New Orleans Pelicans Season in Review: Tyreke Evans

Here it is. 3000+ words. Dug through a ton of stats and video over the past 5 days and even I was surprised by some stuff. But in the end, a lot of conclusions I already had were just reinforced. What surprised you? What didn't?

http://www.bourbonstreetshots.com/20...-tyreke-evans/

Still soaking a lot of it in. Good piece MM.

My one contention would be the praise for his isolation D. Not that I am flat out saying it is wrong but I do think it is important to point out that Monty generally tried to put Evans on the opposing teams weakest offensive player whenever possible. Which has to help with his numbers. Whereas a guy like Afflalo would likely be asked to take the toughest defensive assignments.

We had games where Gordon was primarily guarding guys like Westbrook while Evans took the much less difficult assignment of guarding Roberson for instance. If we had been playing position to position D Evans would of been matched up initially with Westbrook most of the time. Monty seemingly tried to intentionally cover Evans up on D and I have to believe part of that is because he didn't trust Evans on other teams best players for good reasons. And even though Gordon would often struggle Monty stayed the course. I may not like Monty overall but I feel like if he believed Evans was that good he would of made a switch.

Maybe I'm off the mark here so feel free to correct me but I just think quality of the opponent Evans was guarding in isolation may be a lurking variable synergy isn't really going to account for and thus is somewhat skewing his stats.

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Originally Posted by N.O.Bronco

Still soaking a lot of it in. Good piece MM.

My one contention would be the praise for his isolation D. Not that I am flat out saying it is wrong but I do think it is important to point out that Monty generally tried to put Evans on the opposing teams weakest offensive player whenever possible. Which has to help with his numbers. Whereas a guy like Afflalo would likely be asked to take the toughest defensive assignments.

We had games where Gordon was primarily guarding guys like Westbrook while Evans took the much less difficult assignment of guarding Roberson for instance. If we had been playing position to position D Evans would of been matched up initially with Westbrook most of the time. But month intentionally tried to cover Evans up on D and I have to believe part of that is because he didn't trust Evans on other teams best players for good reasons.

Maybe I'm off the mark here so feel free to correct me but I just think quality of the opponent arcane was guarding in isolation may be a lurking variable synergy isn't really going to account for and thus is sewhay skewing his stats.

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I thought that going in, but I watched every isolation possession and he was on high level guys a lot. Remember, we switch a lot.

Surprises:
- Tyreke is bad in transition. You touched on this, and a lot of us would like the Pelicans to play at a faster pace, but is it really a good idea? Evans: 21.7 percentile, Holiday: 25.3 percentile, Gordon: 37.0 percentile in transition. On the flip side though AD: 98.4 percentile (I'd like to see how many put backs AD had off of Tyreke's transition misses) and Anderson 84.6 percentile. But if you look at the top guys in PPP its almost all big men and spot up shooters so the stats are skewed in that way, which makes sense. But as a whole team the Pels were in the 34.5 percentile, so not great. Something that could be interesting moving Tyreke to the bench though: Cunningham, Pondexter, and Cole are all statistically decent at running transition so maybe we could have a bit of a change of pace unit there.

-Better with Asik. I guess the screening part makes sense but its still strange. Could we also attribute it to Asik and Davis sharing the floor the vast majority of the time? So Asik on basically means Davis on?

Not Surprises:
-Bad against teams with good interior D. Also the most concerning part.
-Good on-ball D / Bad off ball D. Although I was a little surprised to see he was THAT good on the ball.
-Crap in the clutch.

Overall really nice piece. I support Tyreke going back to the bench even if that's not exactly what he wants. Just another reason Jrue's health is SO SO important going into next year.

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Originally Posted by MichaelMcNamara

I thought that going in, but I watched every isolation possession and he was on high level guys a lot. Remember, we switch a lot.

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Interesting to know. It's clear there are some assumptions that are flat out wrong like the above. One of mine was in transition. I thought he'd weigh much higher with his skills. I enjoyed this article!

Wasn't he a wrecking ball in transition his last year in SAC? I remember his synergy numbers being great then.

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Originally Posted by MichaelMcNamara

I thought that going in, but I watched every isolation possession and he was on high level guys a lot. Remember, we switch a lot.

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Hmm. Interesting.

