What Will Change When Ryan Anderson Returns to Pelicans?

Most people know of the old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” In most cases, it makes sense: why deviate from a successful product at the risk of ruining the results?

If the Pels want to continue their recent success, they may have to tinker with their best product in recent memory.

Right now the Pelicans are playing solid basketball. More importantly, they are playing winning basketball.

Victories in nine of the last eleven games have inflated the season’s win total to 36 (two games higher than last season’s total) with 17 games left to play. The Western Conference playoff race is about as close as it can get, but the Pels have finally pulled ahead of the pesky Oklahoma City Thunder.

Feb 21, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson (33) is helped off the court after being injured on a play against the Miami Heat during the first half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Ryan Anderson went down with his most recent injury on February 21st against Miami, when the Pelicans hot streak began. The seven minutes Ryno played in that game are his only contribution to the 9-2 run over the past three weeks.

He is a great teammate and a great person in the Pelicans locker room. I have never heard a bad thing about Anderson regarding his off the court presence. He is a guy that you want to see succeed, plain and simple.

On the court Anderson is a scorer. Getting the ball in the bucket is the sole reason he is out on the floor, and most of the time that is ok.

Even though he is only shooting 34% from three point range this season, he is still one of the most respected deep threats in the game.

A scorer of this caliber going down to injury should spell disaster for a team, especially one on the playoff fringe.

As seen in their recent success, the Pelicans have taken these injury riddled lemons and made a glorious glass of lemonade.

Luke Babbitt, Dante Cunningham and Alexis Ajinca are fulfilling their roles and then some, more than you can ask for given their contracts and expected production. If they are playing so well, why take them out of a rhythm?

And that is where Anderson comes in. It will be up to Monty Williams to try to fit Ryan Anderson into a crowded frontcourt already giving productive minutes.

Luke Babbitt

It is very likely that most or all of Babbitt’s 12 minutes per game will be transferred to Anderson. That seems like a given, but it really hurts to see a guy shooting the three ball so effectively.

Luke is still shooting 51% from deep. His volume of shots is nothing compared to Anderson, but that may not be a bad thing. Babbitt rarely dominates the ball on offense. He usually camps out on the three point line, waiting to get set up by his teammates.

Mar 9, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Luke Babbitt (8) shoots against Milwaukee Bucks forward Chris Johnson (23) during the fourth quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. New Orleans won 114-103. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

The extent of his possessions are usually an instant shot, or a couple of penetrating dribbles that lead to a quick shot or pass to an open teammate.

This simple skillset coincides wonderfully with the drive and kick mentality of pretty much every guard on the roster. Babbitt is not asked to do much, but he is always ready to do his duty when called upon.

Anderson’s game has not been as clean cut. While he does take some shots right off the bat, he has shown a tendency to eat up a nice chunk of the shot clock.

Battling for post position to set up a move and sizing up his defender take a lot of time, and can sometimes disrupt the normal flow of the offense.

Tyreke Evans does not usually get the offense in its sets until about 15 seconds remain on the clock, meaning that a pass to Anderson could very well be the only pass of the possession.

Babbitt has done all he has been asked to do when on the floor. Despite his success, Anderson needs to get his minutes.

The chance of Anderson getting hot and carrying the offense through dry spells outweighs the one or two guaranteed makes from Babbitt.

With that said Anderson might be better off adjusting his game: Not the type of shots he takes, but when he takes them. Eric Gordon and Babbitt have thrived on catch and shoot opportunities this season.

Because of this, the Pels as a team are shooting 43.5% on those opportunities. If Anderson can simplify his game slightly, it will pay dividends for both him and the rest of the team.

Dante Cunningham

Cunningham is arguably the least flashy player on the team. Conversely, he is still one of the most productive in his 26 minutes per contest.

On offense, he is always in the right place at the right time. Whether it is setting a high screen or cutting backdoor, Dante always seems to be making the smart play. His own shot making is not a strength, but he is smart enough to know what shots he should take.

Mar 9, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Khris Middleton (22) dribbles the ball as New Orleans Pelicans forward Dante Cunningham (44) defends during the fourth quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. New Orleans won 114-103. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

His biggest impact comes on the other end.Cunningham is a diverse defensive weapon. He has displayed the quickness to cover most threes, and has the size to defend his natural position at the four.

Ryan Anderson (and Luke Babbitt) do not come close to Cunningham on this end. Ryno has been tasked with guarding centers for much of this season in order to help ease the burden on Anthony Davis.