Hawks at Pelicans

“No, A.D.! We’re not the New Orleans Patriots!”

The New Orleans Pelicans have had two days off to prepare for tonight’s visitors, the Atlanta Hawks (8:00 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast, Fox Sports New Orleans), who return to the site where their magic carpet ride of 2015, the 19-game wintertime winning streak, came to an abrupt end. By the looks of things, the Pelicans (0-4) could use every minute of rest and preparation they can get.

You can’t really discuss the Pelicans these days without the M*A*S*H theme playing in the background. Omer Asik (17 rebounds vs. ATL on Feb. 2) can barely move to begin with, but he’s trying to recover from a calf strain and is questionable for tonight. That’s not just backup center’s Kendrick Perkins’ usual face: he’s pained by a strained pectoral muscle and remains out.

There’s no word on Quincy Pondexter, who suffered a knee injury in the preseason. Nor is there much discussion of backup guard Norris Cole, who re-upped with his qualifying offer after a protracted restricted free agency period only to get sidelined by a preseason high ankle sprain. Forward Luke Babbitt (shoulder) and center Alexis Ajinca (hamstring) have each had their own recent ailments, but out of desperation were slung into the starting lineup on Tuesday versus Orlando, where Babbitt re-aggravated his injury.

It’s all got to be disconcerting for new Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry, who left reigning champion Golden State as a top assistant and hopped on a wave of positivity in the Big Easy, buoyed by the Pellies’ late-season push in 2014-15 that concluded with an entertaining sweep at the hands of the Warriors. This offseason, Gentry looked to one player to be the centerpiece to build upon for additional success in this NBA season. And that player is not the wind-milling wunderkind Anthony Davis. Nor has that player seen the floor yet.

A former NBA Rookie of the Year, Tyreke Evans was supposed to take back off on the muddling path toward NBA stardom under Gentry’s watch. Part of the sense was that his role on the floor had never been well-defined, and Gentry had plans to firm that up for everyone. “He is mostly going to be a point guard,” Gentry advised at Pelicans media day last month. “Obviously, there are going to be situations where he might need to play a couple of other positions, but right now, I see him mainly as a point guard with the potential to really push the ball.”

Evans (12 assists vs. ATL on Feb. 2) could use his relative length to fluster opposing point guards, and put his Magic Johnson-Lite distributive qualities to better effect for New Orleans than when he played at the wing, traditionally left to just make something, anything, happen as the shot clock winds down.

''Getting in the open court, finding guys for easy baskets, I think all of those things are going to be something to raise (Evans’) game to another level,'' Gentry said earlier this summer. ''He will really enjoy that at point guard. I think he will have the opportunity to attack the basket and create things for other guys.” A head coach during several seasons with Steve Nash in Phoenix, and an assistant coach for Chris Paul and Steph Curry his past two NBA stops, Gentry is elevating the Pelicans’ tempo to “Louisiana Fast” (105.1 possessions per 48 minutes, 1^st in NBA; 27^th in pace last season). Evans, he surmises, was just the guy to make this acceleration successful.

Well, much like Florida Evans, the news of Tyreke’s arthroscopic surgery on his right knee had everyone around Lake Pontchartrain screaming, “D@mn, D@mn, D@mn!” just one week before the regular season tipoff. Reke’s certain to miss the next 3-6 weeks, and the ripple effects on an already hack-jobbed roster are clear. Evans’ shift to the 1-spot was supposed to allow Gentry to keep former All-Star Jrue Holiday, himself recovering from a stress reaction in his right leg, under a tight restriction of 15 minutes per game: after missing the opener, Justin’s brother has averaged over 23 minutes.

With Evans out of the picture and Cole on the mend, the Pelicans scrambled to fill the playmaking gap, first bringing in the shot-jacking Nate Robinson, then adding Ish Smith (6.8 APG, 7^th in NBA) and replacing Nate with Toney Douglas. Jrue (16.0 PPG, 4.3 APG, 37.0 FG%, 83.3 FT%) has done the best he can on offense during his short spells. But it’s become evident that Evans’ absence is like a pothole that can’t ever stay filled since, as @MaceCase has noted recently, opponents keep driving right over that point guard spot.

Stephen Curry initiated the Pelican tail-whooping with a 40-point effort in the season opener in Oakland. The next night, Damian Lillard (21 points, 10 assists) and C.J. McCollum (37 points) served up a two-piece with no biscuit. Curry came to Smoothie King three nights later, and had himself a dash of Turbinado (53 points, 9 assists). Having native Louisianan Elfrid Payton (8 points, 10 assists) in town on Tuesday, in a 103-94 loss to the Magic (57-43 deficit at halftime), must have seemed downright merciful.

