticsFanFromNYC]

I know his Davis supporting cast isnt the greatest but sheesh! down 21 going into the 4th?

Edit:  35 minutes played n 10-15. He needs to throw more shots up. If he must score 50 to win so be it. And why is he only averaging 17 FGA's???

[chambers]

NO is on the 2nd of a back to back.
Davis also hurt his knee pretty badly last night and suffered a contusion- I'm surprised he's playing but he would definitely be sore (had to be carried off vs Clippers).

They've only had Asik and Holiday for 2 and 3 games, so they'll take a while to get clicking.
They probably don't make the playoffs but they'll finish somewhere around the Kings/Suns level teams.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

NO is just bad. They have to be the number one most likely team to make a (panic?) trade in December.

Davis is going no where, but I think everyone else on that team could be had. They probably want lanky do-it-all guys to maximize Davis talents. It seems like most everyone on their team is one or two dimensional.

[saltlover]

NO is just bad. They have to be the number one most likely team to make a (panic?) trade in December.

Davis is going no where, but I think everyone else on that team could be had. They probably want lanky do-it-all guys to maximize Davis talents. It seems like most everyone on their team is one or two dimensional.

Seeing how bad that supporting cast is -- why would you want any of them?  Very broken team right now.  Can't believe they fired their coach last spring.

[LarBrd33]

Part of the problem with the Pelicans is that by pretty much any measure, Jrue Holiday is their second best player.  That kid is legit.  People forget about him now, but he's an impact player when healthy.  Last couple years he's averaged something like 15 points, 7.5 assists, 4 rebounds, 1.6 steals with 45%/38%/83% shooting.   He makes a major difference when he plays.  Unfortunately, he's had some injury trouble and this year supposedly feels 100%, but the team has a strict minute restriction until January for him.  He started out at 15 minutes... then 20... now he's up to something like 25 minutes.  He's averaging 22mpg and still playing really well in those minutes, but it's got to be hard for the team to get a good rhytm going when their 2nd best player can't play normal minutes.

Then the other issue is that Tyreke Evans hasn't played... he's probably their 3rd best player.17 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds last year in 34mpg.    He's a less efficient scorer than Jrue, but a big help for them.  He's supposedly coming back on Tuesday.   

Those two playing regular minutes should help them.  They should start making a run in January.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Part of the problem with the Pelicans is that by pretty much any measure, Jrue Holiday is their second best player.  That kid is legit.  People forget about him now, but he's an impact player when healthy.  Last couple years he's averaged something like 15 points, 7.5 assists, 4 rebounds, 1.6 steals with 45%/38%/83% shooting.   He makes a major difference when he plays.  Unfortunately, he's had some injury trouble and this year supposedly feels 100%, but the team has a strict minute restriction until January for him.  He started out at 15 minutes... then 20... now he's up to something like 25 minutes.  He's averaging 22mpg and still playing really well in those minutes, but it's got to be hard for the team to get a good rhytm going when their 2nd best player can't play normal minutes.

Then the other issue is that Tyreke Evans hasn't played... he's probably their 3rd best player.17 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds last year in 34mpg.    He's a less efficient scorer than Jrue, but a big help for them.  He's supposedly coming back on Tuesday.   

Those two playing regular minutes should help them.  They should start making a run in January.

TP.  They are the poster child for keeping flexibility and not making panic trades, but they could turn it around with those guys back in the line up

[Who]

I know his Davis supporting cast isnt the greatest but sheesh! down 21 going into the 4th?

Edit:  35 minutes played n 10-15. He needs to throw more shots up. If he must score 50 to win so be it. And why is he only averaging 17 FGA's???

I'd like to see New Orleans get Anthony Davis to shoot & score less ... and to concentrate more on his defense, rebounding and passing. He is such a talented player in those areas and he is coming nowhere close to his potential because of all the scoring burden they are placing on him. Davis can do so much more to help his teammates than he is currently doing because coaches there are more concerned about his scoring opportunities than the team overall.

[Emmette Bryant]

http://deadspin.com/the-pelicans-are-a-Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.n-mess-1748900679

[hpantazo]

NO is just bad. They have to be the number one most likely team to make a (panic?) trade in December.

Davis is going no where, but I think everyone else on that team could be had. They probably want lanky do-it-all guys to maximize Davis talents. It seems like most everyone on their team is one or two dimensional.

Why would they make a panic trade? They are in San Antonio-David Robinson era territory here, where they could possibly land Simmons while keeping Anthony Davis, Jrue Holliday, Tyreke Evans, and Ryan Anderson. I think they are doing exactly what they need to do.

[Eddie20]

Part of the problem with the Pelicans is that by pretty much any measure, Jrue Holiday is their second best player.  That kid is legit.  People forget about him now, but he's an impact player when healthy.  Last couple years he's averaged something like 15 points, 7.5 assists, 4 rebounds, 1.6 steals with 45%/38%/83% shooting.   He makes a major difference when he plays.  Unfortunately, he's had some injury trouble and this year supposedly feels 100%, but the team has a strict minute restriction until January for him.  He started out at 15 minutes... then 20... now he's up to something like 25 minutes.  He's averaging 22mpg and still playing really well in those minutes, but it's got to be hard for the team to get a good rhytm going when their 2nd best player can't play normal minutes.

Then the other issue is that Tyreke Evans hasn't played... he's probably their 3rd best player.17 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds last year in 34mpg.    He's a less efficient scorer than Jrue, but a big help for them.  He's supposedly coming back on Tuesday.   

Those two playing regular minutes should help them.  They should start making a run in January.

