Want to know how the New Orleans Pelicans are faring this season? Well, beyond simply looking at the standings and won-loss column, there are many specific individual categories that will dictate whether the Pelicans return to the playoffs after a one-year absence. Here are some of the key statistics to monitor throughout the 2016-17 regular season (Part two Tuesday: Backcourt stats to watch)
Alexis Ajinca
Fouls per minute. Ajinca has proven to be one of the better backup centers in the NBA over his two-plus seasons with New Orleans, but if there's been one stumbling block to more opportunities, it's foul trouble. During the preseason, for example, the France native committed 12 personals in just 74 minutes, which essentially equates to fouling out of two games if he were logging starter minutes. It sometimes can be difficult for a 7-foot-2 center to get out of harm's way defensively and avoid causing contact, but when Ajinca is foul-free, he's much more valuable to the Pelicans.
Omer Asik
Free-throw percentage. It's too small of a sample to get carried away, but Asik looked like a dramatically improved foul shooter in preseason, making 15 of 19 attempts (78.9 percent). The native of Turkey shot just 54.5 percent in 2015-16, which gave opponents no pause when deciding whether to hack Asik around the basket. A byproduct of struggling at the charity stripe for some players is that they can become less aggressive in the paint; Asik averaged just 4.0 points per game last season. This preseason, he was at 7.2 ppg and finished many more plays forcefully at the rim (14/25, 56 percent from field).
Dante Cunningham
Three-point percentage. For the first time in his NBA career, Cunningham was a three-point threat in 2015-16, attempting 174 treys after he'd only launched a total of 38 in the previous six seasons. The Villanova product shot just 31.6 percent for the season, but he seemed to grow more comfortable later in the campaign, particularly when he played with Tim Frazier. Of the four times he made at least three trifectas in a game, three occurred in March or April.
Anthony Davis
Games played. The three-time All-Star has garnered a lengthy list of accomplishments and accolades during his pro career, but he's never appeared in more than 68 games during a regular season. That explains why Davis has recently reiterated that one of his goals for 2016-17 is to “play in all 82 games.” That's a fairly lofty aim, considering only 18 players in the entire NBA had “perfect attendance” last season, but the Pelicans cannot afford Davis to miss many games, particularly with sidekick Jrue Holiday not with the team for now.
Cheick Diallo
Total minutes. New Orleans traded two second-round picks on draft night in order to move up to No. 33 overall and select Diallo, demonstrating the Pelicans' eagerness to land him. Yet having just turned 20 on Sept. 13, Diallo is one of the NBA's youngest and least experienced players against high-level competition, so there are no guarantees about the size of his immediate role. The native of Mali played just 202 minutes during his single season at Kansas. During Pelicans preseason, he totaled 41 minutes over his four appearances.
Solomon Hill
Team defensive efficiency. Hill was the only Pelicans player to start all six preseason games, yet he ranked just ninth on the team in attempts from the field (32 shots in 161 minutes). It's likely he'll become more aggressive offensively as he gets acclimated to his new team, but focusing on Hill's scoring partly misses the point. As a versatile defender who can guard wings but is also sturdy enough to hold his own against bigger players, Hill could be pivotal to New Orleans improving at that end. The Pelicans have compiled four straight bottom-10 finishes in defensive efficiency (the entirety of Davis' career).
Terrence Jones
Minutes played. It's generally dangerous to read too much into preseason stats, but based on Jones' four exhibition appearances this month, he could have a very significant role, especially for a player who was signed in the late-July portion of free agency. Jones led the Pelicans in scoring average (17.3) and had the ball in his hands often, particularly as a playmaker for the second unit. At 6-foot-9 with a diverse skill set, Jones may allow New Orleans to use a variety of non-traditional lineups, including playing Jones and Davis together, with the duo causing major matchup problems for opposing defenses.
Quincy Pondexter
Games played. After missing the entire 2015-16 season due to knee surgeries, there is no exact date yet for Pondexter's return, but the Pelicans hope to see the two-way forward soon. Like Hill, Pondexter is capable of making a major impact at the defensive end, something he demonstrated emphatically in '14-15. New Orleans reached the playoffs that season as a No. 8 seed partly because it went 27-18 after acquiring Pondexter in a trade. NOLA was just 18-19 prior to the deal.
