Anthony Davis scored 30 points on 14-of-19 shots in the New Orleans Pelicans’ 112-85 loss the Golden State Warriors last night. His teammates made just 23 of their 70 field goals, good for an abysmal shooting mark 32.8 percent. Thankfully, the Pelicans admitted post-game that getting Davis more attempts is crucial going forward. What’s frustrating is that coach Monty Williams said the exact same thing last week.
After Davis scored a season-low 14 points in a loss to the Sacramento Kings last Tuesday, Williams told the Pelicans that his team’s superstar needs “at least 20 shots every night.” The problem is that Davis hasn’t reached that threshold in the four games since, three of which he’s scored at least 25 points.
Williams reiterated the need for Davis’ teammates to find him after the loss to Golden State:
Monty on ball movement against Warriors' frequent defensive switches: "Anthony Davis was 14-for-19. He didn't get enough touches tonight."
— Jim Eichenhofer (@Jim_Eichenhofer) December 5, 2014
And point guard Jrue Holiday, the player besides Davis most tasked with making Williams’ wish become a reality,echoed his coach’s sentiment. From John Reid of The Times Picayune:
”We started playing one-on-one a little too much,” Holiday said. ”We need to move the ball better and look to Anthony more, especially when we get in trouble. He is our guy, so we need to get him the ball.”
The Pelicans scored 28 points and doled-out seven assists on 52 percent shooting in the first quarter against the Warriors. Davis scored 11 points in the stanza and was assisted on four of his five makes. The 21 year-old managed only 13 more shots from thereafter, receiving help on six of them. New Orleans scored just 54 points in the game’s final 36 minutes, too.
The crux of the issue isn’t creating baskets for Davis – he’s plenty skilled enough to score of his volition. The Pellies just need to do a far better job of getting him the ball at all.
Will they do so going forward? Recent history says not, but New Orleans’ increasingly long playoff odds likely hinge on its ability to do so.
What do you think?
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