The New Orleans Pelicans started the season 0-8, and the reason for the slow start was the lack of scoring, playmaking, or much of anything good outside the play of Anthony Davis (who was a beast). New Orleans got its first win Friday night because Tim Frazier put up 15 points and 10 assists at the point, in addition to Davis dropping 32 points.
Which is why this is good news — Jrue Holiday is expected to return to the Pelicans next week, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical of Yahoo Sports.
Jrue Holiday's return to the Pelicans is imminent, league sources tell @TheVertical. He's planning to make his season debut next week.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 11, 2016
There's a chance that Holiday could play at Orlando on Wednesday, sources say, but an expectation that he'll be back by Friday vs. Portland.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 11, 2016
Holiday is going to have to be eased back into condition, but his return is needed — the former All-Star averaged 16.8 points and six assists per game for the Pelicans last season.
Holiday has missed all of camp and the start of the season to be with his family. His wife Lauren Holiday — the former U.S. National Women’s soccer team star who is an Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champ — had a child while diagnosed with a brain tumor. Several weeks after she gave birth to a healthy daughter, she underwent successful surgery to have the benign tumor removed. Jrue had far more important places to be than a basketball court, but everything went well, and now he’s ready to return to work.
The Pelicans went into the season one of those teams where, if everything went right, they could make the playoffs — they were projected in that 46-36 win range where a lot of teams in the West will land. But starting out 0-8 may have dug New Orleans too deep a hole to climb out of.