When asked about the level of intensity during New Orleans’ recent voluntary scrimmages, Pelicans point guard Tim Frazier smiled and quickly displayed his right arm, which is laden with scratches. That’s what happens when scrappy, aggressive play is a staple of intrasquad pickup games, which have featured numerous new players trying to prove themselves to many unfamiliar teammates.
“The scrimmages have been great. I’ve got scratches all over me, a busted lip,” Frazier said, grinning at the idea of receiving battle scars in early September. “You’re just seeing the competitive nature from guys, them getting dirty and putting their face in the middle (of games). We know it’s not even training camp yet, but we’ve been in the gym and getting after it, competing like these are (regular season) games. We want to be a great team and strive to be the best team we can be at the end of the year. I think that’s what makes our pickup games even that much more competitive. We’ve got new guys who want to show that they can compete and bring different edges, different personalities.”
According to three-time All-Star forward Anthony Davis, the scrimmages have been in keeping with one theme of the Pelicans’ offseason, to emerge as a grittier, more competitive team for opponents to face.
“That was our whole goal, to bring in guys who were scrappy and wanted to fight,” said Davis, who re-joined his teammates last week after six months off the court, following a March knee procedure. “I think we did a great job of that. (Already in scrimmages), Tim has a busted lip, Solomon (Hill) got hit in the face, everybody wound up with scratches. It was fun. We just want to bring in guys who want to compete, whether it’s up 20 (points) or down 20. We’re going to compete until the game is over. I think we did a great job of bringing guys in who fit that criteria.”
A veteran Pelicans player who already symbolized that mindset is small forward Quincy Pondexter, but he missed all of 2015-16 following knee surgery. Pondexter has not participated yet in on-court scrimmages, but has helped gather large groups of teammates this summer. He’s impressed by what he’s observed from New Orleans’ newcomers.
“It’s been a hell of an offseason for us, trying to figure out what’s going to help us get over the hump and what’s going to help us get back in the playoffs,” Pondexter said. “The guys we brought in, they all have the same lunchpail type attitude as the guys who are still here. It’s one of those things where it’s so cohesive and everything kind of meshes perfectly. The guys already have a great chemistry. It just comes from guys all being the same type of animal. I’m really looking forward to going out there and competing with these guys, because they have a sense of pride already, and they just got here.”
After watching some of the scrimmages, guard Tyreke Evans has begun calling Hill “a baby Ron Artest,” comparing Hill’s style of play to the rugged, defensive-minded, take-no-prisoners 16-year NBA forward (Artest, who changed his name to “Metta World Peace,” played for the Lakers last season).
“He’s physical, likes to play defense and play that bully ball,” Evans said of Hill. “He can also knock down a shot. He always wants to be matched up against the best offensive player, because that’s what he knows he does best… I watched Langston (Galloway) at St. Joe’s (in Philadelphia) a little bit and with the Knicks – he gets after it on the court. E’Twaun (Moore) as well. They’ve all got a high motor.”
After starting last season 1-11 amid a staggering number of injuries, New Orleans hopes to put together a much better open to 2016-17, though the Pelicans expect to be without starting point guard Jrue Holiday early in the regular season. Davis said New Orleans wants its early preparation to pay off in October.
“It’s huge for us,” Davis said. “We have a lot of new guys, new faces. We want to come out of training camp rolling; we don’t want to take steps back, as far as trying to get used to each other. We’re using this time right now to get acclimated with each other. I think we have a great group – everyone likes each other and everyone is playing for one another. It’s been good so far.”