Pelicans NBA Picks
The New Orleans Pelicans are an up-and-coming team with an improved roster from the 2013-14 campaign. Players such as Jrue Holiday, Ryan Anderson and Omer Asik will be difference-makers if healthy, but success begins and ends with the health and production of Anthony Davis.
2014-15 New Orleans Pelicans
Western Conference
2013-14 Record: 34-48 (22-19 @ Home) .415
Odds to win Title: 100 to 1
Odds to win Conference: 40/1
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Pelicans Key Losses
Anthony Morrow – With Anthony Morrow gone, the Pelicans are missing out on 8.4 points per contest this upcoming season. The bigger problem, though, is that this group is missing a player who is extremely efficient from downtown, as he knocked down 45.1 percent of his three-pointers last season.
Al-Farouq Aminu – The fact that Morrow and Al-Farouq Aminu are the only significant losses shows that this group avoided monumental departures during the offseason.
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For that reason, fans can be hopeful that another year with a similar roster will result in more wins in 2015.
Pelicans Top Newcomers
Omer Asik – The Houston Rockets should have traded Omer Asik as soon as they acquired Dwight Howard. As it turns out, they held onto him through the duration of the playoffs, and now New Orleans is hoping that the big man is the perfect pairing alongside the up-and-coming Anthony Davis.
Jimmer Fredette – Although the NBA career of Jimmer Fredette hasn’t gone as planned, he has a chance to renew his reputation in New Orleans. His three-point touch hasn’t disappeared, and if he can remind people of that this season, it will officially begin Phase 2 of his playing days.
Pelicans Top Players
Anthony Davis – Anthony Davis is just 21 years old, and yet he’s already knocking on the door of the league’s best players for the 2015 MVP award. Will he win it this year? Not likely. Team success plays a role in voters’ decisions, and that could be problematic if this group doesn’t make the playoffs. The truth is, though, that Davis is becoming one of the best players in the league early in his career. His two-way capabilities are among the best in the Association, and he should continue making a name for himself this season.
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Ryan Anderson – Like Anthony Davis, health is going to help determine success. He missed a whole slew of games last year that kept him out of the national spotlight, and if he can stay on the floor, his three-point shooting will help spread the floor for whoever else is in the game manning the frontcourt.
Jrue Holiday – Like Davis and Anderson, Jrue Holiday needs to prove he can stay healthy. He’s a former All-Star, and his game will shine alongside the youth on this roster if he can stay away from injuries.
Eric Gordon – Like Davis, Anderson and Holiday, Eric Gordon needs to prove he can stay healthy…Am I sounding like a broken record yet? This team has too much talent to waste it on the bench, but that’s exactly what’s going to happen if injuries continue to batter this roster the way it has in recent history.
Pelicans Strengths
Youth/Experience – This team has youth and experience all over the roster. Starting with Davis, this team should be energized all year, and the hope for head coach Monty Williams is that he can mold the youth into production sooner rather than later.
Pelicans Weaknesses
Experience – As exciting as this team will be to watch, and as much potential as it has, there’s no significant experience to be found anywhere on the roster.
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Aside from Davis’ Team USA showing, this group doesn’t have any meaningful games played from any player, and that will bite this group if the goal is to truly make a run at the postseason.
Pelicans 2014 Betting Prediction
This group is going to be improved. The only way we see a regression in 2014-15 is if health continues to be a problem, and if the team avoids injury (or at least lengthy, significant injuries), 45 wins shouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility.
The problem?
Forty-five wins likely doesn’t get the job done when it comes to making the playoffs. The Western Conference is absolutely brutal, and chances are, this team is at least one more year away from being a true contender as it pertains to making the postseason.
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