The Pelicans despatched Daniels to the Atlanta Hawks as a part of a commerce that despatched Dejounte Murray to New Orleans — who fractured his hand in his first sport along with his new staff. Daniels wasn’t shocked.
“That group’s cursed,” Daniels told longtime NBA writer Marc Stein. “Yearly, there’s one thing new. I am pleased I am not there anymore.”
Daniels is flourishing with the Hawks. He leads the NBA by a mile with 73 steals (his closest competitor has 49) and 152 deflections (Second place has 95). He is been wholesome, which wasn’t the case in his two seasons with the Pelicans.
“I had like 4 or 5 ankle accidents down there as effectively,” he informed Stein. “There’s one thing down in that water down there or one thing. They acquired hamstrings. They acquired knees. They acquired concussions and stuff as effectively. They get all the things down there.”
That is been very true this season. New Orleans has had Zion Williamson for less than six video games. He is missed 226 video games in his profession, enjoying in 47 p.c of the Pelicans’ contests. They’ve additionally seen accidents to Murray, Brandon Ingram, All-Defensive ahead Herb Jones, C.J. McCollum, Jose Alvarado and Jordan Hawkins this season, and it is solely early December.
It could possibly be a curse, or it could possibly be the staff’s medical workers. New Orleans replaced the pinnacle of their medical workers earlier than the 2023-24 season and employed a bodily therapist for the primary time. The Pelicans have stored staff physician Misty Suri regardless of the doctor being dismissed by the New Orleans Saints for misdiagnosing an harm. The membership used to share a coaching workers with the Saints, however that modified once they employed staff president David Griffin.
Griffin has spent cash to usher in extremely regarded staffers, to no avail. The staff companions with Oschner Well being, a big native hospital, however none of it’s maintaining gamers off the injured checklist.
Maybe Daniels is right, and his outdated staff doesn’t want extra medical doctors, however he wants a curse-breaker. Whether or not by means of an exorcism, lining the court docket with four-leaf clovers and rabbit’s toes for luck, or a ritualistic burning of certainly one of Williamson’s knee braces, the Pelicans must do one thing to reverse their dangerous harm fortunes. In any other case, their followers will curse each time they learn the harm reviews.
