Box Score
The game set up so well for Anthony Davis. Orlando is still missing Nikola Vucevic, and they played a lot of small ball versus the Pelicans. They simply had no answer for Davis’s length and activity, and the product was a monster game.
[youtube id=”0l5YsoopKPo?t=1m35s” width=”620″ height=”360″]
..But of course, this is nothing new. Davis’s expectations have perpetually risen during his brief stint with the franchise, and performances like these, while not the norm, are quickly becoming more of a regularity. He wound up with a line of 22 points, 19 rebounds, 7 blocks, and 2 steals.. oh, and not to mention this monster dunk.
[youtube id=”LcnXv90IcZU” width=”620″ height=”360″]
Davis’s star has arrived, and it’s shining brightly enough to light up a pretty grim season.
Other Notes
- Anthony Davis and the bench won the game for us. Tyreke was once again a bull in a china shop and spent the entire night charging the rim and contorting his body to finish there. His jumper was also on tonight, as he uncharacteristically drilled a few midrange Js.
- Austin Rivers continues to improve as he gets minutes. The statline isn’t sexy, but he played well tonight. He is a very smart defender for his age.
- Brian Roberts had one of his best nights of the season, sans a few turnovers. His jumper was on, and he had no issue getting it off when his bigs were setting good screens for him. He knew Glen Davis wasn’t about to block him.
- Darius Miller had 4 fouls in a shade under 10 minutes, but wound up with a +19 on the night. His shooting was excellent, and he showed no hesitation pulling up from deep.
- Jeff Withey’s touch was off and he went 1-6 from the field tonight, but had a good night on the boards and set some really solid screens (aside from the one in which he stuck his hip out on Nelson and got called for the foul). He was also his usual self trying to alter shots at the rim. He didn’t get his paws on any tonight, but I still liked the activity. He did get backed down by Big Baby, who threw him under the goal like a rag doll. He’s going to need to gain some weight.
- Eric Gordon had another strong first quarter, and like other nights, disappeared for the rest of the game. I don’t know what the issue is.
- Arron Afflalo had a big scoring night, but if memory serves me correctly, most of it came versus defenders other than Al Farouq Aminu. Aminu was active tonight chasing Afflalo around screens and grabbing boards. He put in a lot of work tonight.
- Alexis Ajinca had 2 fouls in the first 2 minutes of the 2nd half. It found him a spot on the bench, but more importantly, it allowed the Magic to get into the bonus very early in the 3rd quarter. Both fouls came on the offensive boards.
- The 3rd quarter blues continue. I don’t know if there’s a safer bet in the world than the Pelicans losing the 3rd quarter.
- Anthony Morrow had a quiet night. He only had 2 shots, and the only one I remember was a curl off a Withey screen.
- Arron Afflalo had his way posting up just about every Pelican guard. That guy is an animal in the post. I can only recall two people backing Tyreke down this year: Rodney Stuckey and Afflalo. Dude can play.
That’s 3 wins in a row for the Pelicans. CHAMPIONSHIP!!!
**Edit: I have been reminded that we’ve only won two in a row. Of course, I would NEVER make a mental error, so consider it a prediction.
12 responses to “Pelicans Beat Magic, Anthony Davis is a Monstar”
I am a massive proponent of Rivers starting over Roberts. HOWEVER, Roberts played his best game of the season on the defensive end of the floor tonight in the second half. The +/- and 2/4 AST/TO won’t show it, but tonight he was the better man. First time I can actually say I think he defended better than Austin in a half in quite a while.
HawnitsFanatic
Agreed, and I would go so far as to say that overall Roberts has been playing better than Rivers for a few games now. Heck, if that last three by Roberts, that went in and out several times, goes in, Roberts scoring efficiency (points/shots) is a stratospheric 2.0 on nine shots tonight, and Roberts had some pretty assists, too!
Also, Tyreke was every bit of the stat sheet stuffer AD was, and his scoring efficiency was also almost 2.0!
I see that Pellissier blocked out that Kings game. Unless, he is predicting a win over Cleveland to make three in a row!
Somebody please find video of the putback dunk from AD earlier in the game. I thought it was even more impressive than the Big Baby one.
It was a good win! AD is the juice man….he is fun to watch. Rivers is improving and so is Roberts. Funny how neither is getting distance from the other. I like Whitey a lot. He has to gain weight and make improvements but I think he will.
The best thing that comes from the injuries to Smith/Anderson/Holiday is the increased time for Withey/Rivers/Miller. At this point I haven’t cared at all about the outcome of games but the development they are going through. As unfortunate as our injuries have been it may set us up for next year by having three young bench players on rookie contracts that can get us maybe 15-20 points per game (ideally) and can also play solid defense. The only piece I see blatantly not fitting in here is Gordon; I get he can score but frankly I’d prefer two cheaper role players over him and I only see his trade value going down. It was really hard to get excited for Pelicans basketball with the way the season was shaping but if our young guys keep growing the way they’ve been and Dell can make a few moves next season is looking like it could be pretty exciting!!!
Now if only that wasn’t the motto of New Orleans basketball in recent history….
Michael McNamara It’s on the espn highlights.
http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=400489529
Good game overall. I didn’t like how we let Orlando back in the game but hey, we’re young. Anthony Davis was beastly! Evans went to the rim at will and Rivers played good. I know Withey was off 2nite but what offense he gives us is a bonus. Miller shot with confidence which I loved. The best part of all of this? No Greg Steamin pile of Steisma. Rack up the DNP-CD’s big man.
It’s great to see Monty going with Rivers and Withey more frequently and earlier in games. They deserve it, this team is undeniably better on both ends when Withey is in there instead of Ajinca and (gag) Stiemsma. Miller seems like he’s starting to get it. If he continues to space the floor well off the bench, he’s got a spot on this roster going forward. If it wasn’t for him fouling all these damn jump shooters, he’s giving solid defense too.
One thing still irks me. I know Tyreke has been in and out with injuries and all, but can we PLEASE get him starter’s minutes? He’s averaging 25 right now. That’s half of a freakin game. Come on. This team flips a switch when he steps on the floor in most cases.
I’m not a super supporter of Monty but I think that he does deserve some credit for the recent 3-1 streak. Sure, the opponents over this stretch weren’t great but the team and individual players have played much better as of late.
Also, and I almost don’t want to post this in case it gets misconstrued, but I see Tyreke as a (very, very) poor man’s LeBron James. He’s big and strong yet he has a great handle and is quick enough to blow by guys even when they give him plenty of cushion. He has a knack of knowing where the rim is regardless of how his body is contorted and his court vision and passing are superb, as seen on an alley-oop he threw to AD last night. If his shot gets even remotely consistent, I believe he’ll Reke Havoc (horrible pun) against 1s, 2s and 3s.
And it doesn’t really need to be said amongst Pelicans fans, but Anthony Davis is incredible.
This is a great article from the Bleacher Report. Please share with your friends so they can better understand we have an all time great player and we need to be filling the stands to support him.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1937890-anthony-davis-is-perfect-model-for-new-definition-of-nba-franchise-cornerstone
Michael McNamara This is the Video highlights from NBA that shows all his plays. The dunk I am most impressed with is the one about 1:06 on the video. Of the Dribble jam in your face.
http://www.nba.com/video/games/pelicans/2014/01/26/0021300656-orl-nop-recap.nba/index.html
I see Rivers is getting a lot of love,I agree he is getting better, but at times he hogs the ball a bit much for me….That not a good quality for a point guard……