Alvin Gentry, New Orleans Pelicans catching fire after early season slump

Faith in the New Orleans Pelicans season dwindled after a slow start, but Alvin Gentry and the coaching staff found a formula to get this squad in tune.

Stumbling out of the gate to a 1-7 start to the 2019-2020 season, the New Orleans Pelicans picked up a huge win last night, moving to 5-9 on the season, putting them closer to the group chasing the eighth spot in the West.

After such a slow start, confidence was starting to drop not just for the Pels as a whole, but it really started to feel like Head Coach Alvin Gentry couldn’t survive the season with the team losing so many early-season tilts.

Playing brilliant team basketball as the team is now 4-2 over their last six games, despite a ton of injuries, Gentry and the rest of the coaching staff are getting this team going on both ends.

Derrick Favors, Lonzo Ball, Jahlil Okafor, and Josh Hart are still on the mend, missing last night’s 115-104 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Before that, the team navigated injuries to Brandon Ingram, Frank Jackson, and J.J. Redick.

Alvin Gentry is getting the New Orleans Pelicans to play his style of uptempo, transition-oriented basketball, as they rank fifth in the league with a 105.2 pace.

The offense was never problematic for the Pelicans, even as lead ballhandler Jrue Holiday is just now finding his own stride. However, the team struggled to complete offensive possessions, which yielded far too many turnovers.

With more time for Alvin Gentry to tinker with the scheme and rotations, the team is playing some seriously beautiful basketball.

Ranking eleventh in the league with a 109.2 offensive rating, second in three-pointers made at 209 and fourth in team three-point percentage with a 38% rate, scoring has yielded optimism.

However, the team was one of the worst defensive units in the league to start the year, despite adding defensive guru Jeff Bzdelik from the Houston Rockets and having an All-NBA defender in Holiday.

The New Orleans Pelicans still rank 25th in the league with a 112.9 defensive rating, true, but they were dead-last just a week ago. Over their last six games, the team ranked 16th with a 108.6 defensive rating, a spot that looks a lot more normal compared to the rest of the NBA.

Ranking sixth in the league in steals, pocking the ball away 8.9 times per game, crafty defenders like Holiday and Kenrich Williams are making Gentry and Bzdelik’s system look a whole lot more effective as they continue to stifle offensive targets.

Early in the season, it looked like this defense was headed for ‘lost cause’ territory, but now players are buying into the system and understand their roles, a key facet for any team’s success.

While the team still has a lot to learn, they’re looking more like the defensive force we expected to see based on their moves in the offseason.

Rookies and younger players are finding their stride as Alvin Gentry continues to feed his group appropriate opportunities.

This team underwent a massive overhaul to its player talent in the offseason, a huge part of which involved a youth movement to the central pieces of this franchise.

The New Orleans Pelicans drafted four new players (with one playing overseas for a year) and signed Nicolò Melli, giving them some very fresh faces alongside younger guys like Kenrich Williams and Jahlil Okafor.

In particular, Gentry has gotten something beautiful out of Kenrich Williams, who is not only earning rave reviews from his teammates but has started six-straight for new Orleans.

Williams is averaging 6.4 points and 6.1 rebounds, but his ability to space the floor and play aggressive defensive gives him a value way beyond his years, which is why Gentry has called his name over and over this season.

Of course, we’re still waiting to see what Zion Williamson is going to be, but if it’s even three-quarters of what we saw in the preseason, it’s going to be jaw-dropping.

Drafting Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jaxson Hayes, the New Orleans Pelicans set themselves up beautifully for the future, especially as Alvin Gentry continues to put these guys in good spots.

Starting the last two games but playing well in all eleven of his games so far, Hayes has serious star power for a 19-year-old kid who still has plenty of muscle left to add.

Still capable of drawing fouls and getting to the line, it’s daunting to think what the 62.1% free throw shooter and 6’11” player could become in the next few seasons if Alvin Gentry keeps giving him opportunities to grow.

Hayes is averaging 7.8 points, 4.1 assists, 1.1 blocks, and shooting 64.2% from the field. However, Gentry’s nod for Hayes as the starting center, lacking Derrick Favors or Jahlil Okafor, the rookie posted 9.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3 blocks, and shot 46.2% from the field, while making a huge impact around the rim.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker hasn’t enjoyed the same consistency, Gentry reeled back the minutes on the rookie, trusting him to come in early in the second and late in the third quarter, allowing the volume-scoring rookie to give the Pelicans positive minutes when they need to rest key scorers.

Despite an up-and-down start, Alexander-Walker is still averaging 7.2 points, 2.5 assists, and 2.5 rebounds through 14 games. Granted, he’s gotten so much better as Gentry’s given him time to play in every game so far on the Pelicans schedule.

And the heat goes on for the New Orleans Pelicans coaching staff, who have more tests coming up later this week.

While every week in the Western Conference feels like a big one, the New Orleans Pelicans are in the midst of a huge stretch of games including Tuesday night’s win over Portland.

Coming up on Thursday, the New Orleans Pelicans are set for a true tango with the current eight-seeded Phoenix Suns, who hold a 2.5 game lead over the birds.

The Pelicans are starting to topple playoff teams, which means they’re fully capable of fighting for a spot at the bottom of the bubble. Phoenix is off to a hot start, but are by no means unbeatable. Sitting at 7-6 and on a two-game losing streak, now is the time to strike for New Orleans.

Hopefully, for the sake of their depth, the team can get a few of their players dealing with injuries back on the court, as the defensive pressure of Ball and Favors, in particular, would help the team stop the ball over the next stretch of games.

Rounding out their week with road trips to face two of the best teams in the West the Utah Jazz on Saturday and the LA Clippers on Sunday, the team really has a chance to pick up momentum.

Alvin Gentry already led the New Orleans Pelicans to one huge win over the Clippers on the night of Paul George‘s debut, but it’ll be a real test for this team to take on two defensive juggernauts including Utah away from the Smoothie King Center.

Still, the biggest game of the season so far happens one week from today, when the Los Angeles Lakers bring a certain unibrowed big man back to New Orleans for the first time from his unsanctimonious departure this summer.

Certainly, Gentry has this thing spinning in the right direction. If the Pelicans are going to keep knocking-off playoff competition, they’re setting themselves for a favorable outlook come to their March and April fight for a postseason spot.

The New Orleans Pelicans have something going despite some thinking this season might just be a lost cause. As many have expected, this team is going to be incredibly dangerous once they can get Zion Williamson back on the court.