Uncharted Water For The Pelicans

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Anthony Davis

A victory tonight by the New Orleans Pelicans will see them clinch their first playoff spot since 2011 and a lot has changed for the franchise since then. After that season the then New Orleans Hornets traded their franchise player in point guard Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers after he made it evident that he no longer wanted to be there. The Hornets would then have the first overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft which they used on power forward Anthony Davis. In 2013, the Hornets would change their name to the Pelicans under new team owner Tom Benson. And through drafting and several trades, the Pelicans have been trending upwards in the brutal Western Conference.

In his first season in New Orleans, Pelicans head coach Monty Williams took his club to the postseason. And the Pelicans front office has stood by Williams as this team was rebuilding. Now the Pelicans patience with Williams appears to be paying off as New Orleans has one of the youngest teams in the NBA that is gelling together.

In 2012, New Orleans brought Davis in and he is turning into a bonafide star. Davis is a two-time NBA All-Star and he is becoming one of the better power forwards in the NBA. This season Davis is averaging 24.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game as he has 39 double-doubles on the campaign. Davis is also leading the NBA in blocks for the second consecutive season and he’s also becoming the Pelicans franchise player. Aside from Davis, the Pelicans have swingman Tyreke Evans and point guard Jrue Holiday as their core players and the trio has combined to average 55.8 points per game this season. The Pelicans acquired Evans from the Sacramento Kings in 2013 and what they have in him is the 2010 NBA Rookie of the Year and another ball handler on the perimeter. Holiday has missed 42 games this season due to injury, but when he is healthy he gives the Pelicans one of the fastest and most elusive point guards in the Western Conference.

All season long this Pelicans squad has shown signs of maturity. The past few seasons would have seen the Pelicans fold up shop with injuries to players such as Davis and Holiday, but that hasn’t been the case this season. The Pelicans have never lost more than four games in a row this season and New Orleans’ last four-game losing streak came in late March as the likes of the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, and Houston Rockets were simply too much for them. But since the Pelicans have rallied and they’ve done what good teams do which is to beat up on the also-rans in the league. And a win over the defending NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs tonight is all that the Pelicans will need to get them to the promised land of the NBA Playoffs. A victory by the Pelicans will also mean that each team in the Southwest Division will have qualified for the NBA Playoffs this season which is a remarkable feat.

The Pelicans turnaround is just what the City of New Orleans needed. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, New Orleans looked at losing their second NBA franchise as the Jazz left town in 1979 in favor of Salt Lake City, Utah. And for most of the time between 2005-2007, New Orleans would see their hometown team call Oklahoma City, Oklahoma home. From 2008-2011, the then Hornets would make the NBA Playoffs three times, but this current team seems to be different. The Pelicans appear to be building something as everyone looks to be all in. If the Pelicans do qualify for the postseason, they’ll be the only team in the Western Conference Playoffs that wasn’t there in 2014. And for Evans, Davis, and Holiday, it’ll be their first time in the rodeo. But for the Pelicans to have come as far as they have this season, this is a team that shouldn’t be fazed by the postseason spotlight.

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