National Basketball Association

Player Grades: New Orleans Pelicans waste big night for Anthony Davis, lose to Denver Nuggets

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Despite an historic stat line by Anthony Davis, the New Orleans Pelicans bit players couldn’t handle the aggressive Denver Nuggets attack, losing 107-102 at home in game one.

Opening night for the Pelicans ended in missed opportunities and their first loss of the season. This was an important first game for the Pelicans as they gear up to play the Warriors and Spurs on a back to back this weekend. If there is any consolation the Pelicans and Warrors share the same record.

If anybody needed a reminder that this team is still a work in progress, you got it. Oh, and Anthony Davis is still otherworldly. The Pelicans struggled early in the first half; especially on the defensive end.

New OrleansPelicans102

DenverNuggets107

Tim Frazier

PG, New Orleans Pelicans

A- Tim Frazier is a gamer, man. I already tweeted that, and now I’m going to say it twice in this article. Tim Frazier is a gamer, man. When Langston Galloway came in for Frazier in the first half, you could see a stall in the offense coming. His 15 points, 11 assists, and 5 rebounds makes it hard not root for this undersized gamer (count it).

E’Twaun Moore

SG, New Orleans Pelicans

B Moore looked solid in the 28 minutes he got. His absence due to foul trouble early in the game definetely hurt the Pelicans on defense. I expected to see more manufactured looks for him behind the arc.His perimeter defense, overall effort and low usage made me already forget watching Eric Gordon. That’s enough to keep me happy (for awhile).

Solomon Hill

, New Orleans Pelicans

C- Foul trouble early cost Solo a better than below average grade here. While he shot the ball more than Alonzo Gee did last year, I still tended to forget about him at times on O like I did Gee. When he forced the issue it was clear that creating wasn’t his game. His +/- was 0, how fitting. Similar to Anthony Davis, Solo did fill up the stat line: (1-7), 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal. Impressive. I am retroactively changing his grade to a D+.

Anthony Davis

PF/C, New Orleans Pelicans

A+ 50 points (17/34 FG; FT 16/17), 16 rebounds, 5 assists, 7 steals, 4 blocks. Welcome back. I missed you.Looks like that 40.7 usage rate in the preseason isn’t going anywhere soon. He had a pretty costly turnover towards the end of the game that reminded me that he is (allegedly) human. Regardless, this team will need everything he can give them to stay competitive.

Omer Asik

C, New Orleans Pelicans

C He was out there. He looked fine. At the end of the game he wasn’t in the huddle, somebody told him he was going in, and he made an “oh crap” face before Anthony Davis quickly re-explained the play to him. It appears he is moving a lot better, just as many have already reported. In 17 minutes he collected 1 rebound and made me laugh out loud twice because he clumsily mishandled a pass.

Terrence Jones

, New Orleans Pelicans

C He had some decent moments in his 18 minutes of play. There was one point where him and Anthony Davis traded blocks and Bill Self got red in the face all over again. His +/- was horrendous, but every time he was in the game I cringed at the lineup (which included him). He could be the league minimum guy we paid for, or not. The truth will probably lie somewhere in the middle.

Dante Cunningham

, New Orleans Pelicans

D This is more of reflection of my longing for Quincy so Cunningham’s time at the 3 can die a slow, painful death.

Langston Galloway

PG/SG, New Orleans Pelicans

B 10-15 minutes will probably be about Langston’s ceiling, especially when Jrue gets back. Overall it was refreshing to see another guard on this team up in the opponents face on defense.Plus it was his home opener in his home city and I wanted to make sure I gave him a grade he could be proud of and put on his refrigerator.

Alexis Ajinca

“PF/C”, New Orleans Pelicans

More ammo for the Omer Asik needs to be moved crowd.

Buddy Hield

“SG”, New Orleans Pelicans

D Overall, tonight was a poor debut for Buddy. He will have those games this season (-12 +/-). He still will play hard. We saw him do that when he got iso’d on Will Barton.

Lance Stephenson

“SG/SF”, New Orleans Pelicans

B- We saw everything Lance has to offer tonight; from a thrilling dunk to an out of control charge. Stephenson has everything you want in a fringe roster guy who (to my surprise), played 26 (!!) minutes tonight. Wait what? I was pleased to see the good things, and frustrated to see some of the bad. I better gear up for that rollercoaster this season. Must Read: Season Preview Podcast with Rick and Brendon

Other notes:

The Pelicans shot 15% from 3. I struggled to carve out a minor rotational role on my 2 win high school basketball team with that same type of marksmanship.

The Nuggets manhandled the Pelicans on the boards. 58-34. Many have speculated this could be an issue. Tonight it was.

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