NBA Preview: New Orleans Pelicans Will Be Lifted By Anthony Davis To A Playoff Appearance

Anthony Davis, Anthony Davis and Anthony Davis - him alone would make the New Orleans Pelicans season exciting, optimistic and competitive. The Unibrow continues on his path to superstardom in the latest season and the team has added some new weapons to increase its interior defence and improve on its chances to qualify for a playoff spot, since the team traded away Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers.

After playing inspired basketball during the first half of the 2013-2014 season, the team was decimated by injuries most notably to starting point guard Jrue Holiday. The team gave up a lot in the Holiday trade (turned out to be Nerlens Noel, Elfrid Payton and Dario Saric), that his absence for much of the season robbed the team of its best distributor and perimeter defender. Not only that the team's season essentially went down the drain when Ryan Anderson's season was also cut short by a herniated disc, resulting to a dismal 34-48 record for the team that had almost 200 missed games totals for all of its players last year. This year, as with every other NBA team, health is key so is the continued development of Davis as well as the resurgence of Eric Gordon.

New Orleans Pelicans Roster/Depth Chart (in bold are the starters)

Point Guard: Jrue Holiday, Jimmer Fredette, Austin Rivers

Shooting Guard: Eric Gordon, John Salmons

Small Forward: Tyreke Evans, Luke Babbitt, Darius Miller

Power Forward: Anthony Davis, Ryan Anderson, Kevin Jones

Center: Omer Asik, Alex Ajinca, Jeff Whitey

Offseason Additions:

Omer Asik, Jimmer Fredette, John Salmons

Offseason Losses:

Alfarouq Aminu, Anthony Morrow, Lou Amundson, Greg Stiemsma

Season Outlook:

While both ends of the floor will be anchored by Anthony Davis, the trump card for the team will be the play of its perimeter. Eric Gordon has continued to regress the past few years due to a combination of injuries and confidence. While he was able to average 15 points per game, this would not justify the current salary of 15 million a year that he is getting from the team.

Tyreke Evans did well at the tail-end of the season bringing back glimpses of his first year when he won Rookie of the Year honours after tallying a 20-5-5 statistical line. While most of the last games were non-bearing games, Evans showed that he could perform well if he is given the bulk of the ball handling duties. This is a complicated matter as the team is looking to bring back chief ball distributor Jrue Holiday from an injury-plagued debut year with the Pelicans. Coach Monty Williams will have his hands full on trying to balance out a roster of combo-guards such as Gordon, Holiday and Evans.

In the front court, the coach will have a lot of options to look at given the addition of Omer Asik via trade with the Houston Rockets. The acquisition of Asik bolsters the rim protection and rebounding percentages of the team, an area it lagged behind last year despite the Unibrow's presence. Still, Williams will have a problem many coaches would envy since sharp shooting stretch power forward Ryan Anderson is ready to suit up. When the five of Davis-Anderson-Evans-Gordon and Holiday shared the floor last year, they produced at a top-five offensive rate. It would be interesting how Williams will fit in Asik into the scheme.

Overall, with ownership mandate to be competitive, the team will pull all the strings to snatch a playoff spot in a very competitive Western Conference. Do not be surprised if the Pelicans topple either one of the Rockets and the Trailblazers out of the picture given the rapid development of Davis who improved to a 20-points-per-game scorer last year. If the Pelicans enjoy a healthy season, look for them to hold down a playoff spot.