Mar 22, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) reacts as time expires during the fourth quarter of a win against the Miami Heat in a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Heat 105-95. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
There's a lot of excitement surrounding the Pelicans in advance of the upcoming season, and with good reason.
The team has arguably one of the game's top-three players in Anthony Davis, and will have a new head coach in Alvin Gentry who is expected to crank up the tempo while improving the New Orleans offense.
But internally, there's another reason the team can't wait to get things started, and it has to do with the things Davis has been working on this summer.
Teams went small guarding Davis at times last season, and had a fair amount of success. That's expected to change this year, as Davis has spent considerable time working to improve his moves in the post.
"His back-to-the-basket game, I think we'll see serious improvement going into next season," assistant coach Kevin Hanson said, via the team's website. "That's the one area I hope stands out. His natural development in the post will probably be the most noticeable (to fans), how much more comfortable he is down there.
"I think teams are trying to figure out how to guard him best, but he's still effective pretty much against everybody. I mean, he was first-team All-NBA. He's a matchup nightmare."
(h/t: NBA.com)
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.