National Basketball Association

New Orleans Pelicans: Does Alvin Gentry Listen to The Gentrys?

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

The secret key to the New Orleans Pelicans’ success this season can be found in their coach’s relationship to a classic rock band and its ability to innovate in their own little way.

Before Memphis, Tennessee was home to any Grizzlies named Mike, Marc or Zach – it was home to The Gentrys. They were an American Rock and Roll band, and mildly famous in the 60’s & 70’s. They were also largely a one hit wonder (sorry if you disagree).

“Uhh…” (this is you speaking to me, thinking I’m crazy for keeping up with obscure classic rock stories)

That one hit wonder was called Keep on Dancing. It reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1965.

“OK.”

Keep on Dancing was notable because it was one short recording repeated and stretched to two minutes. No song could make it on the airwaves at less than a minute. Two-minutes was a popular length for a hit song during that time.

“Yeah, man. Real cool.”

Okay, I’ll explain myself. After some exhausting investigative reporting, I found that the Pelican’s head coach, Alvin Gentry has a very similar name to that of this band. If you are having trouble following, the band is named “The Gentrys.” I spent a day listening to their work forwards and backwards and as I suspected, it provided little insight into the game of basketball. It did, however, give me some interesting perspective heading into the season.

Dedicated fans know the much-maligned Coach Gentry has hit a crossroads. His blueprint from the 2010 Western Conference Finalist Phoenix Suns team wooed GM Dell Demps, and after the hire, much was said about how this style of play would squeeze out every ounce of Anthony Davis’ greatness. Reputable basketball pundits (Me) proclaimed he would average 40-15-5-5… (Don’t @ me bro, it’s my thing).

That was the plan, but we all know how it ended up: An uninspiring season cut short by injuries for Anthony Davis, and a 30-52 record that led to a lottery pick named Buddy.

For those of you who want to grade Coach Gentry’s first season as head coach of the Pelicans an “Incomplete”, that’s fair. The injuries they suffered considerably slowed the development of his team. If you’re far more critical, that’s fair too. His questionable lineups and substitution patterns were deservedly examined throughout the season.

Regardless of your position on Gentry, the 2015 season is in the rear view mirror, and year two of the Alvin Gentry regime is almost here. This season provides Coach Gentry with a unique opportunity to show us that the Pelicans made the right hire.

The Gentrys were on to something in 1965. The record was close, but it needed to be lengthened. What was their solution? They repeated and stretched what they felt was a successful first recording. Alvin Gentry, on the other hand, will need to be much more innovative. His 2010 Suns team is not the team he has today. No matter how you shape the statistics or how you project the evolution of players within his system, he won’t find success repeating that same recording.

He hasn’t been afforded with the same opportunity the 1960’s Memphis Battle of the Bands champion was. But before I give you the indication I believe Coach Gentry can’t evolve, let me tell you that I do. My belief has a lot to do with this past offseason. Dell Demps helped his coach by bringing in versatile, “hard-nosed” defenders and according to Coach Gentry, the Pelicans have spent 60% of training camp on improving their defense.

Pelicans fans rejoice at news like this, but this current situation is a far cry from Gentry’s original allure. This season offers Alvin Gentry a legitimate opportunity to retool his philosophy. He will have to show the Pelican brass he can squeeze every bit of talent possible out of a team that is more suited for both his coaching while also correcting defensive issues developed last season.

The defense will have to take a step forward, something Gentry’s teams have struggled to do throughout his entire head-coaching career. And his offense will have to score points without a proven creator, at least until Jrue Holiday is back. I am not suggesting the offense can’t improve, but it is important to remember the offenses he is most remembered for had generational talents as their floor generals (Nash, CP3, Curry).

Alvin Gentry has a unique opportunity to show he can succeed despite these disadvantages. Whether you like it or not, Dell Demps has a strange amount of job security – and Gentry is Demps’ hire. If Gentry’s team shows progress, he will have an opportunity next season to show he isn’t repeating his 2010 recording, and may find himself with another hit in his catalog.

If he doesn’t, his time in New Orleans could run a hair short of two minutes.