Halfway to Nowhere: The Pelicans First Half, and What Comes Next
By Mike Delayo
As the official halfway point of the NBA season approaches, the average fan has a pretty good sense of how their team will finish the season. The Warriors and the Hawks will likely continue their historic tears, while once confident Lakers and Knicks fans try to wipe up their tears.
If only Pelicans fans could be so lucky.
After they squared off against the Knicks last night, New Orleans finished their first half with a record of 20-21
Jan 19, 2015; New York, NY, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard
Quincy Pondexter(20) reacts against the New York Knicks late in the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks defeated the Pelicans 99-92. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Teams that are stuck at .500 usually walk along the same path in all sports. They will get hot for a stretch, go steady for a little while, and then go a bit south to even things out. This is not unusual.
The Pelicans have done away with that plan completely. Instead, they seem to be determined to stay at exactly .500. Going into Sunday’s game in Toronto the Pelicans had managed to sit at exactly .500 15 times, according to the Times-Picayune. After surprisingly defeating Toronto, that number became 16, as their record improved to 20-20.
Despite the constant fluctuation of their success, the Pelicans have definitely done some good things this year.
The Division
It is no secret that the Southwest Division is the toughest division in the NBA, and possibly all of professional sports. No other division in the league has at least four teams at least at .500. The Southwest has five.
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Memphis, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio are all sitting comfortably in the playoff seeds of the West. For New Orleans to even have a chance at sniffing the postseason, they have to hold their own sixteen times against four of the West’s best.
Right now the Pelicans sit at 5-4 within the division, which is pretty impressive given that the division leading Grizzlies boast the same record.
If not for the scarring tip-in off of Asik/Duncan on New Year’s Eve (sorry for bringing that up), they would be at a cozy 6-3.
While simply holding their own would have been enough, the Pelicans have at times exhibited dominance against these teams. They took care of the Rockets on January 2nd and the Grizzlies on the 16th in impressive fashion.
The Pelicans margin of defeat in their four losses averages out to 6, and that is including their 12 point loss to Memphis in the first week of the season. It is unfair to ask for wins in every game against such difficult opponents. But with the exception of that Grizzlies game, the Pelicans have had the opportunity to take control of every other loss in the fourth quarter.
Dec 28, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) shoots the ball as San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan (21) defends during the second half at AT&T Center. The Spurs won 110-106. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
An 8-8 record against their division rivals would not be an accomplishment to laugh at, especially since the Pelicans only had 9 divisional wins in the last two seasons combined. Continued success in this department would go a long way.
Health
Heading into the last road trip of the first half, the Pelicans were boasting a fully healthy roster, something that could not be said at this point in the season last year. Ryan Anderson, despite his cold shooting, is the only player on the roster to have played in all 41 games. Tyreke Evans played 40, and Jrue Holiday, Anthony Davis, and Omer Asik all logged 37 games.
The bench has played less games mostly due to DNPs and mid season signings. Aside from the week John Salmons had to be excused for family reasons the reserves have been readily available so far.
At this point last season, Anderson, Holiday, and former Pelican Jason Smith were already out for the year.
Holiday has missed the past 4 games, with Davis missing the past 3. Their injuries have been described as “not serious”, and they both continue to be game time decisions. Hopefully, the whole team will be back in the lineup before long.
At Home
The Pelicans have played very well in the Smoothie King Center so far. They boast a 12-5 record with a home-loaded schedule to finish the season (24 games left at home).
For New Orleans, any loss to a team that is not in playoff contention is considered a bad loss. At home they only have one bad loss, and that was to a hot Sacramento Kings team in the beginning of the season.
The Pelicans have played very well in the Smoothie King Center so far. They boast a 12-5 record with a home-loaded schedule to finish the season.
The Mavericks and Wizards won pretty fair fights in New Orleans, but the Trail Blazers really put on a show. Portland’s 114-88 victory provided the Pelicans with their largest margin of defeat thus far.
One blow out in 17 games is nothing to get too worried about, especially since Portland continues to play like a top team in the NBA.
