2014-2015 New Orleans Pelicans Season Reviews: The electric and efficient Norris Cole

A-. With the injuries to <a href=. . . OFFENSE

While the offensive numbers for Norris Cole were completely above and beyond expectations, the defensive numbers were just about what the New Orleans Pelicans were expecting. Norris Cole finished the regular season with a defensive rating of 102.9. While this was quite the improvement from his rating when he was in Miami earlier in the year, it still overshadowed his offensive rating by over a whole point. In his 28 regular season games with the Pelicans, opponents shot 42% against Norris. Not a bad percentage from the average in the NBA, however there were some real struggles with Cole letting his man score easily at the rim. Opponents shot 7.5% better at the rim when guarded by Norris Cole than they did on average. The hustle stats didn’t see much of a change from his time in Miami either. He still averaged less than two rebounds a game and a half a steal per game. For a 26 year old player who is going on his fourth year in the league, there’s still a lot to be desired on the defensive end. However, what he did on that end just about met the expectations New Orleans had. Can’t be too angry with that.. . . DEFENSE . B

. . OVERALL . B+. The addition of Norris Cole ended up being quite fantastic for the Pelicans. Cole helped fill in a massive hole on the bench when the New Orleans Pelicans needed it most and some of his biggest games of the year came in massive wins for the Pelicans. This includes his 12 points, six rebound performance against his former team, his 15 point, six assist game that helped the Pelicans hold off the Brooklyn Nets and of course the final regular season game of the year against the Spurs. In that game, Cole shot 6-10 for 13 points and three steals to help the Pelicans get into the postseason. The highs have been so great from Cole, it’s tough to even remember the lows of the season. The case can be made that Norris Cole was one of the biggest guys who made the difference from this team being a lottery team to reaching the playoffs. That lone gets him a great grade. There’s a lot to be seen if he returns to New Orleans with the injury situation about to shore up and him being a free agent, but you can chalk up his time with the Pelicans as one of the most impressive feats of his young career.