An In-Depth Look at the Pelicans Starting Lineup

The Pelicans have made quite a splash so far during the offseason. The additions of players like Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday have fans drooling over the championship potential this young team has in the future. With that said, the ‘Cans (as I like to call them) are no where near a championship at this point as they still have a couple gaping holes in their depth chart. (R = rookie)

PG: Jrue Holiday / Brian Roberts / Pierre Jackson (R)

SG: Eric Gordon / Anthony Morrow / Austin Rivers / Terrel Harris

SF: Tyreke Evans / Al-Farouq Aminu / Darius Miller

PF: Anthony Davis / Ryan Anderson

C: Greg Stiemsma / Jeff Withey (R)

(This is assuming they do not sign any more players, which seems like the probable case considering they have run out of cap space)

There are really only two players that are locks to start. Those two players are Jrue Holiday and Anthony Davis. Jrue will start at Point Guard. Davis will start at either Power Forward or Center, depending on whether or not the coaching staff believes Greg Stiemsma is a starting caliber Center. Stiemsma has been a backup his entire career thus far, so they may end up starting an Anderson-Davis front court duo to start the season.

The real problem, however, lies in the two wing positions. Originally, Tyreke Evans told New Orleans that he would be willing to be the team’s sixth man. Therefore, Gordon would start at the 2 with Evans backing him up. With the recent signing of 3-point specialist Anthony Morrow, that moves Evans to the small forward position assuming the Pelicans are intending to give Gordon, Morrow, and Evans legitimate playing time.

Holiday is a proven all-star, Gordon, Evans, and Davis have the potential to be all-stars in the near-future with Stiemsma, a rebounding/defensive specialist rounding out the starting lineup. Not bad for a team that had the #1 pick in the draft a year ago.