DALLAS – The concept of a “bye week” is a familiar one in the NFL, but with the D-League's Austin Spurs in the middle of a six-day stretch without a game, the timing was ideal Sunday for New Orleans rookie Cheick Diallo to rejoin his Pelicans teammates. The second-round pick will be in uniform and available to play when New Orleans (6-11) faces Dallas (2-13) tonight at American Airlines Center.
Diallo's return comes at an optimum time for the Pelicans, who are a bit limited numbers-wise in the frontcourt, following Dante Cunningham's recent leg injury. Beyond starters Anthony Davis, Omer Asik and Solomon Hill – Hill replaced Cunningham in the first string Friday at Portland – the only other “bigs” accustomed to playing power forward or center are Terrence Jones and Alexis Ajinca (the latter has not appeared in a game since Nov. 16 at Orlando).
It's uncertain how much of an opportunity Diallo will receive now that he's back with the big-league Pelicans, but his experience with Austin was a beneficial one.
“Each game I got better,” said Diallo, who averaged 14.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and an impressive 2.5 blocks over six games. “I got a lot of experience there because I was playing.”
The 20-year-old's official NBA experience consists of a six-minute stint Oct. 29 at San Antonio, when he was on the floor during mop-up time of a 19-point defeat. His assignment to the D-League was made partly to give Diallo more much-needed playing time, something he didn't even get much of during his one college season at Kansas.
“It helped me a lot,” Diallo said of his D-League stint after this morning's Pelicans shootaround.
Other notes from Sunday's shootaround in Texas:
A consistent playoff qualifier during the Dirk Nowitzki era, the Mavericks enter Sunday's game in a position they have not been in since the 1990s, as a last-place squad. There is also much uncertainty surrounding their lineups Sunday, because Nowitzki and point guard Deron Williams are both listed as questionable. Veteran guards J.J. Barea and Devin Harris are both out. Still, Pelicans forward Solomon Hill regards the Mavericks as a dangerous team. “(Nowitzki) is getting older, but he can put 40 (points) up when he's healthy,” Hill said. “Harrison Barnes is in a new situation where he's learning his role. I don't think it was going to be perfect for him to come out just blazing hot, but once a guy like that gets comfortable, the sky's the limit for him. Once everyone gets healthy and really understand their role, that team can definitely get hot. So we don't want to take them for granted. We want to respect everybody on the floor.”
