The New Orleans Pelicans had high expectations entering the 2015-16 season, but injuries and now effort have kept the team near the bottom of the standings.
Following a 104-89 loss to the Orlando Magic, Andrew Lopez of the Times-Picayune notes star forward Anthony Davis said the Pelicans don’t play hard on a consistent basis.
“We just don’t play hard all the time. That starts with our first unit coming out and setting the pace and setting the tone for the rest of the game and setting the tone for the guys that sub in especially after halftime. That’s kind of been our thing this year. It starts with the first unit and it starts with me.”
On Monday in particular, New Orleans’ starting unit started slowly. Orlando opened the game on a 9-0 run and registered an 8-2 advantage after halftime.
However, that was simply the continuation of an ugly recent trend. The Houston Rockets dropped 41 points on the Pelicans during the first quarter, and the Miami Heat limited New Orleans to 15 and 14 points in the first and third frames, respectively.
Injuries contributed to a 4-15 record, and there’s certainly merit to that excuse. But at some point — and that would be now — injuries must stop being a crutch when discussing the Pelicans.
New Orleans has essentially alternated wins and losses since Tyreke Evans’ return, failing to gain ground in a wide-open Western Conference. Davis can be a leader and shoulder the blame for slow starts, but how much more can a team expect from someone averaging numbers matched only by Hall of Famers or Springfield-bound players?
Fortunately for the Pelicans, they remain just 4.0 games behind the Utah Jazz for the eighth spot. A little more effort from those around Davis might be the simple boost New Orleans needs to reach the postseason.