![]() It's a testament to Davis' talent and understanding of the game that he doesn't need the ball in his hands to be as effective as he is, though he can certainly do a ton of damage with just a dribble or two.Īccording to NBA.com, Davis can't so much as sniff the league's top 50 in touches per game (56.6) and won't be found among the top 100 in time of possession per game (1.6 minutes).īut there's a downside to all that off-ball brilliance. Giving Davis greater say in the outcome would seem a smart way to counteract those woes. No team in the ultra-competitive West can afford to stink it up down the stretch to that extent if it hopes to finish among the top eight. According to NBA.com, only the Philadelphia 76ers and the Detroit Pistons have fared worse in fourth quarters than has New Orleans, which has been outscored by an astounding 19.8 points per 100 therein. They had a golden opportunity to down the Dallas Mavericks in the second game of their season only to see the visitors storm back down the stretch as Evans, Holiday and Gordon shot 2-of-11 while Davis garnered just two attempts of his own.Īll told, the Pelicans have been patently awful closing out games. ![]() That wasn't the first time this season the Pelicans ran into this problem either. We were kind of forcing up shots instead of settling the ball down." We just missed our opportunities," Davis told The Associated Press after the game (via ESPN). The future has arrived.ĭavis was well-aware of his teammates' shortcomings, though he stopped well short of pointing fingers at anyone in particular. He’s already become a player that you have to make a point of watching on TV, or better yet, seeing in person. But he’s going to have many more nights like this. None of those other scorers came through on Monday night, and a dominant night from Davis ended in a loss. As NBC Sports/Bleacher Report writer Sean Highkin noted on ProBasketballTalk: Meanwhile, Evans and Holiday combined to miss all 14 of their attempts in the final frame, and Gordon didn't get up a single shot therein. Case in point: the Pelicans' 102-93 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.ĭavis had himself another doozy of a game (31 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three steals, three blocks) but garnered just five shots, hitting two, in the fourth quarter. Where Williams really has his work cut out for him is in getting his guards to play in a way that's optimal alongside Davis and, to a lesser extent, Asik and Anderson. New Orleans can still score plenty when Davis plays with Asik (105.3 points per 100) but sees its greatest dividends from those two on the defensive end (96.5 points allowed per 100). The Davis-Anderson pairing produces points at an astronomical rate (118.7 points per 100 possessions) but yields them fairly frequently (106.7 points allowed per 100). The only concerns Pelicans head coach Monty Williams should have about his frontcourt rotation are the health of his three primary bigs and the combinations in which he uses them. The seventh-year stretch 4 out of Cal has hit a personal-best 41.1 percent of his threes to date-a level of accuracy rendered all the more remarkable by the harrowing emotional trials Anderson had to overcome in addition to a career-threatening spine injury. ![]() His obvious statistical merits (nine points, 10 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, 60.9 percent shooting) aside, Asik has taken up the task of defending bigger, stronger centers, thereby liberating Davis to unleash his full potential as an all-court, shot-swatting menace.Īnderson has served a similar role in relation to Davis but on the offensive end. Omer Asik, whom New Orleans acquired from the Houston Rockets over the summer, has looked like the on-court equivalent of manna from heaven in the Crescent City, particularly for Davis. Even Austin Rivers, once the butt of every other draft-bust joke, is starting to resemble a bona fide NBA rotation player. Tyreke Evans and Eric Gordon have yet to succumb to any of their own. Jrue Holiday and Ryan Anderson have both returned from devastating injuries. ![]() To be sure, this year's Pelicans are far better off than the ones with whom Davis (occasionally) played last season.
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