Ravaged by injuries, Pelicans try to find light at the end from the tunnel

TORONTO — Alvin Gentry knew the question was coming, so he had a joke ready. New Orleans Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis was questionable for Friday's game against the Toronto Raptors due to a hip injury, and the head coach would have to provide a pregame update. While the banged-up Pelicans had lost seven of their first eight games, Gentry wasn't going to ask for pity.

“[Davis] won't go,” Gentry said. “Obviously Tyreke [Evans] and Norris [Cole] and Dancer and Prancer and Rudolph, those guys are out. The one thing that we talk about all the time is we're going to play with the guys we have and ask them to compete like crazy.”

Try as they might, they have not been able to overcome their injury issues. Evans, Cole and forward Quincy Pondexter have yet to play a single minute as they recover from right knee surgery, a left ankle sprain and left knee surgery, respectively. Point guard Jrue Holiday is averaging 21.8 minutes per game because the team is trying to take a cautious approach with his right leg — he had season-ending surgery two years ago because of a stress fracture in his tibia, and he required another surgery this past May. Center Kendrick Perkins started the first three games in the season before suffering a right pectoral injury that is expected to sideline him for three months.

Gentry has started 12 different players — the since-waived Nate Robinson, Eric Gordon, Dante Cunningham, Davis, Perkins, Holiday, Alexis Ajinca, Luke Babbitt, Ish Smith, Omer Asik, Ryan Anderson and Alonzo Gee — in less than three weeks. Three guards on the roster — Smith, Toney Douglas and Jimmer Fredette — were not with New Orleans in training camp. Making matters worse, all this upheaval has happened while Gentry and his staff have been trying to install completely new offensive and defensive systems. Considering the circumstances, Gentry has been happy with the effort, if not the results. NBA 2k16 MT

“I still think we're going to be a good basketball team, but we can't buy NBA 2K16 MT do it with four of our main players sitting over there in suits,” www.nbamtcoin.com Gentry said.