Saving Private Davis
I don’t even think the New Orleans Pelicans knew what they had when they drafted one Anthony Marshon Davis with the first overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. There was always a notion that he was a very special player, but no one really knew how much. I think Davis’ incredible development and a phenomenal rookie year, coupled with years of strife and losing Chris Paul forced the Pellies’ to accelerate on the part towards success, except they took the wrong turn.
Anthony Davis is a physical phenomenon. His combination of size, skill and athleticism makes you question whether or not he came out of a lab somewhere in the middle of Arizona. He is not as much a human body as a collection of spider-limbs on steroids, flashing through lanes and coming seemingly out of nowhere to block your shot from here to Novosibirsk. In his second season everyone was already talking about him as the unanimous future of the league. The transcending, Lebron-esque like presence that illuminated everything around him, provided he can stay healthy (knock on wood, all the wood, go outside, knock out a tree, the NBA needs a healthy Anthony Davis). The he did this:
And the world blew up.
It’s easy to see why we speak of Davis in such high regard. He grew up playing point guard before an inexplicable growth spurt turned him into a pterodactyl shaped menace on the court. He can handle the ball when necessary and can get to the rim at ease. 2015 was easily one of his better years, the year when everyone saw potential. Of what Davis could become. His mid-range game elevated and he became a threat in the pick and roll. Guarding Davis became a game of inevitability. You had to come out with him to the mid-range or he’d bury jumpers all night, but when you did he he was easily faster than any big man and skilled enough to turn their ankles into vapors on his way to assault the rim.
When you look at his 2016, you will notice a whole lot less green. While at first that seems like a bad thing, you can’t ignore two things A) The number of attempts around most spots leveled out across the board. B) Davis took less than 10 threes in 2014/15 before taking a significant attempts jump in 2015/16 while significantly improving his percentage. Part of that was the game of necessity as the Pelicans second best shooter last year may have been Monty Williams when it’s all said and done. The other part is, he is actually getting good making threes, which has to be legitimately scary. A game changer on both offense and defense (able to appear as if out of thin air, jump into the stratosphere and banish an attempted shot to the fourth dimension) Davis’ stats were a neat 24.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. And even with his unearthly contributions the Pelicans managed to be 18th in offensive rating and an embarrassing 27th in on the other end. Part of it was of course that their medical staff actively employs doctor Nick Riviera, but the other part is that they whiffed on appropriate team construction to complement Davis’ strengths.
Waiting to accelerate the impact of their star the management went after what they perceived to be fringe players with potential to break out as well as smaller contributors they believed were ready for larger role (based of irresponsibly small sample size). Ryan Anderson was theoretically a good fit, had he stayed healthy. His ability to stretch the floor is perfect to pair with Davis’ magnetic property to suck in every player as he enters the paint. His defensive inefficiencies on the other hand can be covered up by the Brow’s Weapon X natural abilities. Unfortunately Ryan Anderson was as close as the Pelicans came to getting it right and it didn’t quite work.
Everything else was basically subtraction by addition. The Pelicans criminally over payed Omer Asik based of about 15 minutes of actual game footage and he never grew into the rim-protector foil to free Davis up at the four. His inability to catch a basketball, a baseball, a set of keys or any kind of blessings (he is top 10 in the league at catching shade when adjusted per 36 minutes) make him impossible to keep on the floor. Furthermore, the way the NBA is reshuffling the traditional line-ups, New Orleans don’t really need to scheme to get Davis at the four, he is the perfect five for the modern era.
The more high-profile signings were also mired with injury. Both Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holidays spent a significant amount of time on the sidelines and when they played neither really fit in, specifically due to their inability to stretch the floor. Both are below average shooters for their position (Tyreke is 38.3% from three, Jrue — 33.6%). While one would be a manageable addition to the scheme, having both on the court shifts the spacing too much inward for Davis to operate or be effective. The irony here is of course that Jrue is a much better fit with Anthony Davis as a passer and a mid-range shooter since Tyreke thrives more on his drives to the rim, something he perfected in Sacramento. Overall it’s a funky bunch of skill-sets put together more on potential value over appropriate scheme fit.
With just a few more years left of Pelicans’ undisputed ownership of AD, it’s time for the team to start making their sales pitch now.
Alvin Gentry seems to be a good choice to lead the team forward. He really perfected the pace and space offense that they ran in Phoenix and will hope to unleash Davis on terrified opposition at full speed. Think of it as a 7'0ft Russell Westbrook charging at you at full speed. Of course he will have to unlock the space in which Davis can operate and that may take some creative rotations such as shifting either Holiday or Evans to the bench. Speaking of both players, this is the deciding year on their future in New Orleans. Feasibly, there is no space for both of them next to AD, unless someone can shoot over the 40% clip from distance so someone is gone. Whether it’s a tread or a lead up to free agency remains to be seen and is largely dependent on Gentry’s creativity.
Luckily, it seems that the management decided to introduce some sort of critical thinking to their free agency process. They didn’t overspend in the current market (I see you Lakers) and they added smart pieces that are prefect for both the Gentry system and for pairing with Anthony Davis. Sure, the lack of shiny new expensive toys may be worrisome right now, but punting on Anderson’s and Gordon’s salaries leave them the financial flexibility to challenge for a Westbrook next free agency once they figure out what to do with their other spare pieces.
I understand that the signing s of Langston Galloway, E’Twan Moore and Solomon Hill are not exactly the sexy free agency moves that get the fans excited, but for the lack of better options on the market, NOLA spent the money somewhat wisely. Galloway showed flashes of being a productive guard in New York and is familiar with the system that Gentry will try to run. Moore is a very good shooter (45.3% from three last season) who should be an off ball-guard in most line-ups helping free up space for Davis. The intriguing piece here is Hill. While he didn’t exactly set the world on fire last season, he is the prototypical 3/4 in the modern NBA who can play both outside and in while guarding across multiple positions. He isn’t a particularly amazing shooter, but he was en fuego in the playoffs from behind the arc, torching the Raptors at 57.9% (!!!) going 11/19 through the series. It is a very small sample size, but playing with Anthony Davis in either the small ball 4 or a less athletic 3 can give him more open looks than he was afforded in Indiana.
The intriguing addition here is Terrence Jones on a low risk / high reward deal worth somewhere around 1.5M dollars. In a market where literally EVERYONE is getting paid it is weird to see Jones, who is one season removed from his 12.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.3 block year. The big question here is his durability and if he can stay on the court long enough to make an impact. Otherwise, his chemistry with Davis is a major boost. He is the type of two-way four that will slide well with Anthony Davis. Capable of above-average shooting at a distance for his position, he doesn’t really give up much defensively either. Slotting him beside Davis as a 4/5 combination could really help unlock the space for either to operate.
It’s safe to say that the Pelicans didn’t exactly set the world on fire with their off-season, but unlike the previous years they focused on building around a player and a system with smaller pieces, hoping to make an incremental leap this year (possible 8th seed) and then see what shakes out next year. Don’t expect them to entirely shake of 4 miserable off-seasons in one go, but not over-reaching on past mistakes is a smart start. Giving this team a year in the Gentry system and a final trial run for both Reke and Jrue on their future in New Orleans is a good start. Just make sure Anthony Davis is at the center of it all and be ready to pull the trigger when you see him ready to soar.
