Starters roll as New Orleans Pelicans defeat Washington Wizards 88-84

By Matt Cianfrone | Oct 20, 2014

Monday night’s preseason game against the Washington Wizards marked the first time all preseason that the New Orleans Pelicans had their best six players available on the same night. As it turns out the unit that everyone expected big things out of this season may not need much time to get right as they cruised to an early double-digit lead that the Pelicans backups eventually surrendered in a win.

New Orleans was led by their star, as Anthony Davis finished with 14 points on 7-8 shooting, eight rebounds, two blocks and an assist in just 20 dominating minutes. Davis mixed in pick-and-roll finishes, mid-range jumpers and offensive rebounds and just generally looked unstoppable against a good Wizards front line of Marcin Gortat and Nene.

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Tyreke Evans chipped in 10 points, seven assists and five rebounds and Omer Asik added 14 points and eight rebounds to help Davis and the Pelicans get out to a 49-29 halftime lead.

Every one of the Pelicans five starters finished with a positive plus/minus as did sixth man Ryan Anderson to help the Pelican put the game out of reach under normal circumstances after three quarters. Some other thoughts on the game:

I don’t understand it but judging by tonight John Salmons is the backup shooting guard over Jimmer Fredette. Jimmer played a few minutes in the first half after Salmons picked up three fouls in three minutes and then didn’t see the floor again until the final three minutes. Maybe it was part of Monty’s plan to determine who wins the spot as Salmons received a DNP the other night but it was weird after how well Jimmer has played all preseason.
The Pelicans broke out Davis/Asik pick-and-roll in the second quarter which was fun. Asik didn’t set a great screen so the play just led to Davis kicking the ball out and resetting the offense but it is something to watch for going forward.
Speaking of Asik in the pick-and-roll, the Pelicans guards had a real nice chemistry with him tonight. Asik seems to wait a half a beat after setting the screen to roll and it led to a ton of runs to the rim with no one in front of him. Evans in particular found him for a few dunks and finishes. That could be a great weapon for New Orleans on nights Anthony Davis is struggling.
Ryan Anderson played extended minutes at small forward tonight and it went well. New Orleans went on a 13-0 run the first time Anderson joined Holiday, Evans, Davis and Asik thanks in part to a bit of zone. Anderson also used his size and the attention drawn by Asik and Davis to get his hands on a few offensive rebounds which was nice. If the defense can be just passable that lineup is going to be a problem for a lot of teams.
I wasn’t thrilled with what I saw from Austin Rivers tonight but we are at the point that he is clearly in the rotation. The Pelicans have more investment in him than any backup guard on the roster and they are going to let him play through some rough nights that they may not let other guys.
That fourth quarter was an abomination. The Pelicans key players all sat and the bench did everything they possibly could to blow the game. There were turnovers, fouled three-point shooters and misses. Just not a great look for a bunch of guys trying to catch someone around the league’s eye.
Tyreke Evans is going to be really good this year. Evans worked a lot as the primary ball handler on offense and with the pick-and-roll weapons New Orleans has and shooters in Holiday and Gordon there will be a ton of assists for Reke.
Anthony Davis is going to be so much fun to watch this season. I can’t wait.

The Pelicans wrap up the preseason on Thursday at home against the Dallas Mavericks at 7 pm CT.

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