What the Heck is Wrong With the New Orleans Pelicans?

It is safe to say that the first nine games of the Pelicans season have not gone according to plan.

After Friday night’s 100-81 loss to the Toronto Raptors (7-3), the Pelicans’ record sits at 1-8.

This is the same Pelicans team that came on strong at the end of last season and earned the final Playoff spot in the Western Conference, and was supposed to be a “team on the rise”.

Instead, what we’ve gotten is a team that has fallen completely flat on its face, and bewildered Pelicans fans want to know: what the heck is going on with these guys?

Nov 3, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) walks off the court as time expires during the fourth quarter of a game against the Orlando Magic at the Smoothie King Center. The Magic defeated the Pelicans 103-94. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

What happened to the team we just saw last April???

Eric Gordon was on a tear in the first half of Friday night’s game, scoring 20 points to keep the scored tied at 40 entering the third. Just like the Hawks did days prior, the Raptors were able to step on the gas and leave the Pelicans in the dust.

More from Big Easy Believer

Anthony Davis has missed two straight games after bruising his hip against the Dallas Mavericks. After a bumpy start to the season, Davis was finally starting to look like the MVP candidate we all expected him to be.

He scored 43 points in Atlanta, 25 in Dallas, and had 17 in the first half against Dallas in New Orleans before leaving the game. The injury is not that serious and he should be back within the next few games, but I think it is smart to be cautious and allot enough time for a full recovery.

Nov 13, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New Orleans Pelicans guard Eric Gordon (10) goes to make a basket against the Toronto Raptors during the first half at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Gordon has stepped into the role of primary scoring option nicely, scoring 30 points last night and 26 on Wednesday.

I have said it before, but I will say it again: if Gordon can maintain his levels of aggressiveness and explosiveness at the rim, there are great things in store for this Pelicans team.

His career best three point stroke from last season looks to be here to stay as well.Gordon has not been playing like the guy New Orleans thought they were getting for Chris Paul.

He has been even better.

Ryan Anderson had a rough game last night, scoring a season low 5 points on 9 shots. Before that he had ripped off three straight solid performances, shooting 53% from the field while averaging 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Nov 7, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson (33) shoots over Dallas Mavericks center Zaza Pachulia (27) in the second half at American Airlines Center. Dallas on 107-98. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The downside to Anderson’s play as of late has been his inconsistent three point shot.

Similar to last season, his shots are falling at a decent clip at home (41%), but not on the road (28%).

A majority of the blame can be placed on Ryno, but the men trying to get him the ball are not exactly savants in that area.

Ish Smith’s numbers have not been bad, but his lack of shooting ability allows defenses to add pressure to other Pelicans like Anderson.

Toney Douglas has performed admirably for the Pels, but he has not ever been, and likely will not ever be, a competent distributor.

I sound like an optimist, but that’s because I am one. Anderson has built a career on his three point shooting, and I am confident he will be able to figure that out.

He has diversified his offensive game enough to where he can actually still be effective even when he is not hitting from deep, a huge plus for the Pelicans offense.

The defense is still pretty bad, but as the entire team becomes accustomed to the new defensive scheme, I can only hope that end sees improvement as well.

The reason I highlight Gordon and Anderson’s performance is simple: their success will be key to the Pelicans’. When this team is back at full strength with Tyreke Evans, Norris Cole, Quincy Pondexter and Anthony Davis all active, the game to game performances of Toney Douglas, Ish Smith and Luke Babbitt will not matter nearly as much as they have to start of this season.

With Evans and Davis likely leading the way in usage, Gordon and Anderson will likely hover around the third and fourth options on offense. If they can continue to play at the level that they have shown they can, this Pelicans offense would be one of the most prolific in the league.

The worst case scenario here is that every game turns into a full-blown shootout, and that would still be extremely entertaining.

Oct 12, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans (1) drives past Chicago Bulls forward Tony Snell (20) during their pre-season game at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

The Pelicans next couple of games are against the New York Knicks and the Denver Nuggets. It is worth noting that the teams New Orleans have had to face so far this year have a combined record of 39-21, with the worst record of the bunch coming from a 4-6 Portland Trail Blazers team.

Sure, the Pels should have beaten that team and the Orlando Magic, but it is not like they were embarrassed. They lost two games to Golden State, who are playing like one of the best teams in NBA history and two to the Atlanta Hawks, who are currently 8-3 and only won 60 games last season.

No matter how you look at it, a 1-8 record is not pretty.

But there are still 73 games left in the season! This team can easily win four out of five games multiple times this season, closing this early season gap in a jiffy. This team has loads of talent, and we have seen glimpses of it already.

Throw the tanking talk by the wayside. This Pelicans team can win right now, and they will, starting tomorrow afternoon at Madison Square Garden.

Home/New Orleans Pelicans