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Time is running out for a New Orleans Pelicans team that is trying to battle its way out of the bottom of the Western Conference with a 9-20 record on the season.
After sustaining an 0-8 start to the season, the Pelicans got a second wind, winning six of their next eight games thanks to a torrid run by their talisman Anthony Davis. Soon after, they have struggled to pile up the W's in the win column, coming up victorious in only three of their last 13 games.
Article Continues Below“We’re very inconsistent,” Davis told ESPN's Justin Verrier. “One game we play very well offensively, defensively we’re talking. Another game we just — we’re not. So we have to figure out what team we want to be identified as. We can’t keep going from game to game with a different identity.
“We don’t have that much time. We’re trying to catch up. We’ve got to do whatever we’re going to do as fast as possible.”
The Pelicans identity crisis come at the heels of getting multiple bodies back-and-forth between the court and the bench, as the lack of stability interrupts a potential rhythm and often causes a lack of chemistry on the court.
The return of Jrue Holiday from a family-related absence hasn't been the best of news for the team just as Tim Frazier and Davis started to click. Tyreke Evans impending return to the starting lineup can provide a boost, but he's still ways away from cracking 20 minutes per game as the coaching and medical staff have been careful with his health. He's played twice in the past three games, for 11 and 15 minutes respectively while sitting out through the back end of back-to-backs.
“A week, maybe two, two and a half until the defining moment of our season,” Davis said. “We’ve got to, within that span, try to figure it out. It’s possible. We’ve shown the way that we want to play. We’ve actually done things the way we want to do them. We’ve got to do it on a more consistent basis.”