I like your thoughts of how to use Evans going forward. It is somewhat similar to what I have echoed most of this season(that's not why I like it but because you provide good supporting evidence) except I have been more reluctant to let him close out games. Though your Memphis game stats make me re-think my hardheadedness on that a little(but not completely). Used properly Evans can be a very valuable asset. Used improperly he can do more harm then good in the long run in my personal view.

My biggest worry, which I never get to expand on around here because the conversation rarely gets further then me having to defend my suggestion due to the people that always push back against Tyreke criticism, is that it seems Most people that really dig into Evans come away feeling the same you do. My worry is that both Evans and Monty may once again be reluctant to do what most feel is the ideal for this team.

Your quote on Evans from February seems to suggest he still has that mindset of wanting to be the guy. The starter with the ball in his hands. I just worry Monty's fickleness and difficulty with using Evans coupled with Evans own personal ideal which is to start, may lead to us trotting out the old Holiday, Gordon, Evans lineup to start next season as the place Evans and Monty settle on.

Nice article; very informative. Besides AD, Tyreke is my favorite current Pelican (which can be very stressful). Without Tyreke's season, there would have been no playoffs this year. I think he likes being on this team; although he prefers to start, he played with as much effort coming off the bench. If Holiday is 100% healthy next season, he should start (along with Gordon, Tyreke in the 6th man role). However, If Holiday isn't 100% to begin the season, Tyreke should continue being the starting PG.

im sure other player breakdowns will come, so sticking with reke, he is worth 10m but JH is the key to this team. If we were to get offers for him, I would listen if JH is healthy because I like cole that much running the second team and will never cost 10m.

But, his 10m contract will look like 5 in 2 yrs.

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Originally Posted by lsutigers33

reke, he is worth 10m but JH is the key to this team. If we were to get offers for him, I would listen if JH is healthy because I like cole that much running the second team and will never cost 10m.

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I totally agree, I would listen, especially if it nets the team a quality starting SF. Otherwise, I would keep Tyreke.

Great article, Michael. My biggest takeaway...The team needs better balance. 4 of our top six guys take so much off the table, despite what they bring and Jrue has major injury concerns. My biggest gripe with Monty is the fact that I don't think he's a coach that can minimize those deficiencies and maximize the overarching talent. Tyreke is the biggest example of this. If we are going to stick with Monty we need to sacrifice some of the talent to create a roster that has better balance and depth.

This article lays out why we ultimately need to keep Tyreke, but he has enough boom and bust for 2 or 3 people. We can't move Gordon or Jrue, we need Asik's defensive pedigree... that leaves Ryno. He's the piece. Let 'Reke reke, but surround him with some more Cole, Pondexter, Q-Pon types. This gives Reke the structure to do what he does and not compound our biggest weaknesses while giving Monty some more consistent options that better fit his coaching style.

Nice, there is a lot of work in it. Beer on me.

just a couple things I don't totally agree.

-I think his P&R isn't good, there is a lot of room for improvement.
-I think he still has lot of room to grow, shooting, TO and FG %(start seeing him stop and pop late in the season in the key) So I wouldn't say "highly unlikely" he can improve.

IMHO the reason he work well with Asik is because Asik box out the shot blocker so they can't get to him when he drive and give him an option to pass the rock when hit the wall.

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Originally Posted by DefensiveMind

Great article, Michael. My biggest takeaway...The team needs better balance. 4 of our top six guys take so much off the table, despite what they bring and Jrue has major injury concerns. My biggest gripe with Monty is the fact that I don't think he's a coach that can minimize those deficiencies and maximize the overarching talent. Tyreke is the biggest example of this. If we are going to stick with Monty we need to sacrifice some of the talent to create a roster that has better balance and depth.

This article lays out why we ultimately need to keep Tyreke, but he has enough boom and bust for 2 or 3 people. We can't move Gordon or Jrue, we need Asik's defensive pedigree... that leaves Ryno. He's the piece. Let 'Reke reke, but surround him with some more Cole, Pondexter, Q-Pon types. This gives Reke the structure to do what he does and not compound our biggest weaknesses while giving Monty some more consistent options that better fit his coaching style.

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I agree with a lot of this. I think it has become pretty clear that Monty struggles with core players where he has to balance their skillsets and they need to be controlled. At least once you gain his trust. Because for people on the outside looking in on Monty's trust circle he can be very tough on you.

