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Pelicans shootaround: Anthony Davis honored to lead Western Conference frontcourt players in All-Star voting

Much like his NBA career arc, Anthony Davis has experienced a rapid ascent in popularity in the eyes of basketball fans. Look no further than Western Conference 2015 All-Star voting, where the 6-foot-10 power forward jumped all the way to first place in initial returns that were announced on Christmas. Last season, Davis finished seventh in West frontcourt votes, placing behind Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Kevin Love, Dwight Howard, LaMarcus Aldridge and Tim Duncan.

“There are still a couple months left, but it’s an honor, being recognized like that,” Davis said of currently being No. 1. “Hopefully I get voted in and get a chance to play on Sunday (in the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 15).”

Not only has Davis vaulted ahead of five ultra-popular Western Conference players (Love now plays in the East), but he also has built a significant lead on them. Last season, he finished with 286,247 votes, but he already has 524,623 this time. In fact, his lead over second-place Griffin (307,908 votes) is 216,715.

“He’s just been playing great from the beginning of the season this year,” said Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans of Davis being the leading vote-getter. “Knowing what he had to do to get where he needs to be, I think he deserves it. I’m happy he’s a part of my team.”

Other notes from Friday’s shootaround:

  • The Spurs played on Christmas, so they did not hold a shootaround this morning. It’s possible – perhaps likely – that several of San Antonio’s key players will not play vs. New Orleans, because Gregg Popovich has been resting the likes of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili in the second game of recent back-to-backs. “We’re still going to prepare (normally),” Davis said. “We went through their whole scouting report and whole personnel. That’s up to them if they play or not. But no matter what, we still have to get back to what we do, defending and rebounding. Whether their star players play or they don’t, we’re still going to try to get back to the way we play.” Ryan Anderson on preparing for the Spurs: “They’re going to be really prepared to play us, regardless of who’s out there. We have to play a consistent way every night. We just need to play hard tonight and bounce back (after Tuesday’s loss in Indiana).”
  • In a case of extremely bad luck, Davis has yet to play in his hometown of Chicago during his NBA career, something he hopes to end Saturday when the Pelicans visit the Bulls at 7 p.m. Improbably, the first game he’s missed to injury in both of his previous pro seasons has been when New Orleans played at Chicago. He sustained a concussion in 2012-13 the night before the game at United Center; last season he broke his hand on a rim 24 hours before he was to play in the Windy City. “Hopefully I get to play,” Davis said this morning, perhaps couching his words after what’s happened in previous years. “It will be a fun experience.”
  • Taking a cue from his head coach, Monty Williams, Davis said he’s focusing on playing the Spurs and trying not to get ahead of himself in thinking about playing in Chicago for the first time: “I haven’t played there since I’ve been in the league, but I have to worry about tonight and try to get this win, realizing (the Spurs) just played a tough game last night. We’re going to try to get this one first.” Davis added that his parents are handling any requests from family and friends for tickets at Saturday’s game. “My parents take care of that,” he said. “I just worry about playing basketball.”