Nikola Mirotic has put blood, sweat, and tears to get this New Orleans Pelicans team into the playoffs, but now he's giving something even more valuable, his signature long beard.

The 6-foot-10 marksman sported a clean-shaven look at today's practice, hoping this new look will bring his team's slump to an end.

The Pelicans have been in dire straits in the past few weeks, hanging by the skin of their teeth with a half-game difference over the ninth-place Denver Nuggets.

New Orleans had gone on a 10-game win streak to climb into the top-4 of the Western Conference, but now they're just hoping to stay afloat after losing four straight in a monstrous stretch that saw defeats against the Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and most recently the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Mirotic and the Pelicans will take on the bottom-feeding Memphis Grizzlies tonight, which should get them back in the winning column, but they will need to finish the season off strong, with games against the Golden State Warriors, the L.A. Clippers, and the San Antonio Spurs to finish off their season.

The 27-year-old has been going through an ugly stretch, only scoring in double figures in three of his last 10 games, hopeful that the with the facial hair goes all the bad juju marring a career-best season.