The New Orleans Pelicans have played more than half of their games in the 2017-2018 season. And so, much like in school, it is time to hand out the team’s second term report cards.
My report cards use the letter grading system, and instead of marking on overall performance, I will be grading on performance based on preseason and first term expectation. Therefore (spoiler alert), Anthony Davis will have a lower grade than Ian Clark, as expectations are higher for Davis. B- will be the grade of expectation, meaning that if a player earns a B-, he is playing to his expectation, no better or worse.
The statistics are from November 29 to January 12, as that is when the Pelicans played the second quarter of their total games. If you want to take a look at my first-termers to see what’s changed, here it is. The statistics might look slightly different from how I reference last term’s stats on the report cards, as they go to December 4th instead of November 28, but nevertheless, if you want a look at the past term (and a few more games), you know where to look.
So without further ado, let’s get started.
INC: Tony Allen, Omer Asik, Charles Cooke, Cheick Diallo, Mike James, Jalen Jones, DeAndre Liggins
Much like the last term, I did not write about any players who played under 200 minutes. But if you want a quick review of the contract formerly known as Omer Asik’s play: it was slow and sloppy, and I yelled at my TV every time I saw a tall, awkward number three step on the court.