At this point last season, the feeling surrounding the New Orleans Pelicans was one of hope. The team had just gone through a rebranding, acquired Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday in the offseason and was ready for Anthony Davis to take his first step towards stardom after an up-and-down rookie season. Unfortunately for the Pelicans, all that hope ended quickly when the injury bug bit the team early and often and eventually cost the team any hope they had at the
NBA players spend their time in various ways during the offseason, be it recovering from injuries, working on their game or giving extra attention to their loved ones. On Monday, New Orleans Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday spent his time watching a classic game between the Hornets and 76ers, the only two teams he has ever played for. Along the way, he noticed some interesting things: [Read more…]
As the New Orleans Pelicans enter a pivotal season in their potential progression to a playoff team, swingman Tyreke Evans appears to project as a reserve. The good news is that if Evans comes off the bench for your team, your roster is pretty talented. The bad news is that Evans has shown that he is a much better player as a starter. Evans’ first season in New Orleans was filled with adjusting to a new team and adapting to a new role off
After being unhappily glued to the bench behind Dwight Howard for the Houston Rockets over the past season, Omer Asik will now have a chance to be a starting center once again for the up-and-coming New Orleans Pelicans. Asik is known for his gritty defense and the ability to rebound – he led all players in total rebounds (956) and came second in total rebound percentage (22) as a starter two seasons ago. He will now be paired with a rising
When the Pelicans gave Tyreke Evans a four-year, $44 million dollar offer sheet last summer, fans and analysts alike were skeptical of whether Evans had earned that deal. After several years of franchise turmoil in Sacramento, Evans’ morale was at an all time low. The former Rookie of the Year had regressed from a prolific star in the making to a streaky enigma on one of the league’s worst teams. Committing near-max money to Evans looked like a gross miscalculation by a New
Advertisement The Western Conference is absolutely nothing like the Eastern Conference when it comes to championship odds. We have what I call a two-horse race in the East versus what I am going to call the six-plus team race in the West. In the 15 previous seasons, only four teams (the Lakers, seven times; the Spurs, five times, the Mavericks, two times; the Thunder, once) have won the Western Conference, which is a similar concept to what the Eastern
Not to mislead, there is not a tree competition among NBA players. However, in light of the Christmas season—today being Christmas Eve—a few players, namely Boston Celtics rookie Kelly Olynyk, New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love, took to Instagram and Twitter to post pictures of their families trees to help spread Holiday cheer. [Read more…]
The gambling life ain’t easy, folks — which is where today’s tale begins. But by the time you get to the end of today’s column, hopefully you’ll be amused by my personal adventures and enlightened by my leaguewide analysis. We are at the quarter-pole of the NBA season, and trends have emerged. First, to truly appreciate what it means to gamble on the NBA on a daily basis, you had to experience what it was like to bet on the Philadelphia 76ers