Davis, Pelicans to test mettle vs. Westbrook, Thunder
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Two years ago, there wasn't a player in the NBA with a bigger upside than Anthony Davis.
The 2012 top overall pick was being compared to Steph Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant as players with whom to start a franchise.
After an injury-riddled 2015-16 campaign, Davis is back to playing at an MVP-caliber level. He is leads the NBA in scoring at 31.5 points and in blocks with 2.68 rejections per game. Davis also is in the top 10 in rebounding at 10.9.
When the Pelicans (7-13) face off with the Oklahoma City Thunder (12-8) on Sunday at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, it will be a battle of the league's top two scorers. Thunder guard Russell Westbrook is slightly behind Davis at 31.2 ppg.
Unfortunately for coach Alvin Gentry, the rest of Pelicans are not matching the pace Davis has set. That includes 2016 first-round pick Buddy Hield.
When the Pelicans pay a visit to Oklahoma City, it will be Hield's first basketball game back in the state since he led the Oklahoma Sooners to the Final Four last season. He is looking forward to playing in front of his former hometown crowd.
"It's going to be fun. A college atmosphere," Hield told NBA.com. "I'm going to have fun and when I get in, stay locked in and try to help my team get a win."
However, Hield is still trying to figure out the pro game. Through 20 games, he is averaging less than seven points and only shooting only 23.7 percent from 3-point range.
These days, there is no guarantee Hield will even get into the game.
"Obviously if the situation is right, I want to try to play him in Oklahoma," Gentry told NBA.com. "They deserve to see him play. That's where his whole fan base and the support he's gotten over the years has been. As a coach, you want to be able to reward guys in situations like that, to put him in a situation where he can play in the game."
The Pelicans now face a rested Oklahoma City squad that hasn't played since beating Washington in overtime Wednesday. And while it's been Westbrook's four straight triple doubles that have gotten most of the headlines, the improved play of Jerami Grant has really been a key to the Thunder's four-game win streak.
Coming off the bench, Grant's ability to play defense on a variety of positions has helped strengthen what had been a major weakness.
"I don't think people understand how hard his transition coming here has been because he's had to learn a position at the four, a position at the three and on defense," Thunder coach Billy Donovan told NBA.com. "That's hard, especially in pick and roll coverage. Sometimes he's switching and sometimes he's in normal coverage, His IQ has helped him with the adjustment."
Like every front line player for the Thunder, Grant will see time guarding Davis. Because he can score from all over the court, it is going to put tremendous pressure on Oklahoma City's defense to keep him from putting up big numbers on both ends of the court.
"It's a little bit of everything," Anthony Morrow said of the Thunder defense. "Overall it's just guys paying attention to detail and just sticking with the process overall. Every game is different, but we understand that when we're on the same page, everybody is working towards that same goal defensively and the defense is on a string, that's when we know we're at our best."