TP.  They are the poster child for keeping flexibility and not making panic trades, but they could turn it around with those guys back in the line up

Really? I would think it's the opposite. They traded 2 1st rd picks (1 was Noel) for Holiday, who had a bad knee pre-trade, and then signed him long term. Then, they traded a 1st rd pick for Asik and then badly overpaid him this summer. If anything, they would have much more flexibility by not making these quick fix trades and remaining patient.

[Who]

I think they should blow up their roster and rebuild team around Anthony Davis before he gets any older. He just signed that new contract extension so they have a nice cushion here to build the team properly and make sure they have a strong title contender level team by the time Davis enters the final 2 years of his contract.

I think they should:

(1) trade Ryan Anderson and Omer Asik. Both players are one-way bigs.
(2) fire the coach and hire someone competent. Thibs would be great.
(3) move Anthony Davis to center full time
(4) trade Tyreke Evans. Too much of his quality contributions comes at the expense of others.
(5) trade Eric Gordon. His game has fallen off a cliff due to injuries.
(6) keep Jrue Holiday for now and see if he can recover physically. If not, dump him too.
(7) Commit to an uptempo basketball team built around the strength of A.Davis' defense, rebounding and passing ability as a present-day version of Bill Russell / Bill Walton. Surround him with team players who can run, defend and provide some scoring / shooting.

[Rondo9]

I think they should blow up their roster and rebuild team around Anthony Davis before he gets any older. He just signed that new contract extension so they have a nice cushion here to build the team properly and make sure they have a strong title contender level team by the time Davis enters the final 2 years of his contract.

I think they should:

(1) trade Ryan Anderson and Omer Asik. Both players are one-way bigs.
(2) fire the coach and hire someone competent. Thibs would be great.
(3) move Anthony Davis to center full time
(4) trade Tyreke Evans. Too much of his quality contributions comes at the expense of others.
(5) trade Eric Gordon. His game has fallen off a cliff due to injuries.
(6) keep Jrue Holiday for now and see if he can recover physically. If not, dump him too.
(7) Commit to an uptempo basketball team built around the strength of A.Davis' defense, rebounding and passing ability as a present-day version of Bill Russell / Bill Walton. Surround him with team players who can run, defend and provide some scoring / shooting.

I'd say keep Ryan Anderson since his 3 point shooting is beneficial for Davis if he decides to become a center.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Let's not put Davis and Russell in the same sentence yet. Almost every stat (except blocks) indicate that his impact on defense is negligible.

I think he can be good on defense, but I am honestly beginning to think he is more of an offensive player than defensive (I know this goes against the common narrative on Davis). I think they need someone else to anchor their defense so that he can focus on offense during the game and making occasional key defensive plays.

This is one of the reasons I wonder if they would be interested in Smart. Smart could play both wing positions to anchor their defense. They would probably still want a versatile two way big next to Davis.

Not saying that I want to trade our guys, but from a "I love making up trades" point of view, here is my proposal:

Johnson, Smart to the Pelicans

Anderson, Evans to the Celtics

Johnson and Smart gives the Pelicans a defensive backbone with a decent amount of versatility. Smart, Holliday, and Gordon would be a pretty good backcourt that compliments each other well.

Ainge wanted Evans a while ago. He is another shot creator (albeit not a very efficiency one). Anderson's scoring mindset would help in our frontcourt. We keep roster flexibility.

Or they may be interested in Sully's fit next to Davis (they are more similar in age too).

I think I'd rather keep our guys, but from a "Trade Fan" perspective, it seems like it works.

[Who]

I agree that Anthony Davis' impact defensively isn't what it should be but I believe that is due to the organization he is part of who are intent on developing him as an offensive player rather than as a facilitator (defender, rebounder, passer).

They want him to be a 25-30ppg scorer. They want him to be a bigger Michael Jordan.

Not a Bill Russell or Bill Walton ...

... which is how Anthony Davis should be developed. He has remarkable talent as a team defender, rebounder and team offense (jump-shooting + passing). Anthony Davis has the talent to control games without scoring and do more to help improve his teammates better than any other player in the league. Instead of focusing on this and developing these characteristics (which Davis also has mentality for as shown in NCAA), NOP are trying to turn him into MJ.

It drives me NUTS!!!

[BornReady]

I think they should blow up their roster and rebuild team around Anthony Davis before he gets any older. He just signed that new contract extension so they have a nice cushion here to build the team properly and make sure they have a strong title contender level team by the time Davis enters the final 2 years of his contract.

I think they should:

(1) trade Ryan Anderson and Omer Asik. Both players are one-way bigs.
(2) fire the coach and hire someone competent. Thibs would be great.
(3) move Anthony Davis to center full time
(4) trade Tyreke Evans. Too much of his quality contributions comes at the expense of others.
(5) trade Eric Gordon. His game has fallen off a cliff due to injuries.
(6) keep Jrue Holiday for now and see if he can recover physically. If not, dump him too.
(7) Commit to an uptempo basketball team built around the strength of A.Davis' defense, rebounding and passing ability as a present-day version of Bill Russell / Bill Walton. Surround him with team players who can run, defend and provide some scoring / shooting.

1 - I agree with this, but they're going to have difficulty getting any value for Asik cuz of he's large contract and poor play. ryan Anderson has a ton of value and considering he would most likely leave next year to a team that could offer more playing time and contend as well as it being pointless having a starter caliber PF behind the best PF in the NBA. They should try trade Anderson for a serviceable SF.

2. To early to fire gentry as the team had injuries at the start and plus he is only new to coaching. Also I don't think thibs had interest in coaching this team as they made a run at him in the off season before signing gentry.

3. I like Davis at PF as that is he's natural position.

4. Not sure that they'd get much for tyreke.

5. They would most likely need to swallow more money in contracts for the trade as Gordon has large overpay contract as well as even out the trade. Best just to let it expire this season for more spending money for free agents next season.