re: Two Pelicans Reads Today

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This division is a little nuts. For years, it has been the class of the NBA, the toughest battle of any division. The average wins per season for all teams in the Southwest is 44. And that's not all top-heavy San Antonio. The Hornets, who dealt with massive injury woes and the departure of Chris Paul over that stretch, still won 36 games per season.And after this offseason, don't expect much slippage. In fact, you could see some gains. You can make a realistic argument that the Southwest Division could send five teams to the playoffs next season

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Finally, the Pelicans are intriguing. Teams like this either live up to the highest expectations and make the playoffs as a surprise, or they fail miserably -- which prompts the departure of the GM and coach. But there is a legitimate chance that this team makes a postseason run.

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The Pelicans' defense is really going to be the thing to watch. Holiday, Gordon and Evans should be good for somewhere between 40 and 50 points per game by themselves. Health is a worry, but not as much as the defense, which was dreadful last year. Holiday is regaded as an elite perimeter defender, Gordon is fine, and Evans could be very good in a better system. Can the rest of a young roster catch up? That's going to go farther than anything else, even their positional uncertainty, in determining if they make the playoffs or not.

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2. Pelicans: They added two quality starters and upgraded at nearly every position. They landed an All-Star, talked Eric Gordon into buying in, and signed Greg Stiemsma. That's a damn good haul for a small market team with a stupid name.

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