PORTLAND – Just when New Orleans had begun settling into a starting lineup that was producing very positive results, the Pelicans are forced to adjust over the next 4-6 weeks, as they await the return of Dante Cunningham from a fractured leg. Pelicans second-year coach Alvin Gentry said his rotations may evolve on a game-by-game basis, but at least for Friday's road trip opener against Portland, Cunningham's spot in the lineup will be filled by Solomon Hill.
“I think we do it by committee,” Gentry said of compensating for Cunningham's absence. “There are going to be a lot of guys we try at that position. The rotations obviously change what we were doing. We're going to have to stick some guys in positions they haven't been in, and they're going to have to come through for us.”
With a couple exceptions, the starting five during the recent 6-2 stretch consisted of Cunningham, Anthony Davis and Omer Asik in the frontcourt, with Tim Frazier and E'Twaun Moore in the backcourt. Jrue Holiday returned to the team four games ago, but has remained in a reserve role, with excellent results.
With Cunningham out of action – joining Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter as injured players – and Cheick Diallo assigned to the D-League, the Pelicans (6-10) are down to 11 players in uniform Friday. Among those 11, guard Anthony Brown just arrived this week and center Alexis Ajinca hasn't played in a game since Nov. 16. With Hill moving into the starting five, the recently relied-upon bench contingent consists of Holiday, Langston Galloway, Buddy Hield and Terrence Jones.
Other pregame notes from Moda Center:
Portland (8-9) is one of the NBA's more disappointing teams among clubs that made the playoffs in 2016, but in a way, perhaps that should be part of the bigger narrative. The Trail Blazers weren't predicted to reach the postseason a year ago but ended up advancing to the second round in a rugged Western Conference field, an outstanding accomplishment. So far in '16-17, Portland is ranked last in the league in defensive efficiency (109.7 points allowed per 100 possessions), but Terry Stotts said his team was also a slow-starter at that end of the floor last season, yet it wasn't big news because outside expectations were relatively low.
