Halo

There may be light at the end of a tunnel that included arthroscopic knee surgery in May and a strained hamstring in September.

All indications are that Tyreke Evans will be the New Orleans Pelicans' starting small forward for the 2014-15 season—a noteworthy promotion after starting just 22 games a season ago, mostly on account of Eric Gordon's knee injury in March.

The numbers were on Evans' side, and now head coach Monty Williams seems to be as well.

"Tyreke right now in my head, that's where he is going to play [at small forward]," Williams told reporters this month. "Playing Tyreke at the three for 30 or 35 minutes doesn't benefit him to go down there and bang with 6'8" or 6'9" guys who can go down there and post him up. Conversely those guys have to guard him in transition and in pick and roll."

Williams added that he's looking to settle on a backup at the position, with Darius Miller, Luke Babbitt and John Salmons all candidates to win minutes.

But Evans really won this starting job last season when he raised his average to 19.9 points and 6.3 assists as a starter, compared to 12.1 points and 4.5 assists coming off the bench. Even more impressively, he made 49.6 percent of his field-goal attempts when starting and just 40 percent as a reserve.

The lesson was: Get Evans into a rhythm early, and give him big minutes.



He'll do the rest.

Early into his breakout in March, Evans openly attributed the difference to his opportunities as a starter. Evans told reporters at the time:

I'm just playing my game, not thinking. I'm definitely more confident. I'm attacking, getting to the line and finding guys. When I get a rebound, I just go.

I just know how to do those things better when I am starting. I've been starting my whole career and I know how to control getting baskets and finding open teammates better. I'm comfortable with that position and I can say that for sure.

Though Evans was almost exclusively a starter through his first four seasons with the Sacramento Kings, the Pelicans viewed him as a dynamic sixth man in a backcourt that also includes point guard Jrue Holiday and shooting guard Eric Gordon.

At 6'6", the 25-year-old doesn't have ideal size for the 3 spot, but he's strong and athletic enough to hold his own at the position. Indeed, Evans' versatility has historically led to mixed opinions about how best to deploy him. He played both guard positions and small forward while in Sacramento.

It's been a career defined by a revolving door of head coaches and differing roles. If Evans finds some continuity and stability under Williams, his best years may be ahead of him.



This is certainly a start, a chance for Evans to find his comfort zone.

"For me [last season] was a little different because I started my whole career," Evans told reporters in September. "When you start the game you get a rhythm earlier, get the feel for how you are going to come out. It was new to me [coming off the bench] and I got better and better as the year went on."

It's not that Evans is complaining. He's been a team player on this issue.

Some guys just don't have the psychological makeup to become the next Manu Ginobili or Jamal Crawford, sixth men who pick their spots and lead their respective second units. Evans feels more natural in the starting lineup, at least for now.

And for now, New Orleans is better off putting Evans in a position to succeed—especially if it has any hope of making the playoffs for the first time since 2011 in an ever-crowded Western Conference.

The five-year veteran is a skilled slasher with a knack for making plays. His drive-and-kick should mesh nicely alongside Holiday's and Gordon's strong perimeter games. Assuming everyone remains healthy, there's a lot to like about this lineup.



It's also hard not to get excited about Evans and Anthony Davis running the open floor together.

Things could get particularly interesting if Evans expands his game to include a more reliable outside shot. After making a career-high 33.8 percent of his three-point attempts in 2012-13, that mark fell to just 22.1 percent last season.

"It's looking good," Evans told reporters of his shot in September. "[Assistant coach] Freddy [Vinson] has been working every day with me. I'm happy to work with him. He's a good shooter. He's taught me a lot of techniques. I got to keep working and bring the work we have been doing into the games."

As The Times-Picayune's Nakia Hogan added, "An improved outside shot would make Evans more viable as a potential starter."

Indeed, the added floor spacing could yield dividends for an offensive that ranked 16th with a 53.7 true shooting percentage last season, per Hollinger Stats.

New Orleans doesn't need Evans to become the next Ray Allen. It just needs some consistency, a threat of long-distance effectiveness to keep defenders honest. It may be more of an evolution than immediate transformation, but the point remains: Evans is working hard and—hopefully—making progress.

The organization acquired him via a sign-and-trade arrangement in 2013 that pays Evans $44 million over the course of four seasons, banking on a belief the former Rookie of the Year could rejuvenate a career that had steadily declined from its early heights in Sacramento.



The Memphis product was selected by the Kings with the No. 4 overall pick in 2009, but the franchise ultimately determined its resources were better spent elsewhere. That created an opportunity for New Orleans to enhance a young core that seems destined for bigger and better things—eventually, anyway.

At the moment, the Pelicans are still on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, coming off a season in which injuries frustrated best-laid plans.

It's only fitting that a new beginning coincide with a new starter.

Especially when he's almost certainly the right starter.

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