2014-15 New Orleans Pelicans Preview

(SportsNetwork.com) - With injuries partially to blame for the New Orleans' Pelicans' fifth straight last-place finish in the Southwest Division, general manager Dell Demps has stressed how important it will be for his team to develop chemistry this season.

Luckily for the Pelicans, they already have their own Walter White-esq leader in Anthony Davis.

New Orleans' recent struggles have been somewhat expected as the club continued to rebuild following the exit of Chris Paul and David West after the 2010-11 campaign. But while an NBA title isn't a realistic goal, the emergence of Davis, the acquisition of 7-foot center Omer Asik and, well, time seem to be tightening the clamps on Demps and head coach Monty Williams.

The Pelicans did improve by seven wins last season, going 34-48 despite Davis, Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson and Jrue Holiday all missing time.

"Just having guys healthy. To me, that's like a free agent signing," Williams said of the upcoming season.

Holiday and Anderson, in fact, combined to play in only 56 games, while Gordon's 64 appearances last season were 13 more than he managed to play in the previous two seasons combined after being acquired as part of the package that landed Paul with the Los Angeles Clippers.

It's also worth nothing that the two players to lead the club in games played last season -- forward Al-Farouq Aminu with 80 and guard Anthony Morrow with 76 -- both departed as free agents so there are minutes to be had.

Demps will mainly be banking that his core roster from last year will stay healthy. He signed forward John Salmons and guard Jimmer Fredette to fill the void left by Aminu and Morrow, but he also recognized he has something special brewing with Davis. That is why he got his Pelicans involved in a three-team trade that cost him three players and a protected first-round draft pick but landed a true center in Asik and got Davis out of the middle.

It's a gamble especially since it could leave the Pelicans with a third straight draft without a first-round pick since selecting Davis with the top selection in 2012, but it was one Demps had to make given the talent of the Western Conference.

Asik and an improved Davis could tip the scales for a club that lost 12 of 16 versus its division last season and went just 15-37 versus the West.

"We want to make the playoffs. There is no doubt about that. But I don't want to sit here and say it's a complete failure if we don't. We think that the Western Conference is tough," noted Demps.

"The key is going to be the chemistry and jelling together, what pieces fit."

2013-14 Results: 34-48, 5th in Southwest Division; Missed playoffs

ADDITIONS: C Omer Asik, F John Salmons, G Jimmer Fredette

PROJECTED STARTING FIVE:

PG- Jrue Holiday SG- Eric Gordon SF- John Salmons PF- Anthony Davis C- Omer Asik

KEY RESERVES: G/F Tyreke Evans, F Ryan Anderson, C Alexis Ajinca, G Austin Rivers, G Jimmer Fredette, F Darius Miller

FRONTCOURT: Davis took major steps forward in his second NBA season, leading the league with 2.8 blocks per game and tying for 10th with 10.0 rebounds a night, all while averaging over 20 points.

Davis didn't slow down this summer while playing for Team USA, ranking second on the club in rebounds and fourth in scoring and there is no doubt he has MVP-caliber talent.

One tough thing staring down Davis now is becoming not only the face of the franchise, but one of the young stars of the NBA. It is a part Demps feels he can handle.

"He has that ability on and off the court with his personality to lift up this organization. He's only 21 years old and the leadership he's going to bring to us is important," declared Demps.

Despite having Davis, the Pelicans had one of the league's worst defensive ratings last season and gave up over 102 points per game, but landing Asik, a four-year vet from Turkey, should help.

Asik broke out in 2012-13 with Houston, averaging 10.1 points and 11.7 rebounds while starting all 82 games, but he was limited to just 48 games and 19 starts last season after the Rockets signed Dwight Howard.

Now thrust back into a starting role, Asik should serve as the rim-clearing partner to Davis' block party.

"Getting Omer is a big deal, especially in the West where you need an anchor center like him to be able to play pretty good on defense, rebound the ball and play 1-on-1 defense against some of the real good centers in the west and the league," said Williams.

Tyreke Evans, Salmons and Darius Miller all figure to factor into the small forward rotation.

Salmons could serve as a calming veteran presence for the Pelicans' young roster as he enters his 13th season and Miller saw his numbers jump with more minutes last season.

