Defense, defense, defense. That is all that was talked about in the offseason, and for good reason. Last season the Pelicans had the 28th ranked defense with a rating of 107.3. It was abysmal. The thinking was that if the Pels could find enough defensive oriented players to improve to league average, Anthony Davis could carry an average-to-below-average offense. You could at least be competitive that way, and since Davis arrived in New Orleans the team has never had a “bad” offense. The strategy has had some success, as the Pels currently have a top 10 defensive rating this season, but the team severely underestimated how much the offense would drop off letting players like Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson walk out the door and not replacing them.
The Pelicans’ Offense With Jrue Holiday
