New Orleans Pelicans Season Predictions Roundtable: Team Edition
Feb 6, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) and New Orleans Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans (1) celebrate after the game winning shot against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
What is the best case scenario for the Pelicans in terms of regular season wins?
Matt (@Matt_Cianfrone): Before the injuries hit I would have probably said something like 52 wins, but the injuries did hit so I don’t think I can. Considering Tyreke Evans is likely out until at least December and Jrue Holiday is on a minutes restriction until January, robbing the Pelicans of the full talents of their second and third best players for a few months, it feels safe for me to take off about four wins from that highest total I had in mind and say 48 wins.
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Austin (@apete1993): Right now, given all the injuries, probably 50 wins. If every player comes back as scheduled, and Anthony Davis has the type of season that we are all expecting him to have, then 50 wins isn’t out of the realm of possibility. The bottom of the West seems worse than it was last season, with teams like Phoenix, Dallas, and Portland all looking worse than the previous season. While I don’t like the injuries, I do love me some AD and think he is the caliber of player that can carry a team by himself for long stretches.
Nathan (@nathanheck22): Since we are talking best case scenario, I’ll be way too positive and say 52 wins. In this super awesome parallel universe, Anthony Davis plays all 82 games, Tyreke Evans comes back ahead of schedule along with Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinca, Jrue Holiday sheds the minutes restriction ahead of schedule and returns to All-Star form, and other Western Conference powerhouses take a step back, allowing the Pelicans to scoop up a few more wins.
Rick (@RickStoneNBA): The best case scenario would be somewhere in the 48-50 range, right? We know the peak of this team from their play after that unbelievable win against the Thunder. But there’s no way you can say this team can get over 50 wins when you look at how hard their first two months are, along with not having so many key components to the team.
Brendon (@zimmerguy4): 50 sounds about right to me. This team overachieved by quite a bit last year, and still only managed 45 wins. The team was ninth in offensive efficiency last year, and 22nd in defensive efficiency. If the offense can tread water and Erman can bring the defense toward the top half, that combined with the first season of AD’s apex could be enough to overcome the injury bug and improve by five wins.
Next: Worst Case