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New Orleans Pelicans: 5 Positives from Alvin Gentry’s Final Season

By Aaron Kellerstrass

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - OCTOBER 11: Head coach Alvin Gentry of the New Orleans Pelicans talks with Josh Hart #3, Kenrich Williams #34 and Jaxson Hayes #10 during a preseason game against the Utah Jazz at the Smoothie King Center on October 11, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - OCTOBER 11: Head coach Alvin Gentry of the New Orleans Pelicans talks with Josh Hart #3, Kenrich Williams #34 and Jaxson Hayes #10 during a preseason game against the Utah Jazz at the Smoothie King Center on October 11, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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The New Orleans’ Pelicans season left plenty to be happy about.

If you would have told New Orleans Pelicans‘ fans that the team would have a chance to make the playoffs in the final eight games, they might have laughed at you.

After a 6-22 start and a 13-game losing streak, it didn’t appear that the Pelicans would even sniff the playoffs.

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But things turned around, they started playing well, Zion Williamson came back from injury, and suddenly the Pelicans were in the thick of chase for the 8th seed.

It ultimately didn’t work out, but Alvin Gentry has to be given some credit for making the season more meaningful than if the Pelicans had been tanking away, as they surely could have after such a horrible start.

The results were the same anyway, the Pelicans will be in the NBA Draft Lottery on Thursday, but the season was a lot more positive than if they had simply been bad from start to finish.

It’s expected that a young team will be inconsistent and the Pelicans certainly were. Their season ended on a down note, but there were some positives to take away from Gentry’s last hurrah with New Orleans.

New Orleans Pelicans,
New Orleans Pelicans, /

The Young Players Improved

Pelicans’ fans weren’t always happy with how Gentry handled his young players, but it is hard to argue with the results.

Nearly every young Pelican showed some kind of improvement this season and Gentry deserves some of the credit.

Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram both showed marked improvement in their shooting and B.I. will probably win Most Improved Player.

Jaxson Hayes is still raw, but showed some signs of improvement down the stretch, especially defensively. Frank Jackson didn’t have the season he wanted, but looked like a different player in the bubble. He was confident, aggressive and played with energy, and it may have gotten him another deal with the Pelicans.

Josh Hart continued rounding into one of the best sixth men in the league and Nickeil Alexander-Walker seemed to have regained his confidence after returning to the team from the G-League.

The only knocks would be Zion Williamson, who missed most of the season due to injury, and Nicolo Melli, who is 29-years-old and came to Gentry as a nearly finished product.

In many ways Gentry was a caretaker for this franchise and the infancy of what will hopefully be consistent success. He protected the young assets and most of them improved, which is one positive from this season.

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