By Dan Ferrara, NBA International
The New Orleans Pelicans lost Ryan Anderson, who led them in made 3-pointers last season, in free agency to the Houston Rockets. The cornerstone of their franchise, Anthony Davis, is arguably the best power forward in basketball and one of the best post players as well. Should he be the player to pick up the slack left behind the 3-point line with Anderson’s departure?
Though the league is becoming reliant on 3-point shooting and back-to-the-basket players are becoming more obsolete, the modern game can make an exception for a post player as highly skilled as Davis. Teams generally live and die by the 3-pointer and it doesn’t make sense to take your best player away from his strength in order to gamble on the slim chance that you’ll outsnipe your opponent 50 times out of 82 and make the playoffs.
Last year, Davis attempted a career-high 108 threes after totaling just 27 in his first three seasons combined. The results were predictably poor, as he shot just 32.4% from beyond the arc, pulling down his overall field goal percentage to a career-low 49.3%. Additionally, Davis’ offensive rebounding dropped to a career-low 2.1 per game since he was playing under the basket less.
While the “stretch four” is becoming a trendy and valuable position for most teams, it’s use on the Pelicans is an interesting debate. There’s clearly a void of 3-point shooting on the roster given the departures of Eric Gordon and Anderson, though rookie guard Buddy Hield should be able to pitch in this season. Moving Davis out behind the arc will, in theory, lead to less wear on his body, as he won’t be battling and grinding under the basket on both sides of the floor. Given his slender frame and injury history, keeping Davis on the floor is a priority and this is certainly one strategy that may lead to fewer dings and bruises.
But when you think about stretch power forwards in the game – Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Bosh, Kristaps Porzingis – they either don’t possess the elite post skills of Davis (Dirk, KP) or have moved out behind the arc for a legitimate reason (Bosh). The Miami Heat’s offense was most lethal in their “small ball” lineup with Bosh as the tallest player and stretching behind the arc to space the floor for cutters, slashers and drivers such as Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. How exactly would the Pelicans be better with Davis behind the 3-point line? They’d have no interior scoring or presence, giving them four players standing around while Omer Asik, a non-threat on offense, stands down low.
There have also been cases of effective power forwards stretching out and becoming far less productive, such as Serge Ibaka. From 2013 to 2014, Ibaka more than quadrupled his number of 3-point attempts per game. The result? A one-point decrease in his scoring average and a six percent drop in his field goal percentage to a career-low 47.6%.
Davis shot 68.7% from the post and 69.2% in the paint – should the Pelicans mess with that formula?
There are two things that separate good teams from average ones: the luxury of having a star you can rely on for points late in games and ability to get key stops in the fourth quarter. Davis is a rare breed, as he can do both, dominating inside when his team needs a bucket and also playing hounding defense inside when his team needs a big stop. There doesn’t seem to be much of a reason to tinker with the recipe that made Davis the most lethal power forward on both ends of the floor. Instead, the Pelicans should keep letting him dominate and continue to surround him with the jump shooters required to space the floor and allow them to flourish offensively.