This makes sense when you hear AD and others talk about his suggestive coaching style, his philosophy of trust and laid back demeanor. He is much more carrot then stick. He isn't an authoritarian type like Pop, Carlisle or Thibs that have a my way or the highway mentality. Once you earn his trust you are given a lot of freedom and for certain players this is not a good thing. I think guys like Ariza(offensively), Ryno, Evans, Rivers, Ryno are guys that exemplify this fault to different degrees.

Give him too many of these players that need to be carefully controlled and he struggles as you say. I do honestly worry that Jrue may fall victim to this as well.

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Originally Posted by DefensiveMind

Great article, Michael. My biggest takeaway...The team needs better balance. 4 of our top six guys take so much off the table, despite what they bring and Jrue has major injury concerns. My biggest gripe with Monty is the fact that I don't think he's a coach that can minimize those deficiencies and maximize the overarching talent. Tyreke is the biggest example of this. If we are going to stick with Monty we need to sacrifice some of the talent to create a roster that has better balance and depth.

This article lays out why we ultimately need to keep Tyreke, but he has enough boom and bust for 2 or 3 people. We can't move Gordon or Jrue, we need Asik's defensive pedigree... that leaves Ryno. He's the piece. Let 'Reke reke, but surround him with some more Cole, Pondexter, Q-Pon types. This gives Reke the structure to do what he does and not compound our biggest weaknesses while giving Monty some more consistent options that better fit his coaching style.

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I agree. I feel like you can get away with a guy or two that can be easily taken away. But not 4 of your top 6.

Maybe I just missed it, but how were his assists vs teams with good interior defense? Was there a decline there as well? Considering we often lost those games I'm guessing yes.

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Originally Posted by BP225

Maybe I just missed it, but how were his assists vs teams with good interior defense? Was there a decline there as well? Considering we often lost those games I'm guessing yes.

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It was much more scattered. He averaged slightly less but it was up and down. Against some of those defenses, he posted good assist numbers and others he was terrible. But the FG% was universally down against good interior teams, save for Memphis - but a big part of that was because he played a lot against their 2nd unit in our first two games - which is where I want to see him at permanently.

On the ball in isolation defense, "elite...96th percentile". Wow. Very impressive.

Great article as usual. I really can't think of any other sports blog, publication, newspaper, etc. that does as much thorough, logical and detailed analysis as MM and the other guys that write for BSS on any level of journalism. It's truly amazing and mind-boggling when you think there are so many undeserving high-profile national guys. Anyway, we are very, very fortunate, and thanks.

It's so impressive that I really feel (and have said this before), you want MM or someone to be there to be the guy that tells Monty in certain situations (hey, this gives us a higher chance to be successful if we do this here). We all feel that way about Monty's coaching. Really it's our biggest (only?) complaint. Would it be so hard to change an assistant coach or two and pay MM and the guys double or triple what they are making now to whisper things in Monty's ear? I have no doubt it's worth 1-2 better spots in seedings.

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Originally Posted by donato

On the ball in isolation defense, "elite...96th percentile". Wow. Very impressive.

Great article as usual. I really can't think of any other sports blog, publication, newspaper, etc. that does as much thorough, logical and detailed analysis as MM and the other guys that write for BSS on any level of journalism. It's truly amazing and mind-boggling when you think there are so many undeserving high-profile national guys. Anyway, we are very, very fortunate, and thanks.

It's so impressive that I really feel (and have said this before), you want MM or someone to be there to be the guy that tells Monty in certain situations (hey, this gives us a higher chance to be successful if we do this here). We all feel that way about Monty's coaching. Really it's our biggest (only?) complaint. Would it be so hard to change an assistant coach or two and pay MM and the guys double or triple what they are making now to whisper things in Monty's ear? I have no doubt it's worth 1-2 better spots in seedings.

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Going overboard

I am 100% sure Monty and his staff know 10x more than me and all the other guys at BSS combined. The issue is that he has to deal with reality and I get to deal with theory. I can sit behind a computer and say, "Monty should tell Evans to come off the bench and do X, Y, and Z. But Monty has to juggle personalities, egos, front office desires for the team, etc.

I am sure that every single thing we see, he sees, but he has to also factor in 100 things that I don't even know is going on behind the scenes.

But I do try to do my best for the good of the readers. I spent about 20-25 hours researching and working on that article, and every time I wanted to quit, I knew that our readers deserved it so that drove me.

Thank you all for reading and commenting.

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Originally Posted by N.O.Bronco

Still soaking a lot of it in. Good piece MM.

