New Orleans Pelicans: Style and Stats Under Alvin Gentry
David Griffin promises an expanded analytics department for the New Orleans Pelicans. What will the new front office see when examining the 2018-19 team’s stats and what changes could be expected from Alvin Gentry?
The New Orleans Pelicans fell short of the fan’s expectations and team’s goals this season. They finished below the playoff spots this season, and next season’s roster is filled with uncertainty. However, David Griffin has decided to retain Alvin Gentry, and reactions to this are mostly optimistic.
Keeping Gentry means the style of play will be recognizable. The Pelicans’ core principles have been in place for a few years now with mixed results. Team injuries only excuse so much. A team’s playing habits will permeate the roster and show up in the team’s overall stats.
Alvin Gentry came from the “Seven Seconds or Less” Phoenix Suns and the early iteration of the Golden State Warriors. Those teams got up shots, using an increasing amount of three point attempts every season to great success. That has not been the case in New Orleans under Gentry.
The Pelicans’ stats could be used to show a decent team with a record explained away by bad injury luck. New Orleans finished 6th overall in field goal percentage (47.3%) and defensive rebounds (2,969). They grabbed the 5th most rebounds (3,878) overall with 909 offensive boards (8th).
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Gentry has built a giving culture in New Orleans. The Pelicans were 7th in assist ratio, dishing out the 3rd most assists (2,216) this season and last (2,195). Unfortunately, only six teams were more generous with turnovers (1,215), countered with only 610 steals. Even with Anthony Davis, the Pelicans had four more of their shots blocked (445) than New Orleans players swatted away (441).
The most telling stat for Gentry is the Pelicans were 21st in three point shots attempted last season. New Orleans finished 22nd in made three attempts. The 2017-18 season was only slightly better, finishing the regular season 18th from deep in both shots attempted and made. According to Gregg Popovich in an excerpt from the book “SprawlBall: A Visual Tour of the New Era of the NBA,” that is not a viable plan.
"“Now you look at a stat sheet after a game and the first thing you look at is the 3s. If you made 3s and the other team didn’t, you win. You don’t even look at the rebounds or the turnovers or how much transition D was involved. You don’t even care.”"
Looking at that same stat in a different manner, the Pelicans took over 7,500 shots last season. Less than 2,500 were from behind the arc. The rest of the league is shooting for 50% more points on more possessions than the Pelicans. Most of them make this shot at a higher rate of success.
That makes winning games tough. Having the second quickest pace of play means nothing when you’re playing from behind. That tactic is supposed to be used to tire out opposing teams, not as a strained effort to make a score look respectable. Teams in the lead will not give away and-1 situations, and the Pelicans are not using those possessions on three pointers either.
That math does not add up in the Pelicans’ favor on the scoreboard stats. It is not a style that suits the fan base, either.
Perhaps Gentry has been discouraging too many players from taking a three pointer. Between misses and coaching discouragements, a player’s confidence can be diminished. New Orleans had a season full of injuries and distractions to contend with. A lack of stability makes it that much harder to build up much in-season confidence.
However, the Pelicans seem consistent in their slightly below average shooting abilities. Potential three point range is largely gauged on free throw percentage. Again, New Orleans slots in as the 18th most accurate team in this area, converting only 76.1% of attempts.
The Pelicans had the 11th most free throw attempts (1,921), but were closer to 17th (1,893) than the top 10 (1,956). In the end, New Orleans was slightly above average (13th) in uncontested shots successfully converted.
Griffin has the room and the means to add a couple above average shooters. Jrue Holiday is definitely watching the NBA Playoffs and has to keep up to hold his value. He is noticing how the lack of a ruthless shot can lead to an NBA guard being exposed. Several Pelicans finally have the health and have shown the ability to expand their range and increase their consistency this summer.
The Pelicans as an organization must stress the importance to stretch their range, even if it means some time spent outside their current comfort zone. New Orleans takes that approach in everyday life, style, and fashion. It also applies both to the approach on roster building as well as how that roster is deployed by Alvin Gentry during games.
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It will take a creative style to build the New Orleans Pelicans’ roster into a potential playoff contender, but that Griffin’s job. It will take a different kind of creativity from Alvin Gentry to lead that roster to the only stat that matters to players and fans: Wins. A winning season with playoff payouts is always in style in New Orleans.