TORONTO – For a second straight game, the New Orleans Pelicans will be playing without their starting power forward and point guard. Anthony Davis (sprained left toe) and Jrue Holiday (right ankle inflammation) have been ruled out of Sunday’s interconference matchup against the Toronto Raptors, both players’ third overall DNP of the 2014-15 regular season.
Monty Williams said Davis has “a lot better chance of playing tomorrow (at New York), rather than risk a longer injury. He had a good workout today, but he still had some soreness. We feel like the best way to go about it is to reevaluate today and give him the best chance of playing tomorrow.”
Davis and Holiday were both listed as questionable. The Pelicans are 0-2 without Davis, but one of the defeats was an overtime loss to league-leading Golden State. They’re 1-1 since Holiday was sidelined, including Wednesday’s win at Detroit and Friday’s loss in Philadelphia. Davis also missed the defeat to the 76ers.
Williams on the impact of not having Davis and Holiday: “They’re both two-way players, so you take those guys away, it’s pretty much 40 percent of your production on the floor. So we have to make up for that with tough, hard-nosed play. We’ve got to play hard every possession. We have to know the scouting report, know personnel. We’ve got to stay together no matter what happens out there.”