Man, the New Orleans Pelicans cannot catch a break.
Well, I guess that’s not entirely true. They’re just catching the wrong breaks.
Tyreke Evans, the team’s second-leading scorer last season, will miss some time after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, per Brett Dawson of the New Orleans Advocate:
Source: Pelicans Tyreke Evans had successful arthroscopic surgery on his right knee this morning. Timetable for his return TBA.
— Brett Dawson (@BDawsonWrites) October 20, 2015
Although no timetable was initially provided, and while I am by no means a doctor, these issues, depending on severity, usually sideline players for four to six weeks—unless, of course, your name is Russell Westbrook, in which case four to six hours is a more accurate timetable.
Evans’ absence will be problematic for all the obvious reasons. He is one of New Orleans’ best playmakers, and as something of a point forward in size, he will be one of the primary focal points of their offense.
But this injury is especially detrimental now, given everything else the Pelicans currently have going on.
Jrue Holiday will be on a strict minutes limit to start the season. Alexis Ajinca is battling injuries. Omer Asik is on the shelf. Norris Cole is right beside him. Now this.
So long as the Pelicans deploy man-alien Anthony Davis, they should be fine. He’s at a point in his career where he can, and already has, carried an entire team. New Orleans’ playoff hopes are anything but completely dashed if he’s healthy.
But the Western Conference is also a brutal mass of contenders. A slow start could still cripple the Pelicans. They’re already facing a steep learning curve within head coach Alvin Gentry’s offensive system. And now, on top of that, you’re going to have players meandering in and out of the lineup as the Pelicans make way for recovering talent.
That’s far from ideal. And it’s not like Eric Gordon and Davis, New Orleans’ only presently healthy starters, are iron men themselves. Both have dealt with their fair share of injuries over the last few seasons, and if one of them joins their many teammates on the sidelines, perhaps from being over-relied upon in the aftermath of all these absences, the ability to bridge the gap between shorthanded rotations and full strength becomes less of a ridiculously difficult challenge and more of a harrowing implausibility.
