Pelica Debrief
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New Orleans Pelicans: End of the season roundtable

By Nathan Heck

Apr 11, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; A general overview of the Smoothie King Center during the game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Chicago Bulls. The Bulls won 121-116. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 11, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; A general overview of the Smoothie King Center during the game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Chicago Bulls. The Bulls won 121-116. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 22, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Miami Heat forward Amar
Mar 22, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Miami Heat forward Amar /

Question 2: Who is the LVP of the season?

Kleen: Omer Asik. No question here either. I consider these questions by measuring the qualitative difference between preseason expectation and actual in-season performance. There was no bigger gulf in this regard than that of Asik. After one of the better seasons of his career in last year’s playoff run, he was downright bad for most of the year. His average FGA distance of 1.5 feet was by far the lowest of his career and his offensive rebounding rate dipped by five percent, a product of his complete phasing out on offense. Actually, screw it. The man averaged 3.7 points and 17.1 minutes per game as a starter. That’s sort of all you need to know.

Stone: Omer Asik was paid $60 million over four years this offseason and did not finish in the top 10 on the team in minutes per game played. That’s not good. While his positives fit well with certain players on this team, his lack of athleticism and multi-dimensional play put the team in tough positions of whether to play him or bench him. He did not show much positive this season, which forced him to the bench, especially during the end of the year. When all the other big pieces went down, Asik could’ve been an anchor to the team and kept them strong. Instead, he sank them farther into the ocean.

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Heck: Unfortunately, I’ll agree with the field here. Despite my irrational love for the Turkish big man, which I talked about at length while being jeered by these two guys in the most recent Pelican Debrief Podcast, to call his season anything other than an unmitigated disaster is insane. He only made a positive impact in one solitary month of the season (December), and he was a massive negative in nearly every other month. Failing to provide the single thing he’s relied upon to bring to the table, the defense of the Pelicans was a mess all season. Before the season, I speculated as to whether or not Omer Asik was overpaid. My conclusion was most certainly incorrect.

Next: Most disappointing aspect

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