Pelicans a solid sleeper pick this season

We all know about the Spurs, Thunder, Clippers, Warriors, and the rest of the top Western Conference teams. The opposite of this is the Pelicansbut the team that nobody is talking about is the New Orleans Pelicans. Led by power-forward Anthony Davis, the Pelicans are stacked with different playmakers and weapons that will help them legitimately compete. They’ve got Tyreke Evans, Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon, and Ryan Anderson. They traded for center Omer Asik, who brings some veteran leadership along with a pounder in the paint on defense. Having the rim protection of Asik and Davis will make it very difficult for competitors to score inside on the Pelicans.

Davis alone has become one of the best all around players in the NBA. He averaged 20.8 points, 10 rebounds, 2.8 blocks per game and shot an astonishing .519 percent from the field. Davis has developed his game every season thus far and I expect him to grow even more in 2014-2015. Matching his skill with shooters like Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson give the Pelicans a very scary inside-outside combination. Add that in along with the play of guards Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday and the Pelicans look like a complete team overall. Last season, Holiday averaged 14.3 points per game, 7.9 assists per game, and 4.2 rebounds per game in just 34 games played.

Davis is 21 years old and Holiday is 24. Both Gordon and Evans are 25, and Anderson is 26, so the Pelicans’ core players are still so young and have much to learn and grow. Being that they are still a very young team and with the youth comes immaturity and lack of experience but this team is extremely talented and they will compete for a playoff spot this season. They won’t win the NBA title but they will be in the running for the 7^th or 8^th seed in the Western Conference. Every season each conference has a surprise team and this season, the Pelicans will be that team in the West.