Injuries still a concern as Pelicans open vs. Nuggets

NEW ORLEANS -- The New Orleans Pelicans were a MASH unit last season, so riddled with injuries that their players missed a combined total of 351 games, forcing coach Alvin Gentry to use 42 starting lineup combinations.

Now that the calendar has flipped to the 2016-17 season -- with the home opener Wednesday night against the Denver Nuggets at Smoothie King Center -- Gentry wouldn't be blamed if he enlisted the aid of a French Quarter voodoo priestess as a way of ensuring the good health of his players, especially All-Star forward Anthony Davis.

Davis, the first overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, never missed a game in his 40-game, NCAA championship, freshman season at Kentucky. But, in four NBA seasons, the Pelicans' franchise player has missed 68 games with injuries. A medical flow chart indicates he has injured 13 body parts.

Davis' porcelain reputation can be explained in part by his pedal-to-the-metal style and his penchant for throwing his body into the expensive seats chasing down loose balls. But after Davis' season-ending knee injury last March, which required arthroscopic surgery, forced him to withdraw from the U.S. Olympic team, he spent the summer fully rehabbing and continuing to add muscle to his athletic frame.

Then, with the Pelicans playing in China on Oct. 12, Davis stepped on the foot of Houston Nene's foot and suffered a Grade 2 ankle sprain. But Davis returned for the preseason finale on Friday and is scheduled to start Wednesday.

"It doesn't concern me," Davis, who averaged 24.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks last year, said about his recent injury history. "It's basketball. Injuries are part of basketball."

It just seems that the Pelicans have more than most other teams. General manager Dell Demps said Tuesday he does not expect guard Tyreke Evans (knee) to hit the floor until December. Forward Quincy Pondexter (knee), who has not played since April 2015, has had a few setbacks in his recovery and "is probably going to take a little bit longer."

In addition, starting point guard Jrue Holiday is healthy but is caring for wife Lauren, who last month gave birth and then underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor. The Pelicans have placed no timetable on when Holiday will return to the team.

Evans' injury and Holiday's unavailability contribute to the Pelicans' decision to keep guard-forward Lance Stephenson, releasing Alonzo Gee even though Gee had a $1.2 million guaranteed contract.

"With the injuries to Tyreke and Jrue not being with the team, we felt we needed a little more playmaking," Demps said. ("Lance) can go out and create and make plays for others."

"Anybody would be disappointed, but it's just a part of it," Gentry said. "You hope that everybody gets better."

While much of the NBA seems to be enamored with small ball, the Nuggets appear to be getting bigger. Coach Mike Malone paired big men Jusuf Nurkic (7-0) and Nikola Jokic (6-11) during the preseason and appears ready to give it a try for real.

Nurkic has shown the ability to draw fouls as the Nuggets work their offense through him, and he is strong on the offensive glass and finishing near the basket. Jokic has been a cog in the Nuggets' high-post offense and has shown the ability to pick and pop. Both are considered capable passers.

"There's definitely some Balkan buddy ball going on with those two guys," Malone said. "They do look for each other, which is great. They're so skilled, and the great thing about Nikola is that he can space the floor, so it's not like we have two guys that are stuck on the block, which takes away driving lanes from our perimeter players. The floor is open."