Virginia Rebstock Loupe
December 10, 2013Review: Admin writes 80% of Laf. legislation
December 11, 2013
The New Orleans Pelicans have been bitten by the bug: the always-dreaded injury bug.
With the NBA season close to being a quarter of the way complete, it’s become quite obvious that New Orleans has obviously improved its roster from 2012-13’s abysmal 27-55 season. The Pelicans currently sit at 9-10 through 19 games.
But with injuries to star forward Anthony Davis (hand) and now standout bench player Tyreke Evans (ankle), the Pelicans find themselves fighting for survival in a brutally competitive Western Conference that currently has 13 teams hovering at or just below .500.
“It’s unfortunate, but injuries are just something that everyone has to deal with in the NBA,” Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. “We will just have to have other guys step up. We have some guys we’re confident in to step into the lineup and keep things going in a positive direction for us.”
The injury to Davis was a significant blow.
The superstar forward said he took the ball hard to the basket during the opening minutes of the Pels’ 103-99 road win against the New York Knicks on Dec. 1 and jammed his left hand on the rim.
After trying to play through the pain for a few minutes, Davis exited the game and headed to the locker room.
Once there, an X-Ray revealed that Davis had sustained a non-displaced fracture in his left hand.
After a battery of tests, doctors concluded that a typical recovery time for that type of injury is four-to-six weeks.
“I got fouled and I hit my hand on the rim. I am not sure who fouled me,” Davis said. “I am hoping it is a short term thing so I can get back on the floor. I felt pain. I didn’t think it was going to keep me out, but I am happy that my team battled for the whole 48 (minutes) and got that ‘W’.”
Without Davis, New Orleans’ chances at success took an obvious blow. Davis has blossomed to the ranks of NBA superstardom. He averaged 18.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per game at the time of his setback. Davis is also ranked as one of the most efficient players in the NBA, a metric statistical gurus use to measure true productivity.
But the team did rally and step up its play with Davis out. Against the Knicks, Anderson rallied the team and scores 31 points.
The next night, Anderson added 36 more, as the Pels outlasted the Chicago Bulls 131-128 in triple overtime. Six Pelicans players had double digits in that win.
“Anthony is a huge part of what we do, but we all owe it to him to rally around one another so that we can string together some victories while he’s out,” point guard Jrue Holiday said. “Tonight, we all came together and we beat a very good basketball team away from home. This is a great victory for us.”
But after the hot start, things got even more challenging for New Orleans this week.
The Pels lost a close game to Dallas on Wednesday night in the New Orleans Arena. Two nights later, the Oklahoma City Thunder pounded New Orleans 109-95. That game was probably more costly than a normal loss, as Evans went down in a heap in the second half after landing awkwardly on his ankle.
An x-ray was negative, but Evans was unable to place any weight at all on the ankle as he left the floor. The team currently lists Evans as out indefinitely.
With the Pels’ sixth man now sitting in street clothes beside Davis, New Orleans is missing 30 points per game from its lineup.
The setbacks also are forcing role players like Brian Roberts, Anthony Morrow and Austin Rivers onto the floor, while also forcing Holiday, Anderson and shooting guard Eric Gordon to be in positions where they have to score.
Against OKC, that trio appeared to be pressing at times and was a combined 18-of-43 from the field.
“It was just one of those games,” Williams said. “I told the guys that was just a stinker for us because we typically finish well around the basket. It was just a bit of an off game for us.”
The truth is that New Orleans truly hasn’t been 100 percent healthy throughout the entire season.
Before the recent rash of injuries occurred, the Pels had to start the season without power forward Ryan Anderson, who missed the first few weeks of the 2012-13 season with a broken toe.
The Pelicans also played nearly the entire preseason without Evans, who sprained his other ankle in the team’s first preseason game.
Those things aren’t good for a New Orleans team trying to find chemistry on the floor in what was expected to be a rebound season.
The Pelicans hope the injury bug flies away soon while it’s not too late to make a push at the playoffs.
“We’re beat up, but no one is going to feel sorry for us or go easy on us,” Williams said. “We have confidence in who we have. We just have to keep pushing, keep progressing and get better.”
