Eric Gordon remains a great shooter and is key to spacing the floor. Among all players (min. 150 FGA), Gordon had the second-best effective field goal percentage in the NBA (69.5%) on catch-and-shoots. That ranked behind Kyle Korver (72.2%) and ahead of Stephen Curry (65.5%).
Anthony Davis became the youngest player ever to post a 30 PER in a season (22 years old). The only other players to do that in their age 25 seasons or younger are Michael Jordan, Tracy McGrady and LeBron James.
Anthony Davis was the best transition player in the NBA last season. Davis averaged 1.56 points per play in transition – 7.5% clear of the rest of the field.
Anthony Davis played 36.2 minutes per game last season. He had possession of the ball for 1.8 minutes per game, 5.0% of the time (about 10% while on offense) – lowest among 20 PPG scorers.
The Pelicans struggled to contain the ball handler in the pick-and-roll last season, ranking 28th in the league. New Orleans was 7.2% less efficient than the NBA median.
Peter Newmann is an analyst and writer who spent 10 years at ESPN, 8 as the NBA senior researcher working 24/7 on the league. He wrote game notes for crews, articles for ESPN.com, analysis for studio shows, and regularly assisted reporters and writers. Follow him on Twitter, and check out his Web site, www.peternewmann.com.