The Real Value of Ryan Anderson

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New Orleans played its first nine games of the season without the 25 year-old sharpshooter, but the narrative barely noticed. After the Pellies opened 3-6 this year, stories centered on Davis’s development during a disappointing start and big picture organizational questions that clouded the future. Was Jrue Holiday really worth two first-round picks? Would three-guard lineups – featuring Holiday, Eric Gordon, and much-maligned free agent acquisition Tyreke Evans – ever figure it out? How safe was Monty Williams?

Valid or otherwise, those concerns ignored the crucial context of Anderson’s injury. Expecting the young and revamped Pelicans to take off running this season was irrational; assuming they’d do so without the full extent of their core available was downright irresponsible.

Considering the circumstances, that New Orleans is .500 in mid-December is cause for minor celebration. Playing just one extended stretch without Anderson or Davis should be a losing proposition, but two in as many months? It wouldn’t shock if the Pelicans were dead in the water by now. That’s an understanding lost on most, though, indicative of the NBA world’s error in assessing Anderson’s worth.

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The irony is that popular narrative is bound to swing Anderson’s way soon enough. His raw stats since returning from injury befit a household name: 21.7 PPG, 47.7% 3PT FGs, and 97.3% FTs. Should Anderson maintain this blistering shooting pace, he’ll even garner faint All-Star consideration come February. The more likely scenario, though, eventually calls for natural regression and typical devaluation of his overall stock.

But even as Anderson’s numbers come back to earth, his impact on the Pelicans will remain otherworldly. The all-encompassing effects of high-volume, high-accuracy shooters align perfectly with those of their pick-and-roll busting, rim-protecting defensive counterparts, but the basketball public has been slow to accept that reality. When that necessary shift comes, Anderson will be the momentum behind it.

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