Ryan Anderson joining Anthony Davis on sideline Monday
Get ready for The Alexis Ajinca Game on Monday.
The New Orleans Pelicans are set to take on the Utah Jazz without Anthony Davis, who's sitting due to a sprained right shoulder. Davis's normal backup, Ryan Anderson, will join him on the sideline, as the sweet-shooting power forward is unable to play due to a sore right elbow.
The Pelicans have been dominant this year when Davis and Anderson take the floor together, outscoring opponents by 6.5 points per-100 possessions. A lot of the credit for that goes to Davis, as the Pelicans have been outscored heavily when Anderson plays without Davis - and have been generally terrible whenever Davis isn't on the floor, regardless of his replacement.
Losing Anderson leaves the Pelicans with just Dante Cunningham at the four, potentially tasking the 7-foot Ajinca with spotting in at power forward. Ajinca is averaging 5.3 points and 4.2 rebounds in 11.8 minutes and has been productive on offense and on the glass when given extended run.
Anderson, meanwhile, has seen his scoring average drop nearly five points to 14.9, and he's shooting a career-worst 34.7 percent from long range.