The New Orleans Pelicans play their fifth preseason game on Tuesday against the Atlanta Hawks, and it will give head coach Alvin Gentry another chance to evaluate who should start at center between Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinca. There is a chance the pair will split the role though out the season.
"I think it's always good, and both of those guys are going to play," Gentry tells The Times-Picayune. "There's going to be situations where one plays a lot one night, and then the next night, the other may play more minutes --depending on the type of team we're playing and what we're looking [for]."
Asik played poorly in 2015-16 after signing a five-year, $58 million so this offseason he spent a lot time working to improve his game.
"My whole focus this summer was to get better," Asik said. "I'm much better on defense than last year so that's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to help on offense, too, in setting picks and help making guys get open and get offensive rebounds."
Through four preseason games, Asik is averaging 6.5 points and 7.5 rebounds, while Ajinca has put up 6.7 points and 5.3 rebounds.
-- Nick Silva
