Pelicans assistant Darren Erman already at work on defense
While New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry is known for his offensive acumen, he's bringing a heavy-hitter on the other side of the ball with him to New Orleans.
Before he was fired by the Golden State Warriors in a rather odd story, Erman had gained a reputation as one of the best young defensive minds in the game -- and the "young" modifier might not even be necessary. He was an associate under Doc Rivers with the Boston Celtics, and Brian Scalabrine, who played for both the Warriors and Celtics, credited Erman with much of the defensive success of both teams.
And as Gentry was happy to point out in his introductory press conference, Erman has a legendary work ethic; Gentry joked that Erman would be at the team facility "23 out of 24 hours [of the day]." In fact, the Pelicans team website reports that Erman has already started watching film of the Pelicans on defense.
"I think this team has a lot of potential to do good things," Erman said, according to the site. "You have guys who are versatile and play pretty hard. Watching them on film, Dante (Cunningham) brings it, Quincy (Pondexter) brings it, Anthony (Davis), Omer (Asik). Jrue (Holiday is) really good, Tyreke (Evans), Eric (Gordon). All of these guys have shown ability."
And, Erman added, if you've show that you can do something, even if only briefly, that means there's something to work with. "You just (demonstrated) that you can do it, (but) you’ve just got to do it more consistently. So we’ve got to get them to do it on a more consistent level."
That, then, will be the name of the defensive game for the Pelicans under Erman's watchful eye. If they can consistently play as a unit, they'll get better in a hurry -- and they'll have the freedom to make the most of their stops on the other end under Gentry's offensive guidance. It'll be something akin to the Warriors, if they can pull it off.
(h/t NBA.com)
Photo Credit: Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports
