Grades: New Orleans Pelicans Battle to Beat Utah Jazz

69. Final. 96. 118. 100

NORRIS COLE. C+. Average game for Norris Cole. He ended with 11 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists on 4/10 shooting and played some slightly above average defense. He’s been solid enough recently that I would be hesitant to predict he is moved at the deadline. Jrue is the true “starter” but Cole has been a solid stop gap as of late.. PG.

B+. Bryce Dejean-Jones is really starting to look like an NBA player. It’s easy to forget he’s only making 10-day contract money when he’s out there starting games and putting up stats. He ended the game with 9 points on a very efficient 3/5 shooting from the floor while also grabbing 2 rebounds and 2 assists. His defense is still terrible, but for the money he’s making you really can’t complain.. SG, SF,. . BRYCE DEJEAN-JONES

B. Enjoyed watching Dante tonight. Hs isn’t very skilled, but his hustle was a significant factor in a few of the Pelicans late game runs. I’m still amazed that in his <em>6th</em> season in the NBA he has miraculously added an efficient three pointer, and uses it on a nightly basis. He ended the game with 8 points, 2 rebounds, and a block on 3/6 shooting and looked comfortable as ever. . SF, PF. . DANTE CUNNINGHAM

A. Davis put up 19 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 fouls tonight on 7/15 shooting. His stats don’t deserve an “A” level grade, but his character does. Davis openly admitted after the game he was emotionally affected by the tragic death of Monty Williams’ wife. Him and Monty were remarkably close, and you could see he was doing his best to push forward. In his shoes, I’m not sure I would have had the strength to play tonight, never mind put up 19-4-5 and hit a clutch game deciding three pointer.  . PF, C. . ANTHONY DAVIS

OMER ASIK. B-. Asik has begun to steadily put up the exact same stat-line every night. He generally always plays 17 minutes, hits 2 shots, and grabbed 8 rebounds before leaving the game and chilling on the bench. That’s exactly what he did tonight, and I’m perfectly happy with it. In all honesty though, he probably should have played more given the fact that Derrick Favors dropped 29 points and AD had no success in defending him.  . C.

PG. . JRUE HOLIDAY. A-. Jrue could tell Davis was somewhere else in the first quarter tonight, so he stepped up as the team’s leader. He put up 21 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists on 9/19 shooting in just 30 minutes on the floor. He went 0/3 from behind the line, but he seemed to be comfortable everywhere else. His 5 turnovers look glaring, but I blame some of those on the people catching the passes rather than the person who threw them.

PF. . RYAN ANDERSON. B.  Similar thoughts on Anderson and AD’s games tonight. Rhino was closer to Monty than anyone else on the team, and I can’t imagine what he was going through tonight. When Anderson’s girlfriend Gia died, Monty took him in, held him, prayed with him, and made sure he wasn’t alone. Those two men share a lifelong bond, so I can’t blame him for shooting 3/10 from the floor, I just have to appreciate he even suited up.

SF, SG,. . ALONZO GEE. C. Gee didn’t make any glaring mistakes tonight, but he didn’t have any important moments either. 5 points on 2/2 shooting, 1/1 form deep, a rebound, a steal, and a turnover in 20 minutes. Not bad, not good, just Gee.

A. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t feel Ajinca has been fully utilized in this offense. Tonight he looked a little more comfortable, shooting 3/6 from the floor and grabbing an insane 11 rebounds in his 20 minutes played. Long term, I think he can absolutely be this team’s starting center. Will he ever average more than 20 minutes a game? No, but we don’t need him to.  . C. . ALEXIS AJINCA

Nice game for Douglas. He shot 3/6 from the floor including 2/3 from deep and dished out two assists as well. Every day I dream of a future where I don’t have to watch him be a part of an NBA rotation, but today he was solid enough that I didn’t notice him on the floor.. PG, SG,. . TONEY DOUGLAS. B-