New Orleans Pelicans: Tyreke Evans Doing It All
By Owen Sanborn
Coming into the season, Tyreke Evans was somewhat of a polarizing figure for the Pelicans. Will he start or be the sixth man? Will he be able stay healthy? How will he translate playing as a small forward? Will he make it the entire year without being traded? Can he coexist with Jrue Holiday and Eric Gordon?
Through four games, (which is an excruciatingly low sample size) Tyreke has answered the bell and served as an excellent second fiddle to Anthony Davis. He is averaging 17.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists a game so far this season, but more than anything, he has been an initiator on the offensive end.
He often assumes the role of primary ball handler within the offense, utilizing his unique combination of size and passing ability while in pick and roll situations with Davis and Omer Asik. A pick and roll involving Evans and one of the bigs has been the best offense so far besides handing the ball to Davis and watch him mesmerize us all.
Evans has always been able to slice his way into the lane at will, but he has also added a jump shot to his repertoire, hitting 7-of-15 3-pointers. Now that statistic may be more of a hot streak than a season long trend, but the mechanics on his shot do look significantly better, which should help him sustain his improved accuracy.
He has smoothed out the hitch in his shot and even shows forms of jump shot hubris as he rises up.
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Despite the hot start from beyond the arc, Evans still needs to improve his decision making. There are too many times when he will have the opportunity to make the extra pass to a big man or shooter (usually on a fastbreak) but neglects to do so in favor of a wild shot at the rim.
During Tuesday’s game against Charlotte, there was a two-on-one fast break where Evans had an opportunity to make an easy shovel pass to Asik for a wide open layup, but instead chose to barrel into the defender and turn the ball over via a charging foul.
Sequences such as those are something he must improve upon. Luckily for him, he is still only 25 and has plenty of room for improvement. Hopefully more opportunities to handle the rock will iron out the sometimes questionable decision making.
I would have to say that so far during this young season, Tyreke has answered the naysayers and asserted himself as the Pelicans’ premier No. 2 option. The casualty of Evans’ assertion has been poor Eric Gordon, who could not throw a basketball in the ocean right now.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Gordon is now the one being floated around as a trade chip throughout the league, rather than Tyreke.
The Pelicans have played .500 ball through four games this season and a big reason for that has been Evans. He has been a joy to watch, and will need to continue to do it all for New Orleans if they aspire to reach the postseason in the laughably loaded Western Conference.