The fifth loss came at the hands of the best team in the Western Conference, Golden State Warriors. Anthony Davis had been injured early on against Cleveland the night before and was not available to play.
Nonetheless, Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday both reached 30 points and went toe-to-toe with the Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson all night. Tyreke missed a shot in the waning seconds of regulation that could have won the game, and the Warriors snatched the victory in overtime.
The Pels also had some pretty nice wins on their home floor. Oklahoma City, Houston, Cleveland, Memphis, Phoenix and San Antonio all tasted defeat in the Smoothie King Center. The team has enjoyed decent success at home so far this season. If they want to continue to make a push for the playoffs, they must continue to take out fellow contenders when they come into New Orleans.
The Pelicans are a totally different story once they leave Louisiana.
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The Road
New Orleans started off the season relatively well on the road. Up until December 23rd, the team was 6-9 on the road. That does not look very appealing from the surface, but the only bad loss was to a Denver Nuggets team that always seems to take advantage of their mile high advantage.
The rest of the losses came more as a result of consistent high level competition than low level play of the Pelicans. Memphis, Cleveland, Portland, Atlanta and Golden State were all stops on this grueling road trek.
That said, New Orleans still managed to pick up some tough wins along the way. With victories in Houston, Oklahoma City and San Antonio under their belt, the Eastern Conference portion of the road trip would be a breeze.
And that is where the trouble began.
On December 23rd, the Pelicans lost a pretty ugly game in Indiana to the hometown Pacers. That loss was the first of seven to come in the next 9 road games.
The next two stops on the road were in Chicago and San Antonio. The Pels stuck with the Bulls until the end, a team that has legitimate championship hopes. The overtime loss against the Spurs was a painful tip in away from being another solid road victory. These two losses are not good, but they are acceptable. The next four road losses were completely unacceptable.
Jan 7, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard
Kemba Walker(15) gets a rebound from New Orleans Pelicans guard forward Tyreke Evans (1) during the second half of the game at Time Warner Cable Arena. Hornets win 98-94. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
Charlotte, Boston, Philadelphia and New York join Indiana as five of the seven worst teams in the already inferior Western Conference. Philly and New York are arguably the worst teams in basketball.
Even with Davis and Holiday missing the last few games, the losses cannot be defended. The Pelicans obviously have the ability to win: they beat a red hot Pistons team in Detroit, and a Raptors team near the top of their conference in Toronto.
While it is nice that they managed to beat two good teams, this was supposed to be the stretch that New Orleans used to gain ground in the playoff race. Instead, they floundered their opportunity and put themselves in a difficult situation. To make the playoffs, this team will have to do a 180 and really start pounding their opponents on the road.
This team’s problems go deeper into the team as well, with individual performances Tyreke Evans and Ryan Anderson leading the way.
Ryan Anderson is regarded as one of the best three point shooters in the entire NBA, and for good reason. He is a career 38% shooter from behind the arc, very good considering his high volume of shot attempts. For the season he is shooting 34% which is not terrible, but not ideal considering his past performance.
Jan 14, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson (33) takes a shot over Detroit Pistons guard
Brandon Jennings(7) during the third quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pelicans beat the Pistons 105-94. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
On the road, things get much worse. Ryan is shooting an abysmal 27% from deep. That is not good no matter how you cut it. His points per game drop almost 6 points on the road from his total at home, mostly because of his inability to hit from deep.
Anderson needs to rise to the occasion and provide the scoring the team needs from him no matter where they play. Tyreke Evans, aside from the occasional masterpiece of a game, has been terrible on the road this season.
He is shooting 38% on all shot attempts and a truly horrific 22% from three. He and Anderson rank 2nd and 4th respectively in shot attempts on the road.
The Pelicans have almost no chance at winning games away from home if two of their highest volume players cannot convert on their opportunities.
Both players are playing extremely well at home, so the ability to produce has certainly not vanished into thin air. The Pelicans need these weapons to help improve their overall road play for the second half of the season. If they are not up to the task, then the playoff hopes this team may vanish, along Monty Williams and Dell Demps.