New Orleans Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans was announced today that he underwent a successful arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
However, according to NBA, the team has yet to announce a timetable for his return. Evans, a 6'6 foot, 220 pound guard appeared in 79 regular season games for the New Orleans last season. The former NBA rookie of the year averaged 16.6 points, 6.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game and has appeared in two contests this preseason. During this year's preseason, he averaged 17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
As reported by Fansided, Evans played a big role for the team's offense last season alongside franchise players Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday. As the young team made a big push toward making the postseason, they got eliminated in the first round by the eventual champs Golden State Warriors.
For fans of the team and Evans, it's tough news hearing about the player's surgery because he's just coming off of a season where he garnered career highs on all of the important statistical categories.
Under the new head coach Alvin Gentry, the Pelicans' offense is expected to get faster and more exciting, while running through superstar Anthony Davis. However, not having Evans around to help make things easier for Holiday and Davis will certainly make it tougher for the team to adjust early on.
The Western Conference is arguably a tough crowd and every win is considered important. The competitiveness is so high that even if you have a winning standing during the season, making it in the playoffs is not a guarantee.
But the good news is, although a timetable has yet to be laid out, the surgery was not too serious so the Pelicans might have Evans sooner rather than later. As for the injury, apart from the soreness, there appears to be nothing too serious going around the knee.
Sports site Heavy even reiterated the sentiment and said that arthroscopic surgery is pretty minor; however, Evans is still expected to miss at least the start of the season which begins in a week. It also does not help that Jrue Holiday is also on a 15-minute-per-game restriction and Norris Cole out for the start of the season with a high ankle sprain.
Luckily, star forward Anthony Davis still have Nate Robinson to count on in the back court. This will serve as a big year for the Pelicans as they aim to have a deeper playoff run and eventually win the prized Larry O' Brien Trophy.
