BOSSIER CITY – Alvin Gentry has cautioned recently that no one should read too much into which combination of players he chooses to start games early in preseason – though he did wryly tell the media Saturday morning that it’s safe to pencil in Anthony Davis, a three-time All-Star. Given Gentry’s general disclaimer, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Saturday evening’s starting five will be the same as even what New Orleans goes with at tip-off Tuesday vs. Indiana.
Against the Mavericks in the CenturyLink Center tonight, Gentry’s first unit will consist of the backcourt pairing of Langston Galloway and E’Twaun Moore, along with a frontcourt of Solomon Hill, Anthony Davis and Alexis Ajinca. Incidentally, during Wednesday’s intrasquad scrimmage at the Smoothie King Center, the “Blue team” featured the same three frontcourt players, but that trio was mixed in with the guard combination of Tim Frazier and Buddy Hield. Galloway and Moore were aligned in the same “White team” backcourt.
Other notes from Saturday’s pregame:
Gentry on minute allotment for Hield tonight: “I don’t know exactly, but I’m going to try to play those guys as much as I possibly can. The last two games, obviously, we’ll try to do something more along the lines of our expected rotations. Right now, don’t read into any of the combination that’s playing, because we’ll be taking a look at a lot of different combinations.”