SHANGHAI – Through a series of roster changes, injuries and other unforeseen circumstances, several familiar faces New Orleans counted on to score in recent years are not playing for the Pelicans right now. That begs the question – which has been asked by many in 2016-17 NBA season previews – how will New Orleans compensate for the loss of offensive production? Midway through the six-game preseason slate, one potential answer has been a sixth-year combo guard, a mostly under-the-radar July 1 free-agent signing who's previously played for three NBA teams.
Although it won't officially count as a career high, E'Twaun Moore paced New Orleans on Sunday with 25 points; the most he's scored in a regular season game as a pro is 24. The Purdue product and Indiana native continued his accurate shooting in October, going 4/4 from three-point range vs. Houston and 10/15 from the field. Through three games, Moore leads the preseason Pelicans (1-2) in scoring average, at 17.7 points. He's connected on two-thirds of his trey attempts (8/12) and is shooting 61.1 percent from the field.
“He's very confident in his game,” Pelicans three-time All-Star Anthony Davis said. “When he gets going, he gets going. It's all about confidence, and he has a lot of it right now. We want him to shoot the ball, even if he misses, because he's a great shooter. He can do so much – pass, shoot, he's got a runner, he can handle (the ball). It's a lot that he brings to the table. We're going to want that from him for the rest of the season.”
Pelicans second-year head coach Alvin Gentry said Moore has been among the team's better performers in practices during training camp. A member of the Chicago Bulls for the past two seasons following stints with Boston and Orlando, Moore began his New Orleans tenure in excellent fashion, shooting 8/12 (including 3/3 on threes) vs. Dallas in the Oct. 1 opener. He shared team scoring honors with Buddy Hield by producing 19 points.
“E'Twaun played extremely well in the first game for us, then had kind of limited minutes (in the second game vs. Indiana),” Gentry said. “He's played (well) in practice and done a good job.”
Moore has split time between the guard positions in his career, shifting back and forth partly based on the traits of his backcourt partner. For instance, in Chicago he may have played off the ball when paired with Aaron Brooks, but Moore ran the point if the other guard was Jimmy Butler. A similar scenario could unfold in New Orleans, especially until Jrue Holiday returns to the team, but so far Moore has been one of the Pelicans' primary options when they need buckets.
“Either is fine with me,” Moore said, when a Chinese reporter asked for his positional preference Sunday. “As long as I get on the court and contribute. We've got a couple point guards, so I can play shooting guard and shoot the ball. Whatever the team needs is where I'll fit in.”
