2017–18 NBA Season Preview: New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans have the two best offensive bigmen in the entire NBA in Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins — the two averaged a combined 55 points per game and 22.8 rebounds per game. But they’ve failed horribly when it comes to surrounding them with the proper talent. They needed to surround their twin towers with shooting and perimeter defense, and they did the opposite. Looking at their roster, they don’t have a single great shooter or perimeter defender.
Offseason Moves
Re-signed: Jrue Holiday
Added: Rajon Rondo (Free Agency), Ian Clark (Free Agency), Frank Jackson (Draft)
Lost: Tim Frazier (Trade)
The Pelicans had no leverage when it came to the contract negotiations with Holiday. They had to give him whatever he wanted, because they didn’t have enough money to pursue any other serious options to replace him. So they were forced to overpay him, which is unfortunate, but they had to do it. Trading Frazier for the 52nd pick was a very weird decision, as he’s a more than viable option to be a backup ball-handler. Jackson fits as the type of player they should be looking for, but he likely won’t be able to make an impact right away.
They are reportedly planning to start Rondo and Holiday together, which is going to be very weird. Again, the Pelicans entered this offseason needing to improve their shooting and defense- then got worse at both. Clark was a more than worthy gamble, getting a player with his upside, offensive versatility and shooting ability on a minimum contract was a no-brainer.
The Key to Their Success
The key to New Orleans’ success next season is pretty obvious — shooting. If role players like E’Twaun Moore and Solomon Hill can come in and play quality minutes next to the bigs and knock down open looks with consistency, the Pelicans will be incredibly difficult to guard.
Player to Watch
When watching the Pelicans this season, focus on DeMarcus Cousins. Not because he’s a lock for 20 and 10 every night, or because he’s an absolutely lethal scorer from every level- watch his body language. To put it lightly, he hasn’t been a happy camper during his time in the NBA — he frequently complains and gets called for technical fouls, and is considered by some to be a locker room cancer. Cousins is in his contract year- if things aren’t going well for the Pelicans and Cousins starts to show bad body language, it could be the beginning of the end for his brief stay in New Orleans.
Best and Worst Case Scenarios
Best case: The role players come through and shoot the lights out, Cousins and Davis destroy opposing bigs, and the Pelicans cruise into one of the top four seeds in the mighty Western Conference.
Worst case: The peculiar configuration of the roster fails, Cousins quickly becomes disgruntled and is traded for much less than he was acquired for last February, and New Orleans misses the playoffs.
Predicting Their Fate
The shooting and defense on this team are major concerns, but the duo of Davis and Cousins is too dominant to be denied a playoff spot- the Pelicans make the postseason, but are likely ousted in round one.
