There are a wide range of statistics that demonstrate Anthony Davis’ importance to his team this season, but the simplest and most telling is probably this: New Orleans is 21-25 when he’s at full strength, but just 2-10 when the three-time All-Star is either sidelined or leaves a game early due to injury or illness. Since Nov. 20, the Pelicans are above .500 when the 22-year-old logs at least 20 minutes, at 20-19.
On Wednesday, New Orleans (23-35 overall) would greatly prefer not to have to figure out how to beat Houston (29-30) without the ’15 first-team All-NBA selection. After practice Monday, Pelicans Coach Alvin Gentry said Davis likely will be in uniform against the Rockets, though Davis was held out of practice Monday. He missed Saturday’s game vs. Minnesota after sustaining a sprained right big toe during warmups.
“We’re expecting him to play,” Gentry said of the upcoming Southwest Division matchup vs. Houston. “Obviously we kept him out of practice today, but everything seems to be OK. It will be a game-time decision, but I’m anticipating him playing.”
Davis may also be held out of Tuesday’s practice, prior to the Pelicans traveling in the afternoon on a short flight to Texas.
“If he can play and not practice tomorrow, he won’t practice tomorrow,” Gentry said. “If it has any bearing on him playing (Wednesday, he won’t practice Tuesday).”
With Davis appearing in 42 of New Orleans’ last 46 games, the Pelicans are 22-24 overall during that span, keeping them on the fringe of playoff contention. Since mid-January, the Pelicans are 12-9, including 3-2 since the All-Star break. But none of those trends are good enough if they intend on making consecutive playoff appearances for the first time since 2008 and 2009. With 24 games remaining in the regular season, New Orleans now needs an extended run of success. So far, the team’s longest winning streak is just three games, done once apiece in November and January.
“I think we’ve played pretty good basketball,” Gentry said of his team’s recent performance. “I still say that in order for us to get in the playoff race, we’re going to have to have a stretch where we win eight out of 10, or six in a row, or something like that. We’ve yet to do that. Time is very short. It’s running out. (But) as long as we’re not mathematically eliminated, we have something to play for.
“I don’t think anyone wants to go through the last 18 or 20 games just playing out the string. We want to have something to play for. At this point, we still do.”
