Evans playing for Pelicans on Monday, Holiday to sit

The New Orleans Pelicans won't be back to full strength as they try to steal a game at the far-too-loud Oracle Arena on Monday, after all.

Both Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans were game-time decisions just 90 minutes before tip-off, with both guards undergoing treatment before a decision was made either way.

As it turns out, Holiday will sit but Evans has been given the green light to play.

Holiday played 21 minutes in Game 1, just his fourth game back after missing three months due to a stress reaction in his lower right leg, scoring five points with five assists. He was listed as questionable earlier in the day due to lingering soreness, and his absence isn't all that surprising.

Evans, meanwhile, suffered a bone bruise on his left knee during Game 1, an injury that limited him to 12 minutes of action. He, too, was listed as questionable, and context clues suggested he may miss the game.

Missing both would have left the Pelicans woefully thin at the point and short on non-Norris Cole options to try to slow Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. They may have gotten used to life without Holiday during his absence, but Evans became the de facto point guard in his stead, and it's unclear what the Pelicans' offense would look like without either player.

New Orleans made a late Game 1 comeback with Cole at the helm, cutting a 15-point lead down to seven over the game's final six minutes, but they surely would have preferred to at least have Evans available, and they will Monday. He's their best ball-handler and creates a ton of points on drives, both for himself and for teammates, so he'll at least make the Warriors' stout defense work.

Evans averaged 16.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.3 steals while playing in 79 games during the regular season.

Holiday appeared in 40 games, averaging 14.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.6 steals and would have been a nice defensive weapon to have off of the bench.