Grades: New Orleans Pelicans bested by Spurs

92. 69. Final. 100. 29

A-. Toney “Steph Curry” Douglas lived behind the arc tonight. He shot 0/4 from everywhere inside the three-point line, while shooting 4/5 from behind it. Efficiency wise, the latter kind of cancels out the former, but I’m not sure how much efficiency I should reasonably be expecting from a guy who is shooting 39% from the floor this season. He also dished out 5 assists, and held Tony Parker to just 4 total points, so all-in-all I’m happy with his performance tonight.. PG. New Orleans Pelicans. TONEY DOUGLAS

C+. I’m still not in love with Jordan Hamilton’s attitude and demeanor, but his stats are starting to improve. Tonight he dropped a solid 14 points on 6/15 shooting while grabbing 5 rebounds and dishing out 4 assists. In all fairness, he is being forced to play out of position as a shooting guard against one of the greatest defensive teams in history, so it’s fair to taper out expectations to the hand he’s been dealt. For whatever reason, he still give off some bad vibes.. SF. New Orleans Pelicans. JORDAN HAMILTON

DANTE CUNNINGHAM. B. Dante impressed me tonight, and his stats don’t tell the whole story. He dropped a solid 10 points on 4/9 shooting while grabbing 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal, but what really impressed me was his defense. Kawhi Leonard, who is shooting 46% from three this season, shot just 1/5 from deep against Cunningham and ended the game with just 16 points, as opposed to his usual 21. We have enough players on this team who’s only function is to score, as long as Dante keeps up the hustle on defense I consider him a good fit.. SF. New Orleans Pelicans

New Orleans Pelicans. ALEXIS AJINCA. C-. With Davis and Anderson out, there is no shortage of post-touches to go around. Regardless, Ajinca struggled to find a rhythm tonight. He shot 8/19 from the floor, and had 4 personal fouls in just 31 minutes. Sometimes he succeeds as quasi-Al Jefferson type who can bully and pump fake over smaller guys, but other nights he’s just straight chucking from the block. On the defensive end, him and Asik did hold Duncan and Aldridge to 6/20 shooting, but Asik was doing most of the work in that area.. PF, C

B+. This was probably the most “Asik” game of the entire season. In 25 minutes tonight he had 2 points on 1/3 shooting, but was able to grab 9 rebounds, and like I mentioned, he held Duncan and Aldridge to 6/20 shooting from the floor. Obviously the offense is laughably bad, but this version of Asik is more than enough for me. If he hustles, defends, and rebounds while looking semi-interested in the world around him then consider me satisfied. Truth is, all I have ever wanted for Asik is for him to be happy. Hopefully he is beginning to find himself. . C. New Orleans Pelicans. OMER ASIK

TIM FRAZIER. A. Frazier is giving me serious Ish Smith flashbacks. He has gotten seriously good at probing through the paint and searching for open shooters, and he’s an absolute blur in the open floor. Tonight he had 11 points on 4/8 shooting, while dishing out 7 assists in just 24 minutes. If there’s one area the Spurs don’t dominate, it’s athleticism. No one on our team is going to out-skill the Spurs, so at least sign player who can out-run them. Tim Frazier is fun to watch, and he makes the other team tired. That’s more than enough for me at this point.. PG. New Orleans Pelicans

LUKE BABBITT. B. Luke Babbitt isn’t even a three-point shooter anymore. The dude simply uses his past reputation as a three-point shooter as a way to get defenders in the air and drive by them. Babbitt’s game has become focused on flashy ball handling skills, and fade-away midrange jumpers. The crazy thing is, I’m not even complaining. Babbitt shot 4/6 from two point range and caught the Spurs defenders off guard more than once. Is Luke “Kobe Bryant Edition” Babbitt version 2.0 sustainable? Probably not, but I’m enjoying the ride.. SF. New Orleans Pelicans

I’m starting to enjoy the way the Pelicans cycle through 10-day contract players. As lost as this season is, Pelicans fans do get mini-version of American Idol when it comes to auditioning D-leaguers. Honestly, they should just have us vote on our cell phones about whether or not to bring a guy back. In all seriousness, I actually like Ennis. He seems to have a surprisingly high basketball IQ, and he shot 2/3 from deep which is really all I care about. His defense isn’t great, but he’s young and athletic so maybe there’s room for development there. I officially vote for Ennis to stay on the team.. SF. New Orleans Pelicans. JAMES ENNIS. B+

?. Kendrick Perkins played 18 minutes tonight, and shot 1/1 from the floor. I guess you could say he was efficient?. C. New Orleans Pelicans. KENDRICK PERKINS