My one contention would be the praise for his isolation D. Not that I am flat out saying it is wrong but I do think it is important to point out that Monty generally tried to put Evans on the opposing teams weakest offensive player whenever possible. Which has to help with his numbers. Whereas a guy like Afflalo would likely be asked to take the toughest defensive assignments.

We had games where Gordon was primarily guarding guys like Westbrook while Evans took the much less difficult assignment of guarding Roberson for instance. If we had been playing position to position D Evans would of been matched up initially with Westbrook most of the time. Monty seemingly tried to intentionally cover Evans up on D and I have to believe part of that is because he didn't trust Evans on other teams best players for good reasons. And even though Gordon would often struggle Monty stayed the course. I may not like Monty overall but I feel like if he believed Evans was that good he would of made a switch.

Maybe I'm off the mark here so feel free to correct me but I just think quality of the opponent Evans was guarding in isolation may be a lurking variable synergy isn't really going to account for and thus is somewhat skewing his stats.

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I think once Jrue went down.....Reke was the only guard Monty trusted to run the team. So, knowing that Monty IMO tried to keep him fresh by not putting him on the other teams high usage guy at guard. Besides, Reke is a pretty big guy, he would crash and burn if he had to chase smaller guys every night baseline to baseline.

Great job MM! I believe Tyreke is our X factor if this team is healthy, more than Anderson. So dangerous with the ball in his hands. Also love that he plays through injuries, seems to be a competitor and despite his age, a leader of this team by example.

Nice, detailed piece on a very tough player to break down, congrats again.

I'm waiting with baited breath for the Jinmer Freddette 2 word write up, " He gone!"

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Originally Posted by UNO Gracias

I'm waiting with baited breath for the Jinmer Freddette 2 word write up, " He gone!"

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I like Jimmer a lot, but he's not an NBA player.....

Great article. I think you are right on for the most part. My only worry is his off ball defense. How much did that contribute to our poor defensive showing as a whole?

What I found amusing was that after Reke hurt himself in game 1, he rolled out in game 2 with less strength and lift. He also drew more FT's that game than the other 3 combined. That, and I believe his defense seemed better that game? could be wrong on that last part, I know one of the 4 games he had a standout defensive game (by his standards). Pretty sure it was game 2.

We have to move away from this 'no passing, iso Tyreke' style down the stretch, it's horrible to watch.

I'm ok keeping Tyreke if they don't let him go iso down the stretch.

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Originally Posted by Impose

We have to move away from this 'no passing, iso Tyreke' style down the stretch, it's horrible to watch.

I'm ok keeping Tyreke if they don't let him go iso down the stretch.

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I don't understand why it wasnt quickly stamped out after the 29th failure last season.

I mean, I'm all for iso if he's going to drive but he should never, ever, ever, ever, ever take a ridiculous step back long 2 in that situation ever again.

Why cant Monty just employ it as a team rule? It seems so basic.

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Originally Posted by Perth_Hornet

I don't understand why it wasnt quickly stamped out after the 29th failure last season.

I mean, I'm all for iso if he's going to drive but he should never, ever, ever, ever, ever take a ridiculous step back long 2 in that situation ever again.

Why cant Monty just employ it as a team rule? It seems so basic.

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This is the reason I have a slight deviation from MM about using Evans to close out games.

It isn't because he shouldn't be on the court but because Monty doesn't seem to either know he needs to reign him in or hasn't been able to reign him in. He talks about the ball sticking late in games but hasn't managed to fix it after an entire season.

That game 3 should of been the biggest and loudest indictment of Evans play style late in games but like the 30 or so other instances it was just another drop in the bucket.

So I get to a point where I just feel the only way to improve ball movement is by addition by subtraction. Leave Evans off unless it is a poor interior D he would be going up against in the clutch and have Qpon or Cunningham in instead. People that can be defensive forces and knock down looks that Jrue can create.

Because frankly the closing lineup on paper is kind of a big liability: Jrue, Gordon, Evans, Davis, ryno. Only two of those 5 are two way players and with Evans dribbling out possessions and stagnating offensive flow it is a recipe for disaster against good teams. As we say most recently with GS.

Great article MM , I totally agree TE should come off the bench 6th man role . In most situations I don't like him on the court at the end of the game. I also think that even if JH is hurt and out I wouldn't want Reke at the point , His pace and he really doesn't run the offense very well . I'd feel more comfortable with Cole at point . Once again it all depends on Holiday's health

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Originally Posted by Perth_Hornet

Why cant Monty just employ it as a team rule? It seems so basic.

