New Orleans Pelicans fifth-year head coach Monty Williams jokes that even when Ryan Anderson goes to sleep at night, the forward’s hands are in position to shoot a basketball. So perhaps it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that after nine months away from an NBA court, when Anderson made his 2014-15 preseason debut Oct. 4, he immediately came out firing.
“He’s always giving himself a chance (to score) when the ball touches his hand,” a smiling Williams said about Anderson’s rapid acclimation to the game in preseason. “And that’s what we want him to do. He’s excited to be back on the floor. I think everybody’s happy to see Ryan out there.”
Few could blame the 6-foot-10, 240-pounder for relishing the opportunity to get back into a shooting groove in his first NBA action since January, when his 2013-14 season ended in frightening fashion in Boston. Through the first week of preseason, Anderson is averaging a team-high 10.3 shot attempts per game, in only 20.5 minutes. He started out red-hot in the first two games, before going 4-for-13 (0-for-4 on threes) vs. Washington on Wednesday. Even after factoring in the Wizards game, he’s shooting 41.9 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from three-point range. Anderson is tied with Jimmer Fredette in scoring average (13.3 ppg) through three games.
“I feel good,” Anderson said of returning after a lengthy layoff. “I definitely feel like I need to get my footing better when I go off the dribble. I feel a little off-balance �� maybe it’s strength, maybe it’s just lack of stability a little bit. I feel fine shooting regular spot-up threes, or running into a shot; I just need to work on my moves off the dribble. Other than that, I feel pretty good as far as shape. There are just some things rhythm-wise I need to continue to develop and get better at.”
Anderson has spent much of his on-court time in preseason relying on his forte, the three-point shot, taking 18 of his 31 overall attempts from beyond the arc. However, he’s also been mixing it up with fellow bigs in the paint, including outmuscling 278-pound Wizards forward Kevin Seraphin for a hard-nosed rebound Wednesday. Anderson has grabbed six offensive boards, sometimes taking the ball off the rim and retreating to the three-point arc for an open shot. That combination of ruggedness and skill makes him a difficult matchup for defenders.
Like Anderson individually, the Pelicans started quickly shooting-wise in their preseason opener but cooled a bit in the final two games of their road trip, including a 7-for-28 outing on threes vs. Washington. With several above-average perimeter shooters among the reserves, such as Jimmer Fredette (40.1 percent career on threes) and Luke Babbitt (37.0), Anderson is confident the Pelicans just need more time to click on offense.
“One hundred percent,” Anderson said of his confidence in NOLA shooting better. “This group can score in so many ways. We just need to get our legs under us. We’re practicing hard, working hard and focusing on a lot of things.”