The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

FOLLOWING two subpar performances at home, Buddy Hield had his most productive game on the road Friday night. However, the Pelicans remain winless on the season.

Hield finished with eight points and five rebounds in just nine minutes, but his Pelicans fell to the San Antonio Spurs 96-78 at the A T & T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

He shot 3-10 from the field, 0-3 from three, but also made the first free throws of his NBA career.

All three of his makes came from the field which were a result of Hield capitalising on fast break opportunities with dunks and layups.

The Pelicans have struggled shooting as a team and Hield has also experienced setbacks of his own.

Through three games he is playing 18 minutes per contest with 4.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

He’s shooting just 25 per cent from the field (6-24) and remains 0-8 from three -point range.

Despite the early struggles, Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry told the media and fans to remain patient.

“He’s got to figure it out. He’s got to get his way through this and he will. He’s a hell of a player. There are a lot of guys that go through it. It’ s just a matter of him finding a comfort level and knowing where he belongs. The only way he’s going to do that is for him to be on the floor. We’re going to play him minutes and we’ll continue to play him minutes and try to put him in a situation where he’ll have some success.

Gentry said Hield and the remainder of the supporting cast need to improve that shooting to complement the play of All-Star forward Anthony Davis who has opened the season posting historic numbers.

“We need guys making shots, obviously if teams are going to send 2-3 guys at him we need to have some guys step up. We just have to get more from some other guys. We just have to get over the hump, we’re there playing hard but I don’t believe in the moral victory thing, we have to get real victories,” Gentry said. “We have to continue to work, we’ve played three games, we got 79 left, contrary to what everyone believes our season is not over.”

Davis said the team will have to focus on the defensive end as Hield and the remainder of the wing players look to find their shots.

“It is [getting tougher], because at some point, you’ve got to start knocking them down,” Davis said. “When you’re not shooting the ball well, you’ve got to find another way to win. It’s not just one guy, it’s a couple guys -- Buddy, Solomon, Langston. We’ve got to just find ways to have them make shots. I think once they do that, their confidence will get back and they’ll start playing really well. But, until then, we’ve got to do it on the defensive end.”

At 0-3, the Pelicans are off to a slow start for the second consecutive season after an 0-6 start last year. New Orleans will return home to face the Milwaukee Bucks in their next game, 8:30pm Tuesday at the Smoothie King Center.