The New Orleans Pelicans reserve swingman Tyreke Evans will miss the next 1-2 weeks of play with a left ankle sprain.
The news sounds depressing, as the Pelicans' bench sorely needs Evans, given that sixth man Ryan Anderson is now starting in place of the injured Anthony Davis.
In 19 games this season, Evans is averaging 11.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.3 steals in 24.9 minutes per game.
However, Evans' timetable for return is much shorter than what most people thought, after seeing him go down painfully in the third quarter of the December 6 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Given that Evans missed all of the preseason with a sprain to that same ankle, fears were rampant that this re-injury would be particularly difficult to come back from. Perhaps the fact Evans' ankle was well-taped Friday night helped.
Bench scoring will be an issue though, as New Orleans' reserves are now without their leading two scorers, at least for the next few weeks.
