Elfrid Payton

[zephyr]

Nah, Rondo was every bit as good of a distributor as Elfrid is. But Elfrid seems to be better at getting to the basket and defending.

This is a damn good team. This team’s starting 5 is as good as anyone not named Golden State. What I think will kill them is their lack of depth. I don’t see them playing as fast as they have and staying healthy the entire season. This is why Cousins was such a valuable piece of the puzzle even though he didn’t fit in with the Pels fast paced offense. When AD was injured or on the bench Cousins was still there to create havoc for the other team’s D.

If we keep playing this well we’ll need to pick up a player or two from a tanking team so we can make a real run at a Championship. This is THE year.

I would agree mostly with this. Their depth is a concern along with their lack of talent on the wing. The Pelicans have lacked a true, playmaking SF for years and to me it has been the one position holding them back. PG depth is not as good this year and they are already leaning heavily on their top 6 guys for minutes. They are fun to watch but at the pace this team plays at, you need at least 9-10 guys who can contribute and I'm not sure the Pelicans have that.

[zephyr]

I think Elfrid is the player the Pels have needed for the last several seasons to make them a championship contender. Yeah, they're only 3 games into the season, but the differences from last season are already obvious. Last year, AD was more of a ball-handler while this year, he's more free to roam inside to get open for easy shots.

I think you are thinking of Cousins. Boogie handled the ball much of the year and brought it up the court and he was one of the highest usage players in the entire NBA. AD has never been that type of player. In fact, they often criticize him because he doesn't touch the ball enough.

[facelessjonmoon]

I would agree mostly with this. Their depth is a concern along with their lack of talent on the wing. The Pelicans have lacked a true, playmaking SF for years and to me it has been the one position holding them back. PG depth is not as good this year and they are already leaning heavily on their top 6 guys for minutes. They are fun to watch but at the pace this team plays at, you need at least 9-10 guys who can contribute and I'm not sure the Pelicans have that.

Exactly. They need more length and athleticism at the 3 spot especially on the defensive side. They have not had a good 3 since Ariza left. Diallo was drafted for that reason but he has not panned out so far.

IMO Randle is a great replacement for Boogie. He does alot of the same things that Boogie did but is a little more athletic and can play a a faster pace.. Between him, Niko and AD they have a strong frontcourt. Hopefully Jahlil Okafor can provide some depth as the season progresses

[zephyr]

Exactly. They need more length and athleticism at the 3 spot especially on the defensive side. They have not had a good 3 since Ariza left. Diallo was drafted for that reason but he has not panned out so far.

IMO Randle is a great replacement for Boogie. He does alot of the same things that Boogie did but is a little more athletic and can play a a faster pace.. Between him, Niko and AD they have a strong frontcourt. Hopefully Jahlil Okafor can provide some depth as the season progresses

They have actually moved Check Diallo to the PF and even run him at the C spot in small lineups so he will help as well in the frontcourt. I like Randle a lot and I wished they had gotten Rudy Gay two years ago. Although he is older now he is still likely better than anybody we have to play the bulk of the minutes at the 3 and he can stretch to the 4. I was also hoping they would have gone after Ariza this off season as well. He is so underrated. Maybe a guy like Kelly Oubre at Washington would be a fit. He can't like sitting behind Otto Porter.

[CajunVic]

Its real easy. There are several factors that come into the equation. One, is depth at the position. Last year you had Chris Paul not even get into the All Star game and he averaged double the points with similar assists and rebounds. Two, the All star game is very much a name game. Elfrid is a nice player but when you have fans voting in players he is not exactly a household name. Elfrid would have to put better stats up than guys like Curry, Paul, Harden, Kyrie etc.. just to get consideration. Third, while he is having a solid year, 13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists isn't going to win many awards. Also, since its a fact that EP is still somewhat limited offensively although he has the ability to score at times, his numbers don't seem like they will see that much of a bump.

Ok

[zephyr]

May be the first time we agreed on something.

[CajunVic]

May be the first time we agreed on something.

Not really, most of the time when I agree with you, you don't hear from me. You caught me off guard being a little to flippant so I bowed down. That's ok?

[CajunEXPRESS]

No doubt EP isn't putting together all-star numbers. He's not supposed to. Those numbers belong to an MVP candidate named Anthony Davis. The other star on the team is Drue Holiday. Lesser stars are Mirotic, and Randel. He's there to facilitate, defend, and rebound. He's fulfilling his job very well to this point.

[zephyr]

Not really, most of the time when I agree with you, you don't hear from me. You caught me off guard being a little to flippant so I bowed down. That's ok?

Well, it was just in response to your flippancy with the previous poster and his view on why EP would not have much chance at being an All Star this year (which I agree with). I'm good. However, I'm always up for a good discussion if you felt otherwise.

[powerpointpro]

Whatever happened to that world class clown Kyle that guaranteed Elfrid could never play in the NBA, much less be drafted?