Shaq: Pelicans are 2 players, 2 years away from being contenders in West
When one thinks of the New Orleans Pelicans, the first thing that comes to mind is the roster's inability to remain healthy, as it ranked first in man-games lost during the 2015-16 regular season.
The team finished with its worst record in three years at 30-52, good enough for dead last in the Southwest division and 12th in the Western Conference. Its four leading scorers in Anthony Davis, Ryan Anderson, Jrue Holiday, and Tyreke Evans all missed significant time, with Evans absent the most (57 games) due to a knee injury.
Shaquille O'Neal, who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame last Friday, told the Times-Picayune's John Reid that he believes the Pelicans need at least two more key players and two more years under their belt before becoming a legitimate threat in the ultra competitive West.
"It's never really about management, it's all about the coaches and players," O'Neal said. "At some point, you have to make the determination whether you are good enough.
"The only thing that separates teams are attitudes, fan base, and the will to win. If you are in the NBA, you are good enough to compete. At times, the Pelicans played well last season, especially that game in Detroit (Anthony Davis scored 59 points and pulled down 20 rebounds). He looked liked the best big man ever. Now done it once, can he do it twice and on a consistent basis? He was doing everything in that game, inside and outside shooting jumpers - where has that been? They are still two years and two players away."
New Orleans will look drastically different this upcoming season, with seven new players (Solomon Hill, Terrence Jones, E'Twaun Moore, Lance Stephenson, and rookies Buddy Hield and Cheick Diallo) needing to be integrated by head coach Alvin Gentry. He'll need all hands on deck from the opening tip of opening night, as Holiday is out indefinitely while he tends to his wife who's facing brain surgery, and Evans doesn't appear able to compete following yet another surgery on his ailing knee.
There's only so much a coach can do with a limited arsenal at his disposal. Davis is an all-world talent, but with so many question marks surrounding him and the injury bug never far off, a return to prominence may be exactly how The Big Aristotle projected - two years away.