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And what do you do if people don't follow that "team rule"? It's just not that easy.

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Originally Posted by djrnno

Great article MM , I totally agree TE should come off the bench 6th man role . In most situations I don't like him on the court at the end of the game. I also think that even if JH is hurt and out I wouldn't want Reke at the point , His pace and he really doesn't run the offense very well . I'd feel more comfortable with Cole at point . Once again it all depends on Holiday's health

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And what does that say if we are honest? Cole is really not a great facilitator(a great spark plug player that I want to see back) but it has gotten to the point with some fans(me amongst them) that we have so little trust in Evans in late game situations that we think a consensus below average facilitator is a upgrade for offensive flow then Evans.

Because Cole at least plays with pace and won't pound the rock for 75% of the shot clock and then just drive and take a circus shot or attempt a late bailout pass. He will hand it off, pass it off, let other guys take the lead and he can hit jumpers and get on a streak.

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Originally Posted by ml wave

And what do you do if people don't follow that "team rule"? It's just not that easy.

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Well you typically sit them.

If Pop will sit Duncan, Parker or Manu when they stink it up and someone else is playing well why has Evans been above that punishment?

When we didn't have Cole I understand you are kind of stuck but even with Jrue and now with Cole, we see the same situation pop up and nothing is done to correct it. If the issue is that with the ball in Evans hands late in games and his poor decision-making, you take the ball out of his hands or sit him. Like Game 3. Evans was making poor decision after poor decision from about 6 minutes in the fourth on down. We put Jrue back in at roughly 3:30(should of been earlier). It wasn't til 1:10 or so left that Jrue finally was given a chance to run the offense and that was only because he was the only outlet to carry the ball up the court.

That was inexcusable to me.

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Originally Posted by N.O.Bronco

Well you typically sit them.

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Not if they have 2 years and $20MM left on their contract (both more than you have left on yours). Not if they share an agent with your franchise player. This may be news to you, but NBA players frequently do not listen to their coaches. You'd probably be shocked by how often. Monty doesn't have the championship capital/backing of the front office that Pop or Carlisle do. Real life isn't that simple.

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Originally Posted by ml wave

Not if they have 2 years and $20MM left on their contract (both more than you have left on yours). Not if they share an agent with your franchise player. This may be news to you, but NBA players frequently do not listen to their coaches. You'd probably be shocked by how often. Monty doesn't have the championship capital/backing of the front office that Pop or Carlisle do. Real life isn't that simple.

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Perhaps actually respond to more then the first line of someone's post? Everything you have said either makes Monty look like he can't control the team or is a manufactured excuse of which there is zero evidence that supports it.

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Originally Posted by N.O.Bronco

Well you typically sit them.

If Pop will sit Duncan, Parker or Manu when they stink it up and someone else is playing well why has Evans been above that punishment?

When we didn't have Cole I understand you are kind of stuck but even with Jrue and now with Cole, we see the same situation pop up and nothing is done to correct it. If the issue is that with the ball in Evans hands late in games and his poor decision-making, you take the ball out of his hands or sit him. Like Game 3. Evans was making poor decision after poor decision from about 6 minutes in the fourth on down. We put Jrue back in at roughly 3:30(should of been earlier). It wasn't til 1:10 or so left that Jrue finally was given a chance to run the offense and that was only because he was the only outlet to carry the ball up the court.

That was inexcusable to me.

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Pop can afford to sit them because he knows theyre making the playoffs and he knows his job is safe.

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Originally Posted by BallSoHard

Pop can afford to sit them because he knows theyre making the playoffs and he knows his job is safe.

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Im speaking about performance based benching or getting on their case for screwing up. Not resting for health.

This false narrative that has been concocted to shield Monty from any responsibility for Evans poor clutch play and our rather season long lackluster clutch play is just ridiculous.

As has already been mentioned, yes, at times injury necessitated it and left Monty with no alternatives but that doesn't excuse the times where injury is no longer an excuse. For instance Game 3 or most of the beginning of the season.

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Originally Posted by N.O.Bronco

Im speaking about performance based benching or getting on their case for screwing up. Not resting for health.

This false narrative that has been concocted to shield Monty from any responsibility for Evans poor clutch play and our rather season long lackluster clutch play is just ridiculous.

As has already been mentioned, yes, at times injury necessitated it and left Monty with no alternatives but that doesn't excuse the times where injury is no longer an excuse. For instance Game 3 or most of the beginning of the season.

