Bucks at Pelicans
Anthony Davis is one of the best players in the NBA but might not get a chance to show off his skills in the postseason again if the New Orleans Pelicans can't get healthy and find their way into the win column. The Pelicans will try to end a three-game slide to start the season when they host the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.
Davis had a 50-point, 16-rebound effort in the opener squandered in a 107-102 loss to the Denver Nuggets and went for 45 and 17 the following game only to fall to the Golden State Warriors. The former No. 1 overall pick finally appeared to stumble with the defense focused on him and the rest of his teammates unable to make the opposition pay in a 98-79 setback at San Antonio on Saturday. The Bucks feature several exciting young players as well but are enduring a similar struggle to find the win column with losses in two of three and could not stop the opposing big man in Sunday's 98-83 setback at Detroit. Pistons center Andre Drummond dominated with 20 points and 23 rebounds and Milwaukee, which often spreads the floor with four perimeter players, could not make up for the disadvantage on the glass with its shooting.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FSN New Orleans
ABOUT THE BUCKS (1-2): Milwaukee handed the offense to Giannis Antetokounmpo after the All-Star break last season, and the 6-11 point forward continues to make that look like a strong decision. Antetokounmpo was the lone bright spot in Sunday's loss with 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and is averaging 23 points, 9.3 boards and 5.3 assists in the first three games. “We’re looking for that one guy who can play together," Bucks coach Jason Kidd told reporters. "(Giannis is) someone that they can trust to offensively, not just take a shot but to create a shot for us. It’s only been our third game and we’ve got Giannis and other guys that can do that. We’ll see them turn the page for the positive."
ABOUT THE PELICANS (0-3): Every other team in the league would have trouble playing the Warriors and Spurs in back-to-back games as well, but New Orleans was at least hoping to establish a second player to take some of the pressure off Davis in the two contests. The Pelicans' best weapons aside from Davis in the first three games were guards Tim Frazier and E'Twuan Moore, both of whom are just keeping starting spots warm until Jrue Holiday (wife's health) and Tyreke Evans (knee) find their way back into the lineup. New Orleans is shooting 19 percent from 3-point range as a team, with only Frazier (37.5 percent) shooting better than 25 percent individually from beyond the arc.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Bucks G Jason Terry (personal) missed the last two games and is questionable for Tuesday.
2. Pelicans starting C Omer Asik is averaging 1.3 points and 3.7 rebounds.
3. Milwaukee snapped a six-game losing streak in the series with a 103-92 home win in the last meeting on March 12.