NBA New Orleans Pelicans

New Orleans Pelicans’ Omer Asik Is Extremely Underrated

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By @DSchultz89

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Last night, the New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis had himself a ball game during the team’s 101-84 victory over the Orlando Magic to start off their season. Davis recorded a near triple-double, posting 26 points, 17 rebounds and nine blocks to go along with three steals as well. While a lot of attention has rightly gone to Davis and many are already saying he could very well be the MVP of the NBA this season, one of the newest additions to the team quietly went about his business as usual.

Omer Asik, who was acquired in a trade with the Houston Rockets this summer, recorded 14 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks in his first game with his new team, to go along with an impressive 70 percent mark from the field. Even though it was only one game, it appears as though Asik has found a new home in New Orleans.

It is a welcome change for the 7-foot, 256-pound center who feuded with the Rockets during last season over lack of playing time and the fact that he believed he was a starting quality center. Unfortunately for the Rockets and Asik, they felt he and superstar center Dwight Howard created a plodding frontcourt with limited spacing based on the fact that neither possess a reliable mid-range jump shot. The team also felt he and Howard would have difficulty covering “stretch fours” who could shoot from outside on defense.

He quickly garnered the reputation as someone who was unwilling to come off the bench, only playing in 48 games last season. Given that the Rockets signed him to a three-year, $25 million deal during the 2012 offseason with the promise of starter’s minutes, it was understandable why Asik was upset last season. In his first season with the team during 2012-13, Asik averaged 10.1 PPG, 11.7 RPG and 1.1 BPG during the 30.0 MPG he played for the team. However, once Howard signed with the team, Asik only averaged 20.2 MPG, which obviously frustrated him. I believe he could have handled the situation better and still should have been okay with coming off the bench as long as the Rockets were working on honoring his demand to be traded, which they most certainly were attempting to do during last season. After failing to trade him by the trade deadline last year which irked him further, the Rockets finally granted him his request and traded him to the Pelicans. As long as he is starting for the Pelicans, they should have nothing to worry about.

Asik is fairly limited offensively, being that he does not possess any kind of mid-range jump shot that defenses have to come out on. Instead he operates very close to the basket and usually is found for open dunks and layups, which is why his field goal percentage his so high. He is a smart offensive player in the sense that he knows his limitations and does not try to force anything on this end of the floor.

In terms of his defense, he and Davis have the potential to form the best defensive frontcourt in the league this year. Asik is a very good rebounder at his position and is sure to average double-digits in rebounding and at least a block or two per game this season. The natural length and strong fundamentals he possesses are traits coaches love to have in their centers. He knows when to go straight-up to help contest a shot, as well as when to fully commit himself to attempt a block. The combined length and defense both Asik and Davis offer is why the Pelicans are poised to surprise a lot of people this year.

Asik will probably never be seen as one of the best all-around centers in the league, and he will most likely not go into the Hall of Fame one day. But the underrated value in his game comes from his defense and his knowledge of how to be in the right place at the right time.

Davis will get a lot credit this year for his maturation into a full-fledged superstar as he should, but do not lose sight of Asik and just how valuable he will be for his new team this coming season, and hopefully for many more to come.

Dan Schultz is an NBA sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @dschultz89. “Like” him on Facebook and add him on Google.

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