It seems like just yesterday we saw the Warriors blow a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals. But that doesn’t matter now as the 2016-17 NBA season is about to tip off! Let’s take a look at a relatively new team in the New Orleans Pelicans….
Tough Start to the Season
The first few weeks of the regular season for the Pels is going to be a tough one highlighted by Golden State twice, the Spurs sans Tim Duncan, and the Milwaukee Bucks twice in the first ten games. What makes the schedule even more difficult is that Tyreke Evans, Quincy Pondexter and Jrue Holiday will be out for at least the first couple weeks. Holiday’s departure is understandable as he is currently with his wife who is recovering from a brain tumor, but all three are players whose absence will hurt New Orleans in this early stretch if they’re not in the lineup for a significant amount of time. Tim Frazier could potentially be a temporary answer for Holiday until he is ready to return, but he won’t be able to duplicate what Evans or Holiday has done on the court.
Injury Bug Still Plagues New Orleans
The injury bug doesn’t just affect the Saints. It’s been hurting the Pelicans too, especially last season. Anthony Davis was out for several games before being shut down late in the season and that cause this team to fall apart as the season continued to take its toll on this team and led to a poor first year under former Warriors assistant Alvin Gentry. If this team wants to compete in the incredibly difficult Western Conference, the Pels will need to try and get healthy and quick if they don’t want to get lost in the shuffle.
Buddy and the Brow Era Begins
After a poor season, the Pelicans wound up in the draft lottery for the first time in a while after they traded picks away the last couple of seasons. They did get one of the best players in college hoops though, with former Sooner Buddy Hield joining the sqaud. He fits the evolving style of the NBA where three point shooting is continuing to become a bigger part of every team’s game plan. I have been excited to see how Hield will be able to transition from college to the pros, but we might have to wait to see him in the starting five. When he does crack Alvin Gentry’s starting lineup though, it’ll hopefully will give this team an offensive boost and give Anthony Davis more chances to be the type of play maker he can be.
Expectations
The Pelicans road was always going to be tough because they’re in one of the tougher divisions in the NBA. Only time will tell if the departures of Kevin Durant and the retirement of Tim Duncan will lower the level of talent in the Southwest division. I think they’ll start out 5-5 and end up a couple of games over .500 after the currently injured players return, which could mean that New Orleans might be making it to the playoffs for the second time in three years.
-Clint Domingue