Davis: Pelicans 'don’t have that much time' to find an identity
The 2016-17 season was supposed to represent the next step for the franchise down in New Orleans, but it has been anything but.
With a slew of injuries and a 9-20 record - including a 4-17 in-conference mark - the Pelicans are struggling, and much of that could be due to a lack of identity. They don't score a lot (26th in offensive efficiency), and they don't defend all that well either (17th in defensive efficiency), so finding a true calling card at this point in season will be difficult - especially in the Western Conference.
Their one saving grace, Anthony Davis, believes their time of reckoning will soon be upon them.
“A week, maybe two, two and a half until the defining moment of our season,” Anthony Davis told Justin Verrier of ESPN. “We’ve got to, within that span, try to figure it out. It’s possible. We’ve shown the way that we want to play. We’ve actually done things the way we want to do them. We’ve got to do it on a more consistent basis.”
The Pelicans have had some success of late - a solid win over Indiana and a close, competitive road loss to the Warriors - but for Davis, it comes down to doing it on a steadier basis.
“We’re very inconsistent,” the 23-year-old continued. “One game we play very well offensively, defensively we’re talking. Another game we just - we’re not. So we have to figure out what team we want to be identified as. We can’t keep going from game to game with a different identity.
“We don’t have that much time. We’re trying to catch up. We’ve got to do whatever we’re going to do as fast as possible.”