As the 2015-16 NBA season draws near, we take a closer look at potential the New Orleans Pelicans’ Sixth Man of the Year candidate Ryan Anderson
The New Orleans Pelicans will be a lot better than they were last year; Alvin Gentry gets the best out of offenses and their defense should really coach itself due to the brilliance of Anthony Davis and Tyreke Evans. However, the guy that intrigues me this year isn’t a household name, he is in fact a bench player in the eyes of most.
He should be considered more than this, though. Anderson is a great shooter and a really smart passer out of the post, which will make Gentry very happy as it means his bench can play at a high tempo and be more unpredictable.
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Sixth men are usually guards who can score in many different ways; Lou Williams is perhaps the best example of this in recent times, but other recent winners J.R Smith and Jamal Crawford fit this category. I believe Anderson is a true dark horse for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award, as he will be the main scorer off the Pelicans bench and he should be averaging around 16 points per game in an uptempo offense due to all the looks he will get.
Gentry loves a team that can fling up threes, especially from the baseline, and Anderson is serviceable in this department as shown by his 34 percent shooting from three-pointers last season. This isn’t an unbelievable number, but New Orleans ran a slow offense under Monty Williams, which didn’t really suit his skill set. He will get more open looks in this offense due to the fact there will be a lot of pick-and-roll and quick handoff action, followed by passes to the corner.
The play at 4:20 in the above video is perhaps the one Anderson will see most.
Gentry ran this many times during his time with the Phoenix Suns and, due to good three-point shooters, it means a versatile forward like Anderson has space to step in for an open jump shot.
He will have this as guys like Eric Gordon, Jrue Holiday and Luke Babbitt spacing the floor effectively. In addition, good screeners such as Omer Asik and Kendrick Perkins will give him that extra second to line up a perfect shot from beyond the arc. The former Orlando Magic sharpshooter should thrive as the offense Gentry likes utilises a lot of quick fire shots off of screens – Anderson shot 35 percent on jumpers, which isn’t great, but we must reiterate the fact that New Orleans had next to no offensive structure last year.
The New Orleans Pelicans were in the bottom three in 3-pt shots attempted despite having a wealth of shooters on the team.
The best part is, we’re already beginning to see the changes. New Orleans is approaching 30 shot attempts from downtown in pre-season per game, and their pace is up. Having watched their games, it is abundantly clear Anderson will play a huge role this season. The big question is whether he can become a more efficient player, but it is clear his game suits an uptempo offense based on the pick-and-roll.
His best days came while playing under Stan Van Gundy in Orlando, where at his peak he shot 44 percent from the field and 40 percent from downtown. If he finds these numbers again, his points per game totals should sky rocket from last year’s measly total of 13.7.
He has a lot of competition to earn this famed Sixth Man of the Year award, but advanced stats are rarely taken into account when the award is being decided so in reality, he can push to win this award.
A stat line around 17 points, eight rebounds and 1.5 blocks should give him a monumental chance. The last forward to win it was the legendary Lamar Odom, in 2011 as a member of the LA Lakers. Anderson is easily the best chance of ending the drought for frontcourt players this season.
A final point comes on the fact that the New Orleans Pelicans bench is going to score a lot of points. Gentry has been utilizing a frontcourt of Babbitt, Anderson and Anthony Davis, which has been putting up a bucket load of points in pre-season.
If the Pelicans bench continues throwing up threes and making them, then it will make Anderson look even better as he will be a pivotal part of the offensive unit for the team. Advanced stats may be unfriendly to Anderson, but the bottom line is that he’s going to be supremely important to this team’s success and their expected playoff push.