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Yesterday, Anthony Davis went on SiriusXM NBA radio to confirm a number of items many of us already believed.
First off, he has his eyes set on being the best player in the league. However, AD wasn't arrogant nor the least bit pompous in his delivery, acknowledging that LeBron James and Kevin Durant still remain well ahead of him.
"LeBron, you know, is LeBron. He has rings, MVP's, and he makes everybody on his team better. Guys love playing with him.
KD (has) MVP's, final's appearances and he makes everybody better.
I still have a lot of work to do. I haven't even gotten out of the first round yet, haven't won a game in the playoffs yet. It's still a lot of steps for me. Those two guys are definitely unbelievable players, but I know one day I'm going to be there. I'm going to be the best player in the league."
Davis went on to add that he is going to continue to watch how they, along with Kobe Bryant, lead their teams because he looks up to them. He is in awe of their resumes as well as how they make their teams perform better. However, when their times wind down, Davis plans on taking over, but it doesn't mean he won't win an MVP before that period arrives.
When will Anthony Davis win his first MVP? "It could be this year, it could be next year, year after that, you never know." #Pelicans
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) September 22, 2015
In his next segment, Davis mentioned for the umpteenth time this off-season that he's going to start shooting three-pointers more regularly. No, he won't resemble Stephen Curry and start pulling up from all over the perimeter, but he will look to spot-up from parts of the floor a la Draymond Green.
It was fascinating, though, to learn that the Pelicans are not going to just turn up the volume somewhat this season in regards to pace, but rather look to move the dial to the maximum setting.
Anthony Davis says Alvin Gentry wants to take the #Pelicans from 85 shots a game to 100+ shots a game
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) September 22, 2015
To put it bluntly, 100 shots are an absurd amount. During the shot clock era, only one team has managed the feat, the 1990-91 Denver Nuggets. They averaged 108.1 field goal attempts a game and 119.9 points per game. The problem was that they allowed opponents to average a ridiculous 130.8 points!
For comparison's sake, the Golden State Warriors, the fastest team in the league last season, averaged a mere 87 shots a game.
Thus, what we should take away from this isn't that Alvin Gentry is looking to approach the record books, but rather have the Pelicans push the pace more than each of their opponents on a nightly basis. Some nights will likely result in track meets, but I expect the vast majority of them to be within reason, similar to what the fastest teams in the NBA did in the 2015 season.