Halo

The Anthony Davis Breakout Tour continues, this time with a dominant start to the 2014-15 campaign that's already eliciting MVP chants in New Orleans.

"It's crazy because I watched when I was younger. I watched LeBron [James], Kobe [Bryant], [Kevin Durant], all them guys, and you could hear through the TV the chanting," Davis told reporters after Tuesday night's 100-91 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. "And then you're actually at the line, they're cheering for me."

But while Davis has been transcendent through his first four contests, he's had some help—and a unique brand of help at that. Swingman Tyreke Evans has responded to a full-time starting job by picking up where he left off a season ago: returning to the Rookie of the Year form that once made the Memphis product such an intriguing up-and-coming talent.

So far, the 25-year-old is averaging 17.8 points, nine rebounds and six assists in 35.3 minutes per game. While his overall field-goal percentage (.391) would make for a career low, the 46.7 percent of three-pointers he's made puts him on pace for a long-range display for which there's really no precedent in Evans' career.

Just 15 long-range attempts into the new season, Evans is in fine form. It could be the latest addition to a skill set that's already one of the league's most diverse.

"We shoot everyday after practice," Evans told reporters this week. "Hard work pays off. It's definitely showing. I'm knocking them down, just doing the same things I'm doing in practice.

"I'm not really [surprised]. It's just me getting my confidence, knowing that when I shoot, I'm shooting with confidence. If I miss, I miss. Once I miss one, I can't stop shooting. ... And coach has been telling me to shoot, and that's what I've been doing."



Things really started coming together in March as injuries to Jrue Holiday and Eric Gordon piled up and created an opportunity for Evans to expand his role beyond the sixth-man duties he initially inherited with the Pelicans. Evans averaged 20.4 points, 6.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds per contest in March—a marked improvement over otherwise modest production earlier in 2013-14.

Evans even dropped 41 points headlining a 101-89 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in April.

With injuries and role changes having derailed his early ascendance with the Sacramento Kings, it appears that Evans has reached a turning point in New Orleans.

The data from this season remains limited, but it's become abundantly clear Evans belongs in the starting lineup.

"It was just a tough period coming off the bench [last season]," Evans told reporters in October. "I wasn't used to it, and I was just trying to adapt to that. But I found a way. My people told me to keep working hard and never give up."

The tenacity has paid off. Though Evans doesn't have a prototypical small forward build at 6'6", he's emerged as head coach Monty Williams' best option on the wing. His athleticism and rebounding ability make it possible to keep him on the floor alongside two smaller guards.

"Tyreke gives you the ability to play a little bit smaller and quicker," Williams told media in October. "I don't think he's a small forward, but he may be able to play in that position to play against small forwards.

"I just think he's a really good player. Obviously, we'll try to figure out ways to get him on the floor as much as we can."

Evans returned from a strained hamstring midway through October, but you wouldn't know it from his promising start. He's filling up the stat sheet, looking more and more like the kind of dynamic sidekick who could elevate this team to the playoff conversation in a perpetually competitive Western Conference.

After his third game this season—a 93-81 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies—one NOLA scribe took notice.

"Next to Anthony Davis, Evans could be the most important offensive player on this team," posited The Times-Picayune's Jimmy Smith.

His 17.3 field-goal attempts per game this season support that conclusion.



So does his ability to pass the ball.

His 23.1 assist ratio last season ranked 10th among shooting guards according to Hollinger Stats, narrowly trailing dynamic swingmen like Manu Ginobili and Lance Stephenson. And while Evans' career mark sits at 4.9 assists per game, his highest season average was 5.8 per game (in his rookie 2009-10 campaign).

Evans has made a living of getting into the lane, collapsing the defense and kicking to open shooters. His playmaking penchant takes some of the pressure off point guard Jrue Holiday and assures the Pelicans another weapon who can create off the dribble.

More than Holiday or shooting guard Eric Gordon, Evans was born to slash his way to the basket and attack the paint. For his career, he averages 4.8 free-throw attempts per game—a sometimes forgotten perk that's compensated in part for a subpar three-point shot.

If that perimeter games does come along, there's nothing stopping Evans from scoring 20 on a consistent basis.

Like Davis, however, his contributions aren't limited to the offensive end.



Though he's only tallied three steals and a block through his first four contests, Evans has been defensively sound even when presented with larger forwards on the other team. Four games isn't much of a sample size, but New Orleans has only given up 93.3 points per 100 possession during the 141 minutes Evans has been on the floor, according to NBA.com.

That's significantly better than the 115 points per 100 possessions the Pelicans have yielded in the 51 minutes Evans has been on the bench.

"There were no glaring defensive mistakes from Evans," The Times-Picayune's Nakia Hogan wrote after the Pelicans' season opener. "And the 6-foot-6, 220-pound swingman never appeared overwhelmed, as he helped the Pelicans beat the Orlando Magic 101-84 Tuesday night at the Smoothie King Center."

Hogan notes that Evans initially held his own when matched up against 6'9" forward Tobias Harris, an encouraging sign for this whole small forward experiment.

"He played pretty good defense," teammate Omer Asik told reporters after the game. "He actually helped us on rebounds, too. He had nine rebounds."

Size notwithstanding, Evans has a nose for the ball.

It's one of the things that make him an especially well-rounded asset. Evans has the kind of motor and fearlessness that make him relevant in the painted area. He plays beyond his stature.

Part point guard. Part scorer. Part big man. All packaged in the body of a shooting guard.

It's still the Anthony Davis show in New Orleans, but Evans should be the very next name rolling through the credits.

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