WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. – As Anthony Davis kept sinking three-pointers and deep twos during a Wednesday intrasquad scrimmage – sometimes with a defender in his face – he turned to deliver a friendly glare at close friend Tyreke Evans, making sure the point guard noticed the two-time New Orleans All-Star’s extended range. Evans enjoyed a laugh over the good-natured exchange.
“He knocked down some threes, besides the corner (three), and he looked at me,” Evans recalled Thursday morning. “But I said, ‘It’s not in (an official) game.’
“(His shooting stroke) definitely looked good. He worked on it all summer; I was around him in the summer in New Orleans. He was shooting a lot of threes. If he gets that down, the sky is the limit for him.”
Davis spent extensive time in the offseason on being able to sink shots a step or two further back from the 20-foot area, where he has become very accurate. New Orleans coaches worked with Davis to make sure he maintained the same shooting form, so that he can comfortably shoot three-pointers without altering his mechanics. Though new Pelicans Coach Alvin Gentry has cautioned recently that no one should expect Davis to rely heavily on a diet of three-point bombs, it’s evident that the 22-year-old has improved from that distance. Last season, Davis went 1-for-12 from beyond the arc, with the one make being a buzzer-beating game-winner in Oklahoma City.
“You can tell he’s been in the lab. He’s definitely put in some work on his range,” Pelicans point guard Norris Cole said. “He already had a silky-smooth jumpshot in mid-range, but he’s stepped back and worked on it. When he’s open I’m going to find him. And I told him, every time I find him, shoot it. It’s a shot that he can make, and he makes it at a high rate, so there’s no need to do anything else (but take it) when he’s making it at that clip.”
This summer, Davis said he was focusing primarily on corner three-pointers, partly because those are the shortest distance from the rim, but on Wednesday he also nailed a few wing treys. On some occasions, he rose up to shoot without being set up with a pass, even while being closely guarded.
“With his size, any time he shoots, he’s going to have a good look,” Evans said of firing over defenders. “Especially mid-range. That’s what he does best. Every time he shoots a mid-range, I think it’s going in. Now he’s just stepping out to the threes. (Wednesday’s) showing was impressive.”
Other notes from Thursday’s morning practice, which will be followed this evening by an open practice at The Greenbrier:
- Point guard Jrue Holiday will play in tonight’s intrasquad scrimmage. Evans said he expects every Pelicans player to participate, with the exception being forward Quincy Pondexter (not available to play until November after knee surgery). “I feel good,” Holiday said. “With the restriction of me practicing, my leg feels fine. I’ve still got to get some wind back. I played the first night (Tuesday) and then I’ll play tonight. I’m really trying to get my wind and play how they want us to play… I want to get out there, especially at this time, where everyone’s kind of in the same place, learning the system.”
- Regarding his 15-minute restriction in games, Holiday said how his playing time is allotted remains to be determined. “No clue,” Holiday responded, when asked if, for example, he might play seven or eight minutes each half. “That’s probably something that we’ll figure out, obviously for the game Saturday (NOLA’s preseason opener at Indiana). And then all the other preseason games. We’ll see how it fits best and then just go from there.”