Category: Features

  • Season in Review: Austin Rivers

    Where He Started Before we look at this year, let’s just go back to our evaluation of Rivers one year ago. Here is the Season in Review piece on Rivers from our own Ryan Schwan at the conclusion of his rookie year. Some highlights include: He’s below average as an NBA guard in every category. […]

  • Season in Review: Darius Miller

    After two years in New Orleans, Darius Miller remains exactly what he was when he came out of college. Excerpts from the scouting report prior to the draft: “shoots the three at a respectable rate” “can hit a mid-range shot off the dribble” “Has shown surprising ability to handle the ball” “Shows some passing skills” […]

  • Season in review: Greg Stiemsma

    There’s an old mother’s saying that goes something like, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” For the New Orleans Pelicans Center Greg Stiemsma there wasn’t a whole lot to say. Last off-season Dell Demps made a trade that sent Robin Lopez to Portland. In doing so the Pelicans […]

  • Season in Review: Tyreke Evans

    Welcome to our annual “Season in Review” series! Over the next five weeks, the Bourbon Street Shots team will be reflecting back on the performance of every New Orleans Pelicans player throughout the 2013-14 NBA season. Make sure to keep up with the series here, as there is lots of GREAT stuff to come. On July 5th, […]

  • Good, But Not Good Enough

    Man was born to love Though often he has sought, Like Icarus, to fly too high And far too lonely than he ought, To kiss the sum of East and West And hold the world at his behest, To hold the terrible power to whom only gods are blessed, But me . . . I […]

  • Looking at the Pelicans’ Defensive Decline

    In Monty Williams’ first season as head coach of the New Orleans NBA franchise the team’s MO was defense. That slow grind it out style led to a playoff berth, a 6 game series against the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, and a defensive ranking of 10th in the league. Since that 2010-2011 season, […]

  • What if the New Orleans Pelicans Won the NBA Draft Lottery?

    The New Orleans Pelicans hold a 1.1% chance of winning the top pick in the 2014 draft. Talk about long odds. It seems like you’re more likely to get hit by an asteroid than the Pelicans have of winning the lotto. But, that’s not the case. One in one hundred is still a chance… The […]

  • Does Tyreke Really Need to Improve His Jump Shot?

    No matter how good a player is, the focus always seems to be on what he needs to improve. And make no mistake, even the all-time greats had weaknesses; nobody is a perfect basketball player. The tendency then, is to talk about what the player needs to improve in order to get better, but what […]

  • Poking the Bear

    And I know it’s my own damn fault — Jimmy Buffett, Margaritaville With just a few games left of the season, I’ve been looking at some of the season stats for the New Orleans Pelicans. Yes, I know there are some games left. Yes, I know I’m still recapping games from a month ago on […]

  • The Beauty of Gray

    This is not a black and white world To be alive, I say that the colors must swirl And I believe that maybe today We will all get to appreciate The beauty of gray — Live, The Beauty of Gray As many have noticed, the next phase of renovations of the Smoothie King Center have […]

  • Anthony Morrow emerges for the New Orleans Pelicans

    I don’t even think about that [contract situation], I’m just trying to focus on winning these last few games. But I appreciate this opportunity because it’s been a blessing for me. — Anthony Morrow, April 6, 2014, The Advocate. Anthony Morrow came into the NBA shooting 46 per cent from three in his rookie season. […]

  • Monty Williams’ Future in New Orleans

    It is no secret that little has gone as planned this season for the new-look New Orleans Pelicans. Armed with the most offensive weapons since the Paul/West/Peja/Chandler days and positioned as one of the youngest rosters in the league, the plan was for this team to at least make a push for a playoff berth […]

  • Do Coaches Really Matter?

    Whether you like it or not, one of the main storylines of this offseason will be Monty Williams. More specifically, should Monty Williams retain his job as the Pelicans head coach? It seems like most Pels fans think that Monty has had enough time with the team and has shown too little. Some have even […]

  • The Spirit of Radio

    Invisible airwaves crackle with life Bright antennae bristle with the energy Emotional feedback on timeless wavelength Bearing a gift beyond price, almost free — Rush, The Spirit of Radio The New Orleans Pelicans are an emerging franchise. With the most glaring aspects of their business being overhauled (like the Smoothie King Center in both substance […]

  • Should Dell Wait for the Summer of 2015?

    This team is close. Forget about the record and look at the talent GM Dell Demps has assembled. There are four key pieces who area all locked into contracts for multiple years that have played fantastically together when they have been on the court. There are also young pieces on bargain contracts who show solid […]

  • Five Takeaways Monty Williams Will Take From This Season

    To get this out of the way, Pelicans Head-Coach Monty Williams will be back next season. Whether you think he should or not does not matter, your opinion on this will not affect the outcome. Maybe after next season, but as of right now it bears little in the discussion of building for this basketball […]

  • 2014 NBA All-Star Weekend Look Back

    Nearly concurrent with the purchase of the then New Orleans Hornets by Tom Benson was the award of the 2014 NBA All-Star Game to New Orleans. While the ownership transfer is clearly the bigger of the two items, that does not mean that the All-Star Game hosted by the now New Orleans Pelicans is not […]

  • The Curious Case of Brian Roberts

    Two summers ago the Pelicans offered former Dayton star Brian Roberts a spot on their summer league team, hoping that he could give a little spark off the bench when rookie Austin Rivers needed a break in the glorified pickup games. Cut to a little less than two years later and he is the starting […]

  • The Development of Anthony Davis

    This is a new series called Show me the Data. I’m hoping to publish a data heavy, analytical, or academically focused piece on the Pelicans or an NBA topic every other week. My goal is to provide something more analytical and less opinion based. If you have any questions, comments, or data you’d like to see examined, […]

  • Who to Watch in the NCAA Tournament

    So, in all likelihood the Pelicans will not have a draft pick heading into June’s draft, but that doesn’t mean they can not acquire one. They have assets like Austin Rivers and Pierre Jackson that might be able to fetch a late 1st. They can also buy a pick or trade for one by giving […]