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I didn't mention injuries once sir. So i'm not sure how to respond to this. My response was, Monty needs to have his best players out there because his job is not safe. He does not have the luxuries as the coach you used as an example. Monty is fighting tooth and nail and putting his second best player on the bench during a clutch situation that may provide a loss means he may not make the playoffs which means he may not have a job. In premise i agree with you, but if my job were on the line, i'd be more worried about talent on the court than teaching a lesson that may or may not be learned by a benching.

Great article.

I was reading some of the comments and I agree with some that pointed out Reke's lack of explosion (most likely due to gaining weight to play SF and battling injury)

IMO if he were to get in better health & shape for next season, logically his off-ball defense & finishing could improve next season.

Also, MM,

What does Tyreke have to do to reach his All Star potential? (aside from tattooing Chinese flag on forehead)

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Originally Posted by Caffeinedisastr

Also, MM,

What does Tyreke have to do to reach his All Star potential? (aside from tattooing Chinese flag on forehead)

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Get put in the right role. I don't expect his skill set to change that much. But it won't have to if he is in the right role.

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Originally Posted by BallSoHard

I didn't mention injuries once sir. So i'm not sure how to respond to this. My response was, Monty needs to have his best players out there because his job is not safe. He does not have the luxuries as the coach you used as an example. Monty is fighting tooth and nail and putting his second best player on the bench during a clutch situation that may provide a loss means he may not make the playoffs which means he may not have a job. In premise i agree with you, but if my job were on the line, i'd be more worried about talent on the court than teaching a lesson that may or may not be learned by a benching.

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That still doesn't add up. When healthy we saw the same thing, Evans pounding the Rock, making poor decisions and hurting us down the stretch. Monty's response? Allow him to keep pounding the rock, not discipline him for his poor decisions and hurt us in the clutch.


Monty will get fired for not winning. He won't get fired for yelling at Evans, forcing the offense to go through Cole or Jrue or benching Evans if his actions don't start to change. We have heard from Davis and others that Monty is a trust guy, and a suggestive coach not an authoritarian like Pop, Thibs or Carlisle - once in his circle of trust you get a wide berth. For players like Qpon, Cole and Cunningham that were hampered by too many restrictions, that freedom helped them and made the team better for it. With Others like Evans that trust and wide berth and suggestive rather then disciplinarian style seems to be a double edged sword.

To me it Seems fair to conclude that at this point Monty just doesn't see eye to eye with his critics on this issue or that he has been ineffective at correcting it because there have been no changes or consequences to Evans down the stretch even though it has become a regular and expected occurrence more then not. Or possibly, this is what Monty wants the team to do. But given this seems a problem unique to Evans I have a hard time believing that.

There aren't going to be any more chances to investigate this til next season so we will have to wait to see what our late game strategy looks like next season. My hope is that with an offseason to pour over the stats, game tape and coaching advice, Monty will come to the floor with some fresh ideas about how to correct the clutch Evans issue and hopefully we will see a change that helps Evans and the team.

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Originally Posted by N.O.Bronco

That still doesn't add up. When healthy we saw the same thing, Evans pounding the Rock, making poor decisions and hurting us down the stretch. Monty's response? Allow him to keep pounding the rock, not discipline him for his poor decisions and hurt us in the clutch.


Monty will get fired for not winning. He won't get fired for yelling at Evans, forcing the offense to go through Cole or Jrue or benching Evans if his actions don't start to change. We have heard from Davis and others that Monty is a trust guy, and a suggestive coach not an authoritarian like Pop, Thibs or Carlisle - once in his circle of trust you get a wide berth. For players like Qpon, Cole and Cunningham that were hampered by too many restrictions, that freedom helped them and made the team better for it. With Others like Evans that trust and wide berth and suggestive rather then disciplinarian style seems to be a double edged sword.

To me it Seems fair to conclude that at this point Monty just doesn't see eye to eye with his critics on this issue or that he has been ineffective at correcting it because there have been no changes or consequences to Evans down the stretch even though it has become a regular and expected occurrence more then not. Or possibly, this is what Monty wants the team to do. But given this seems a problem unique to Evans I have a hard time believing that.

There aren't going to be any more chances to investigate this til next season so we will have to wait to see what our late game strategy looks like next season. My hope is that with an offseason to pour over the stats, game tape and coaching advice, Monty will come to the floor with some fresh ideas about how to correct the clutch Evans issue and hopefully we will see a change that helps Evans and the team.