The Pelicans’ woes out of the gate aren’t so much a reflection of Gentry’s coaching exploits as they are an indictment of offseason management. Rather than building upon positive vibes to get Davis and Evans some talented help, general manager Dell Demps essentially stood pat over the summer, expecting this playoff roster with shallow talent to “gel” under a new coach, after ousting Monty Williams. ''One of the common themes was that the guys wanted to keep the team together,'' Demps told the Times-Picayune in September. And listen he did, particularly to “the guys” that needed to stick around just to stay in this league.

Perhaps, this was done to placate Davis, who happily signed a record five-year, $145-million contract extension in July that kicks in next season. But it’s not helping Davis, or anyone else, that the choices to start at small forward are Dante Cunningham and Babbitt, before Pondexter returns. Or, that the shooting guard option behind Eric Gordon (4-for-6 3FGs vs. ATL on Feb. 2) is Alonzo Gee. Or, that somebody thought the veteran to bring into the fold to toughen up the frontline was Perkins.

None of these personnel moves, or non-moves, are helping out Davis right now. So far, America’s Fantasy Stud is having whatever the inverse of fantasy is this season. Normally a model of efficiency, the reigning All-NBA 1^ST Teamer (1^st in PER last season) is averaging 20.8 points in his first four games, but needed  26.5 shots per game to get them (38.2 2FG%, 36.4 3FG%, 72.5 FT%). His low turnover percentage of 12.6% is currently double that from last season (6.3 per 100 plays, 3^rd-lowest in 2014-15). For both of you Win Shares fans out there, Davis’ early per-minute output (.026 WS per-48) is dwarfed by the .274 that ranked second-best in the league in 2014-15.

Most distressing are the struggles at the other end of the floor, for a player predicted by many to be this season’s NBA Defensive Player of the Year. While his per-game blocks (3.0 BPG, 5^th in NBA) are up a tad from his league-leading 2.9 from last season, Gentry’s accelerated pace suggests there are a lot more shots getting past his rangy arms (3.8 per 100 possessions, down from 4.3). Steals per game are roughly halved as well.

Davis (37.9 opponent FG% within 5 feet) is his team’s most feared rim protector; as it stands, he is also their best chance, among healthy players, at defending the perimeter. As a result, he finds himself getting spread too thin, caught helping his flawed mates well outside the paint while opponents are making Bourbon Street out of cuts to the lane.

Gentry brought in Darren “Oops, Was That My Phone?” Erman as an assistant to help shore up New Orleans’ defensive troubles, but the limited talent, elevated pace, and the unyielding ability of opponents to key in on Davis has the Big Bird worn down. Two games in a week against the Warriors will leave anybody wearier, but even on three days’ rest, Unibrow turned in a hair-raising 14-point performance on 3-for-12 shooting versus a green Magic squad. Meanwhile, John Reid of the Times-Picayune noted that if the Pelicans give up 56 points in the first half tonight, that will be their best defensive effort so far.

All the trend lines for New Orleans point toward Jeff Teague (19.2 PPG, 50.7 2FG%) getting his laissez les bon temps rouler on in tonight’s contest. He’ll need help, certainly, from the returning Kyle Korver (64.7 2FG%, 6^th in NBA), Kent Bazemore, and Paul Millsap to spread the Pelicans’ defense and unclog the middle. Dennis Schröder (20 points, 4 assists, 4 TOs vs. Nets on Wednesday; 27.5 usage%, 19^th in NBA) can dress down the opposing point guard corps to the point that they’ll get beads tossed their way, but he must get his teammates involved (22.4 assist%, down from 36.4% last season) and be less predictable on his forays to the hoop.

The pride of Grambling High, Millsap (early career-highs of 7.2 defensive RPG, 4.0 APG, 2.5 SPG) should have a busy day trying to rebound while also defending Davis (29 points, 13 rebounds vs. ATL on Feb. 2) inside and Pelicans gunner Ryan Anderson outside. He’ll get help from Atlanta’s roving wings (Kent Bazemore, Thabo Sefolosha, Justin Holiday) trying to deflect dump-ins and disrupt Davis’ kickouts. The more Millsap can keep Davis occupied with Atlanta on offense, the less capably Davis can help his oft-exploited teammates. Al Horford and Tiago Splitter have to keep the easier Big Easy bigs away (Asik, Alexis Ajinca) from the offensive glass.

Atlanta ranks second in three-point attempts per game, but 17^th in accuracy (32.9 3FG%, much worse without Bazemore’s 57.9%). But if they can get the assisted threes to fall, and if Teague can get down the floor in transition despite a stingy Pelican offense (14.1 TOs per 100 possessions, 10^th-fewest in NBA), “Teague Time” may arrive earlier and last longer than usual.

The Battle of the Birds concludes next Wednesday at the Highlight Factory, as the Hawks and Pelicans finish up their head-to-head series a little early. It’s as good a time as any to catch New Orleans, but it’s up to the Hawks to keep the Pelicans’ feathers ruffled.

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3