Pelicans shut down Anthony Davis for season

The New Orleans Pelicans have opted to shut down franchise player Anthony Davis for the rest of the season in the wake of a knee injury suffered in Friday's loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Coach Alvin Gentry broke the news Sunday, prior to the Pelicans' contest against the Los Angeles Clippers. Gentry added that Davis has been dealing with an ongoing shoulder injury.

"He's done for the year," Gentry said, according to Pelicans.com's Jim Eichenhofer. "It's unfortunate, but he's got an issue with his shoulder that he's played with the whole season."

Davis will finish the season - a lost one and without a playoff appearance for the Pelicans - having played 61 games. He has never played more than 68 in his four-year NBA career.

"It's amazing when people talk about him being soft or whatever," Gentry said. "They don't understand that he's played through a situation with his shoulder the entire season."

The shutdown of Davis provides the penultimate coffin nail in a tremendously disappointing season for New Orleans, which began with Gentry taking the reins and hopes of the team taking the next step from a 45-37 record in 2014-15. The team was ravaged by injuries almost from the start, something highlighted by the fact that seven Pelicans were listed inactive for Sunday's game.

Small forward Ryan Anderson was ruled out against the Clippers due to a groin injury. Going into the contest the Pelicans were 25-43 on the season, 8 1/2 games out of the Western Conference's final playoff spot.

While Davis reached his third All-Star Game this year, his numbers dipped slightly from an MVP-caliber 2014-15. He finishes the season with averages of 24.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. However, his field-goal percentage dropped under 50 percent for the first time in his career, and PER dropped from a league-leading 30.8 a year ago to 25.2 this season.