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It adds up just fine. When healthy we were still fighting for a playoff spot. Monty still fighting for his job.

You're right. Monty will get fired for not winning, and whether we like it or not having Tyreke out there for us most of the time gives us that chance. If you honestly believe he doesn't yell at Evans I'm not sure what to say. Most lessons are learned from experience, not from a shaming. You have to let Evans realize it himself and fail some to learn.

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Originally Posted by BallSoHard

It adds up just fine. When healthy we were still fighting for a playoff spot. Monty still fighting for his job.

You're right. Monty will get fired for not winning, and whether we like it or not having Tyreke out there for us most of the time gives us that chance. If you honestly believe he doesn't yell at Evans I'm not sure what to say. Most lessons are learned from experience, not from a shaming. You have to let Evans realize it himself and fail some to learn.

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Are you reading OP's article? Evans most certainly is NOT helping us down the clutch stretch of games with his play. If we are going by the numbers Cole should be out there over Evans. His clutch FG% with us is above 53% compared to Evans 32%. Cole has a 68% TS% compared to Evans 40% TS%. Cole's offensive/defensive rating is positive compared to Evans negative rating. Cole has a perfect assist to turnover ratio and has the same assist % so they are both distributing about the same in the clutch.

The stats from this season say our best clutch lineup consists of Davis, Cole, Gordon, Qpon and Asik. That lineup(with obvious substitutions based on gamete performance) is what the numbers say is our best lineup in the clutch. So no, Evans does not give us the best chance based on the numbers and what many people have witnessed all season.

There is a difference between letting a player fail and allowing him to learn and then allowing a player to go 82 games and a playoff series with no consequences for his play and nothing done that has been effective to address the issue.

To me the root is bad coaching with a small excuse allowed for circumstance.

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Originally Posted by N.O.Bronco

Are you reading OP's article? Evans most certainly is NOT helping us down the clutch stretch of games with his play. If we are going by the numbers Cole should be out there over Evans. His clutch FG% with us is above 53% compared to Evans 32%. His offensive/defensive rating is positive compared to Evans negative rating. Cole has a perfect assist to turnover ratio and has the same assist % so they are both distributing about the same in the clutch.

The stats say our best clutch lineup consists of Davis, Cole, Gordon, Qpon and Asik.

There is a difference between letting a player fail and allowing him to learn and then allowing a player to go 82 games and a playoff series with no consequences for his play and nothing done that has been effective to address the issue.

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If you believe a clutch lineup of Davis cole Gordon qpon and Asik is good for us then I'm not sure what we're talking about. I think stats tell a story without a doubt but they're not the say all be all. At the end of the day you let Evans fail over leaving cole on the floor bc Evans is part of your core and hope he learns. We just have different opinions on how it should be handled.


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Originally Posted by BallSoHard

If you believe a clutch lineup of Davis cole Gordon qpon and Asik is good for us then I'm not sure what we're talking about. I think stats tell a story without a doubt but they're not the say all be all. At the end of the day you let Evans fail over leaving cole on the floor bc Evans is part of your core and hope he learns. We just have different opinions on how it should be handled.


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Im waiting for an argument that is actually substance based? So far this is a one-sided conversation where I am qualifying myself and you are providing opinion, conjecture and speculation.

You jumped into my conversation that was a discussion about what to do about Evans poor clutch play. I gave my suggestion. You jumped in with an argument that amounted to Monty needs to have his best players out there. And if we are discussing clutch play then it makes sense to discover who are actually are best clutch players? As that is what the discussion is about.

If someone that is considered our core player(i disagree with this personally) is not performing well in the clutch, then that is a red flag. It signals something isn't right. Now we tried the route of just letting it play itself out and that hasn't worked. In 82 games and a playoff series the same problems people identified with Evans in Game 2 were still there in game 3 in the playoffs: iso play, pounding the rock, slow pace, low ball movement, poor shot selection, turnovers, circus shots that lead to easy points the other way, poor overall defense.

If your argument amounts to just continue to do the same thing over and over and expect a new result, well, I'm sure you have heard of the old cliche about insanity? Which is all I have gotten from you in your responses. To which I disagree with how to achieve a change.

