Anthony Davis is the main man for this franchise, and his play will dictate the future of this team for years to come. Now, when we got that out of the way, we need to take a look at this Pelicans squad and ask ourselves if they are any better than they were last season.
When you look at this roster, it just got a bit weaker. Jrue Holiday won’t be with the team to start the season as his wife will require surgery to remove the tumor on her brain. They have added rookie shooting guard Buddy Hield but lost Eric Gordon. Tyreke Evans is still on the squad, and they need to put him at point guard for them to be successful. Ryan Andreson is not a part of the crew anymore, but he can and will be replaced.
But their season will be determined by the performances and availability of Anthony Davis. After making the playoffs back in 2015 and being one of the MVP candidates, Davis was sidelined for a better part of last season. He was on and off the floor constantly. They need him to give MVP worthy plays if this team is to proceed to the next level and prove themselves that they are a legitimate postseason contender. Tyreke Evans also needs to be a borderline All-Star and to be that true Robin to Davis’ Batman.
We don’t think this team will make the playoffs. They are a dark horse in that postseason race, but they will most likely win around 30 games and Pelicans’ season will be done after the All-Star break. We are predicting that they’ll go 32-50 and miss the playoffs for the second straight season.
