New Orleans Pelicans: In Defense of Alvin Gentry

The expectations were high for Alvin Gentry coming into this season. It simply hasn’t worked out for the New Orleans Pelicans and their high-powered offensive head coach

Coming into the 2015-16 NBA season, many NBA fans were extremely high on the prospect of pairing an offensive genius in Alvin Gentry with Anthony Davis who is widely accepted to be the best young player in the Association.

Sadly, for the former Warriors assistant, things really haven’t worked out in the way he would have hoped and the New Orleans Pelicans seem to be the worst of the ‘competing’ basement teams, which includes Utah, Sacramento and Portland.

Gentry has recieved a lot of criticism from all corners of the media in recent weeks but to me, the criticism is completely unjustified, he is in a difficult situation. His team has been plagued by injuries and questionable general manager moves from Dell Demps. Gentry is a terrific coach but there is no point appointing him if you don’t make roster moves to accommodate his famous three-point gunning system.

Not An Ideal Fit

The first problem was the signing of Omer Asik to a long term deal, he simply does not fit Alvin Gentry’s system and it has been really difficult for the Pelicans to run a halfcourt offense through him.

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Gentry’s system doesn’t require an elite center because he doesn’t rely on post usage or floor spacing, but his center needs to have good hands and set good screens. Asik is OK at setting screens but he has some of the worst hands in basketball and when he is on the court the turnover rate of the Pelicans increases somewhat dramatically.

Marcin Gortat, who worked with Gentry in Phoenix, is perhaps the perfect center for this type of system. He does nothing flashy but he has good hands, can make the extra pass and can finish at the rim with style and ease. Asik’s problems have led to a severe lack of fluidity in the Pelicans offence and it means they are ending up having to take less than satisfactory jump shots. It is incredible to see the Pelicans so high in offensive efficiency even with such severe holes in their roster.

It must be noted that the level of efficiency has risen due to an easy Pelicans run that has seen them play the likes of Brooklyn and Philadelphia in recent weeks. Generally, the offense struggles and looks disjointed.

Absence Of Talent

A second problem that has been more severe is the small forward position which lacks talent. The small forward is generally going to need to be a perimeter shooter and a lockdown defender at the absolute minimum, but the Pelicans don’t have this.

They have fallen short of expectations but I think reality has just set in for this team, they shouldn’t have made the playoffs last year and we just entered the season with a false prophecy about this team

Their current platoon at the position is made up of Alonzo Gee and Dante Cunningham, the former is barely an NBA player and the latter isn’t producing good shooting nights on a regular basis. Tyreke Evans is potentially an option here but he doesn’t fit Gentry’s offence as he is a ball-stopper and he is more of a guard than a forward in truth. The lack of shooting from this position has put a large strain on Eric Gordon who is shooting at a mediocre from the field at 44 percent, and it has gotten so bad that the team actually looks better with Bryce Dejean-Jones on the court in his place.

The lack of shooting is a real problem, you can’t run a small ball system without consistent shooters and it is to Gentry’s credit that the team has been so good on the offensive end of the floor. Dell Demps hasn’t supplied him with the right guys.

The most important thing in causing the New Orleans Pelicans disaster of a season has obviously been injuries, they are the only team in the NBA who have used more than 25 starting lineups and this hasn’t boded well for them.

Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans have all missed time and the team has had to rely on the D-League to help make up the numbers on the team. This isn’t really something that can be directed at the coaching staff, it is just pure bad luck and it means Gentry is constantly having to change his offense as his players are all good in different areas of the court.

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Overall, it is clear that this basketball team needs a lot of work, but they do have a genuinely great coach and a superstar, with these two around anything is possible. The next step should be trading for youthful players who can take the team forward and develop in Alvin Gentry’s offense.

This team will likely get a good draft pick, they need to pick the guy who is going to be Anthony Davis’ No. two. They have fallen short of expectations but I think reality has just set in for this team, they shouldn’t have made the playoffs last year and we just entered the season with a false prophecy about this team.

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