If Monty has tried to talk to him and that hasn't worked(which you speculate but we have no proof), which clearly it hasn't, if Monty has tried yelling at him(which you speculate but we have no proof) that too has clearly not worked. So to me when a person is not responding to the current consequences the ante has to be raised. I laid out the way I would handle it(discuss it first, be tough and clear about the problem and what you want to see from him. If he doesnt respond you begin to get on him in game to execute properly. If he doesnt respond you run plays to take the ball away from him and take the ball out of his hands, if he doesnt go along with that you bench him) if you have a different suggestion then lets actually discuss it. If you think Evans isn't performing poor in the clutch, please provide a counter to MM and my points.

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Originally Posted by N.O.Bronco

Im waiting for an argument that is actually substance based? So far this is a one-sided conversation where I am qualifying myself and you are providing opinion, conjecture and speculation.

You jumped into my conversation that was a discussion about what to do about Evans poor clutch play. I gave my suggestion. You jumped in with an argument that amounted to Monty needs to have his best players out there. And if we are discussing clutch play then it makes sense to discover who are actually are best clutch players? As that is what the discussion is about.

If someone that is considered our core player(i disagree with this personally) is not performing well in the clutch, then that is a red flag. It signals something isn't right. Now we tried the route of just letting it play itself out and that hasn't worked. In 82 games and a playoff series the same problems people identified with Evans in Game 2 were still there in game 3 in the playoffs: iso play, pounding the rock, slow pace, low ball movement, poor shot selection, turnovers, circus shots that lead to easy points the other way, poor overall defense.

If your argument amounts to just continue to do the same thing over and over and expect a new result, well, I'm sure you have heard of the old cliche about insanity? Which is all I have gotten from you in your responses. To which I disagree with how to achieve a change.

If Monty has tried to talk to him and that hasn't worked(which you speculate but we have no proof), which clearly it hasn't, if Monty has tried yelling at him(which you speculate but we have no proof) that too has clearly not worked. So to me when a person is not responding to the current consequences the ante has to be raised. I laid out the way I would handle it(discuss it first, be tough and clear about the problem and what you want to see from him. If he doesnt respond you begin to get on him in game to execute properly. If he doesnt respond you run plays to take the ball away from him and take the ball out of his hands, if he doesnt go along with that you bench him) if you have a different suggestion then lets actually discuss it. If you think Evans isn't performing poor in the clutch, please provide a counter to MM and my points.

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I told you the way I felt about it. I'm not getting into another retarded pr battle. I had no counter to mm's points. My only counter was basically a caveat to your point about benching him. That's it which is why I'm repeating myself. You keep trying to draw this argument into something it's not.


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Originally Posted by BallSoHard

I told you the way I felt about it. I'm not getting into another retarded pr battle. I had no counter to mm's points. My only counter was basically a caveat to your point about benching him. That's it which is why I'm repeating myself. You keep trying to draw this argument into something it's not.


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Im just actually trying to get some substance and a clarification on what your argument actually is. You keep making assertions then making new ones when I address them. Never staying still and actually discussing anything. I agree this is getting nowhere.

I remember when Tyreke came into the league, people loved him for his offensive talent, but I remember the Memphis coach saying that Tyreke was actually an elite on ball defender. It's interesting, but with Tyreke being so good on ball and so bad off ball (mainly because all he tries to do is play passing lanes) what do you do? Do you put tyreke on the primary ball handler and not utilize jrue's best asset? Even though jrue is also a good off-ball defender, but are u going to take away jrue's best asset only to help tyreke? I of course ask this question in regards when they are on the floor together.

MM what do u think? With Tyreke and Jrue both on the floor, who do u put to defend the ball handler?

and also, all the guys on here saying tyreke is a ball hog and doesn't pass, lol like the article says, when jrue went down, Tyreke had the best assist % in the NBA, the entire NBA!

Tyreke might do a lot of dumb things, but his positives far out-weigh his negatives IMO.

Like the article says, without Tyreke, we don't sniff the playoffs.

And even if he did suck, i don't care, his toughness is unrivaled. He has heart, i'll take that any day, just like when AD got hurt, tyreke asked AD, "You wanna go home or u wanna win?"

For all the analysis that is done, I just want to see a healthy pelicans team in its current version for an extended period. We were able to make the playoffs without jrue, Anderson and with a still hurting Gordon. If they can all get healthy and in great spirits and we can increase the screen play with Gordon to try to make him shine like a warrior, we might be able to pull off a spurs like season. No great.teams have.key players.that are hurting.