New Orleans Pelicans: Anonymous NBA Scouts Give Their Hottest Takes
In one of the first pieces on Sports Illustrated’s new NBA vertical The Crossover, writers spoke with scouts who gave their takes on the teams in the Western Conference, including the New Orleans Pelicans.
On Tuesday, Sports Illustrated published anonymous scouts’ takes on each of the Western Conference’s 15 teams. The scouts’ New Orleans Pelicans takes were decisively pessimistic, yet they ended with the prediction that the team would push for a .500 record and a playoff appearance. Overall, the cause for slight improvement over last year is – in one scout’s mind – the pure talent improvement on the offensive side of the ball. As the scout put it, “they have more OK NBA players than last year”. Here are the three biggest takeaways:
Solomon Hill’s attitude
The exact quote reads “He’s sort of a poor man’s Jae Crowder, but with kind of a bad attitude”. Above all, I trust the opinions of the guys in the locker room with Hill over any murmurs repeated by guys on the periphery. However, you assume these words weren’t generated in a scout’s daydream; rather, they’ve heard them passed down over time.
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Hill’s reputation has been great since he joined the New Orleans Pelicans, and I think any player deserves a clean slate in a fresh environment. In many ways, the situation in Indiana had grown stale, evidenced by the roster and coaching staff overhaul that took place this summer. If Hill knew it was in his best interest to escape and find new scenery, then kudos to him for knowing when enough was enough. Don’t buy into this one too much.
The offense won’t be as bad
Last season, the Pelicans’ first under Alvin Gentry, the team was only able to muster up a paltry 105.6 points per 100 possessions, according to Basketball-Reference. That was good for only the 18th best offensive efficiency in the league. It has to get better. And here we’re back to one of the many ways that talent influx can make up for most any problem.
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Chief among any list of reasons one might expect a bounce back from the Pelicans offense is a return to elite form from Anthony Davis. “He can shoot, he’s athletic, he’s long”, says the scout. Yet he also points out that he often seems to be out of shape, a possible cause of injury. Scouts have to be objective about this kind of stuff; there has to be a reason Davis is constantly sidelined.
Then again, the scout is clearly an outsider in this situation whose knowledge of the Pelicans’ continued injury struggles is limited. Without Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter, the team figures to dip back into that restricted talent pool once more this season. When the armada returns near the flip of the calendar, things ought to get better. Right?
Don’t expect too much from Buddy Hield
“If they expect [Hield] to create for other people, or be really hard to guard, or impact the game defensively, I don’t see that coming.” Yikes. We know Buddy is one of the most polarizing players in the league already, a result of his defensive issues and failure to display a full offensive game despite dominating at the NCAA level.
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The simplicity of imagining how hard he might be to guard is a perfect way to gauge him, and I think I agree with the scout here. The best way to put it is that Hield simply won’t be difficult to guard. Sure his shot will fall pretty often, especially when he’s open, but beyond that? It’s hard to imagine where he goes from there on offense. For a scout to echo those concerns is worrisome.