The New Orleans Pelicans finished the 2014-15 season as a playoff team. They were the 8th seed in the always difficult Western Conference, before eventually being knocked out by the Golden State Warriors in a sweep. They took the Warriors down the stretch in multiple games, even firing back after being down a ton in game 3 only to lose by 4.
At the beginning of the 2015-16 season, the Pelicans were expected to be in the playoffs again. Under new coach Alvin Gentry, Anthony Davis and co. looked like they were up next. Davis was an early season MVP candidate, and Alvin Gentry was a potential Coach of the Year candidate, but when the season started, everything went down quickly.
The Pelicans were tested in many ways this season, but their main test was injuries. According to ESPN, Alvin Gentry said:
“I say this is a Job season,” says Alvin Gentry, who is in his first season as Pelicans head coach. “If you know the book from the Bible, he got tested in every way.”
The ‘Cans were definitely tested in many ways. Several players have fallen to season ending injuries this season, including Tyreke Evans (right knee), Quincy Pondexter (left knee), Eric Gordon (right ring finger), Bryce Dejean-Jones (right wrist), Jrue Holiday (right eye), Alonzo Gee (right leg), and star player Anthony Davis (left shoulder). Injuries can completely destroy a team, and this season, the Pelicans had the worst look with injuries. It is hard to have one player fall to a season ending injury, but to have six players fall to them? A team can’t recover from that, and these are just the season ending injuries. Throughout the season, nearly every player on the team has fallen to some sort of injury.
The Pelicans caught the injury bug early, with players in and out of games throughout the entire season. According to ESPN, the Pelicans vice president Dell Demps said:
“It’s been disappointing,” vice president and general manager Dell Demps says. “We had a lot of high hopes coming into the season. And, obviously, not being at full strength has really … it’s been tough. It’s been tough on us. It’s been tough on the organization.”
It has been tough indeed. The Pelicans entered the season looking like one of the top teams in the NBA, but they are limping into the end of the season. These Pelicans are battle tested, and they have been beat up. They are currently 12th in the West with a record of 30-51. There is hope though. The Pelicans own their first round pick, and it will likely be a top 10 pick. They can draft a solid player this season to add to the young core, and when everyone is recovered by next season, they hopefully will be ready to make another playoff run. This season hasn’t been completely lost, as young players have been able to play a lot of valuable minutes instead of watching from the bench. Now, the whole team will be ready to compete next season and get back to the playoffs.
