The Complete Idiots Guide to Pelicans Misconceptions

Misconception 2: “Tyreke, Jrue, and Gordon all need the ball, so they can’t play together”

This is a piece o’ cake.

Let’s start with Eric Gordon. This past season, he emerged as one of the best shooters in the league. After coming back from injury, he caught fire and started to move up the rankings of NBA “catch and shoot” threats, beating out Steph Curry, Danny Green, and Klay Thompson.

Once you’ve proved Gordon is such a fantastic off-ball threat, the rest is easy. Tyreke can play point guard through small forward and there’s 96 minutes between the two guard positions. You could theoretically play each of them 30 minutes and never even have to play all three at the same time.

We don’t need to do that though. Jrue is a fantastic defender at 6’4″ who can cover point and shooting guards, Gordon is an elite off-ball shooter, and Tyreke is a matchup nightmare for slower small forwards. Our three guards are far from identical and there’s no reason they shouldn’t mesh.

Oct 16, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) talks with guard Tyreke Evans (1) and guard Jrue Holiday (11) during the second half of a preseason game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Thunder 120-86. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Our three guard lineup coupled with Anthony Davis and the “Turkish Hammer” had a 2.7 plus/minus, an offensive rating of 109.8, and a defensive rating of 98.5.

Sub out Asik for Anderson, and the offensive rating rises to an insane 118.5 (Easily the best in the league), while the defense becomes laughably bad, with a rating of 115.3 (that’s clearly Ryan Anderson’s fault though).

Statistically, all thee guards play well and on the court it’s a matchup disaster for other teams.

You absolutely can run a three guard set in the modern NBA, most teams just aren’t capable of doing it well.

Next: Dynamic Duo?