Stephen Curry has made many game-winners by shooting from distances that others can only dream of. Klay Thompson has almost scored 40 points in a quarter. Draymond Green is one of the best passers from the power forward position, and he is also one of the most versatile players in the league. No other team in the league has this combination of talent. The New Orleans Pelicans might have thoughts of becoming like the Golden State Warriors, but would be a big mistake.
At the end of last season, the Pelicans hired Alvin Gentry to replace a head coach in Monty Williams who shouldn’t have been fired. Gentry was going to bring his offensive genius to the team and make the Pelicans more formidable offensively. He was also going to help Anthony Davis become a threat from the three-point line. His passion towards helping Davis was well placed, but Davis doesn’t need to become a threat from deep. Furthermore, the Pelicans don’t have the personnel to be like the Warriors.
Tyreke Evans is talented, but it was only last year that he began to show signs of being a starting point guard in this league. Being a point guard requires good decision making, and Evans hadn’t been ready for that until last season. Davis is better than Green, but Green is a better passer which means when he sets a screen there will problems for a team that decides to trap the ball (unlike with Davis).
To make matters worse for the Pelicans, they don’t have much of a bench. Ryan Anderson is talented, but he’s limited defensively, so if the Pelicans pair him alongside Davis at the end of games, Anderson will be targeted. Jrue Holiday was once an All-Star, but lingering issues from injuries make him unreliable to a team’s long-term plans.
The Pelicans don’t have an Andre Iguodala type of player which makes their bench even worse. Iguodala is like a poor man’s LeBron James, but even that is hard to find in today’s league. Quincy Pondexter, Alonzo Gee and Luke Babbitt aren’t as well-rounded as Iguodala and they each have a big weakness.
Also, the Warriors are the only team that is shooting over 40 percent from the three-point line this season (42 percent). No other team in the league has two once-in-a-lifetime shooters and the rest of the league needs to recognize that.
Many teams are trying to become the Warriors. Instead of trying to become like the Warriors, the Pelicans should get as much talent as possible and try to make a team that fits together and around Davis. Three-point shooting is important, but being a complete team is even more vital.
