Alvin Gentry and the New Orleans Pelicans sputtered at times this season, but they closed out the season on a strong note despite the injury to star center DeMarcus Cousins and it's carried over into the NBA playoffs.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Pelicans decided to reward head coach Gentry by picking up his option for the 2018-19 season. The move was made prior to New Orleans' shocking sweep of the three-seeded Portland Trail Blazers, the first team to advance to the second round and the only one to sweep in the 2018 playoffs so far.
Prior to the sweep of the Blazers in the opening round of Western Playoffs, New Orleans informed coach Alvin Gentry that the team was picking up the 2018-19 team option on his contract, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 23, 2018
After starting out with a 20-20 record in their first 40 games, Alvin Gentry coached the Pelicans to a 28-14 record in their final 42 games to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2015, which was Monty Williams final year coaching the Pelicans. Since then, Gentry has improved the Pelicans from a 30-win team in 2016 to a 48-win team this season. Gentry will now be entering the final year of a four-year, $13.7 million deal with the Pelicans.
Anthony Davis averaged 33 points, 12 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.8 steals, and 2.8 blocks on 57 percent shooting from the field. Jrue Holiday also had a huge series, averaging 27.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.8 three-pointers per game on 56.8 percent shooting.
They'll surely have their work cut out for them next series, as they'll likely be taking on the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors. The Warriors are a game away from advancing, but it feels like it's only a matter of time before they take care of the San Antonio Spurs in their first-round playoff series.
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