Evans is the most talented of the three, but his 43.6 shooting percentage and struggles shooting jumpers last season may lead to him coming off the bench again. He was able to manage 14.5 points over 72 games (22 starts) last season in 28.2 minutes per night.

"I don't think he's a small forward, but he may be able to play in that position and play against other small forwards. ... I think he's just a really good player and obviously you try to figure out ways to get him on the floor as much as you can," noted Williams.

BACKCOURT: The cost was high to get Holiday from the Philadelphia 76ers before last season and the Pelicans are hoping to get a full schedule from the former All-Star.

In his first seasons, Holiday has shown the ability to both distribute and score. He averaged 14.3 points over 34 starts last season and dished out 7.9 assists per night after posting eight assists per game the previous season with Philadelphia.

However, Holiday suffered a stress fracture in his right leg in early January and underwent surgery in late February.

New Orleans has a lot riding on the health of Holiday -- who cost the Pelicans Nerlens Noel (the sixth overall pick of the 2013 draft) and what ended up being the 10th selection of the 2014 draft -- and don't want another Gordon situation.

Of course, the Pelicans don't want Gordon to be a Gordon situation anymore either. New Orleans finally got to see the 25-year-old for an extended stretch until left knee tendinitis flared up in late March.

Hopefully, a healthy Gordon can improve on his 15.4 points per game average from last season and come closer to the 20-point a night player he seemed destined to turn into with the Clippers.

"Obviously, we don't like injuries. Nobody does. We can't control that stuff, but we have a great opportunity to improve and compete. That's what we're looking forward to," said Williams.

BENCH: Anderson, Austin Rivers and Fredette are all key parts off the bench for different reasons.

The 6-foot-10 Anderson truly stretches the floor and that is big for the likes of Davis, Asik and Evans. He is a career 38.6 percent shooter from three-point range and averaged 16.2 points per game in his first season with the Pelicans in 2012-13. That average was up to 19.8 points per night over 22 games (14 starts) last season, but he didn't play after Jan. 3 due to a back issue and had surgery on a herniated disc in April.

There will also be a lot of focus on Rivers, who New Orleans took nine picks after Davis in 2012. He has yet to break out over his first two seasons and the son of Clippers coach Doc Rivers could see more time at the two guard following the addition of Fredette.

"I'm excited to see Austin Rivers. He's been spending time a lot of time in the gym. He's been here late at night, early in the morning. His body looks great. I think he's really going to compete for minutes off the bench," said a hopeful Demps.

Fredette is another former 10th overall pick -- 2011 by Milwaukee and traded to Sacramento -- and joins his third team in five years. He gives the Pelicans another deep threat off the bench and will help replace the departed Morrow.

The 7-foot Alexis Ajinca averaged 4.9 rebounds in 56 games last season and rookie Russ Smith -- whose second-round draft rights were acquired from Philadelphia -- will push for time.

COACHING: Williams has been trying to get his defense in order since his arrival in New Orleans and getting Asik should help, especially as he may be running out of time to turn things around.

The Pelicans have stuck with Williams despite his 82-148 mark in three seasons since losing Chris Paul, but he has enough respect that he served as an assistant for Team USA at the FIBA World Cup in Spain, where he got to watch Davis perform.

"I don't take it for granted, for sure. A lot of that stuff you can't control. It's not like we planned to have all that stuff happen to us the last three years," Williams said.

Williams will likely continue to get the benefit of the doubt until he gets a full season -- or maybe two -- with a healthy roster.

OUTLOOK: If anything Demps at least remains a realist about the Pelicans' current situation.

"I think it's important for us to have sustained success. We don't want to sacrifice everything just to make the playoffs this year," he said. "Obviously we want to make the playoffs -- there's no if's and's or but's about that -- but I think the most important thing is that we become a good team and grow. We don't want to just make the playoffs, get there and get swept."

It sure sounds like Demps is ready for another year of team building, but he certainly should expect the Pelicans to get out of the basement if they remain healthy.

"There are going to be some good teams in the West that don't make the playoffs but we want to be one of the teams that do," said Demps.

Hey, it took a good three or four seasons for the ratings of "Breaking Bad" to trend upwards, so Demps and Williams can only hope that Pelicans are on the same path.