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2016-17 Pelicans season preview: Backcourt stats to watch

On Monday, we examined the critical numbers related to New Orleans’ group of eight frontcourt players. Here are some of the key statistics to monitor throughout the 2016-17 regular season for the seven Pelicans guards, a group that begins the 82-game slate missing two contributors who’ve been significant in the recent past:

Tyreke Evans

Games played. For a second straight season, Evans will get a late start due to injury. He missed the first 17 regular season games in 2015-16; by the time he made his debut, New Orleans was already in a deep hole at 4-13. After appearing in a total of just 25 games, Evans has not appeared in a game since Jan. 25. The versatile 6-foot-6 scorer, rebounder and distributor said last month that he hopes to be in uniform at some point in December.

Tim Frazier

Shooting percentage. In his relatively brief tenure with New Orleans, the Penn State product has proven to be an outstanding passer, piling up assists by setting up teammates for easy baskets. Prior to his arrival in the Crescent City, one area that had been questioned was his perimeter shooting, because he shot only 35.9 percent from the field in 40 games with Portland. However, Frazier shot 45.0 percent from the field and 41.9 percent on three-pointers over 16 games last season with the Pelicans. In a small-sample ’16 preseason, he shot 48.5 percent from the floor and was 4/9 from the arc.

Langston Galloway

Steals per minute. Signed early in free agency, Galloway was brought in by the Pelicans partly due to his aggressive defense. New Orleans has allowed too much penetration by opposing guards in recent years, something Galloway will be expected to slow in his role off the bench. During his two-year tenure with New York, he was arguably the Knicks’ most disruptive defender, leading the club in steals per 36 minutes (1.4) last season. In an impressive and surprising Nov. 20 win at Oklahoma City, Galloway managed five steals in only 19:32 of playing time.

Buddy Hield

Rookie of the Week awards. No pressure or anything, but last week NBA.com projected the Oklahoma product as the favorite for Rookie of the Year in 2016-17, placing him atop its popular “rookie ladder” rankings. As is the case with every first-year pro, Hield is likely to experience some ups and downs, but in preseason he again showed his ability to ignite quickly and put up points in bunches. “Buddy Buckets” averaged 12.5 points in 27 minutes per game and could prove very productive in an instant-offense reserve role.

Jrue Holiday

New Orleans record without him. Holiday has far more important concerns right now as he cares for wife Lauren following brain surgery and the birth of their first child. While Jrue remains in North Carolina, his teammates have told their starting point guard that they’ll do whatever they can to “hold down the fort” until he returns. It’s uncertain how long that will be, but the Pelicans will need to play well amid an October/November schedule that includes two early games vs. Golden State and others against ’16 playoff teams San Antonio, Memphis, Boston, Portland, Charlotte, Atlanta and Dallas.

E’Twaun Moore

Three-point percentage. Moore is coming off the best three-point shooting season of his career, connecting on 45.2 percent of his attempts with Chicago in 2015-16. The free-agent acquisition stayed hot in preseason from long distance, going 9/17 (52.9 percent) and averaging double-digit points (12.4). Among the other four players projected to start for the Pelicans in their opener vs. Denver, none can be described as high-volume three-point shooters, so it may be important that Moore provides that threat and is efficient from beyond the arc.

Lance Stephenson

Player Efficiency Rating. During his best two seasons with Indiana, Stephenson was a breakthrough performer, helping them go deep in the Eastern Conference playoffs. His all-around game allowed him to post career highs in PER for two straight years, at 11.8 in 2012-13, then 14.7 in 2013-14. More recently, however, his ill-fated stints with Charlotte (8.8) and the Clippers (9.8) included a severe dip in the stat, but he seemed to recover nicely when he joined Memphis (17.1) for 26 games at the end of last season. Stephenson even had a career-best 33-point game vs. New Orleans (also 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block) on March 11.