PHILADELPHIA – Based on injuries and other player unavailability, New Orleans (9-20) has rarely been able to stick with one starting five for an extended period, using 14 different combinations over the first 29 games of 2016-17. However, due to the return of Solomon Hill – he was away from the team this weekend to be there for the birth of his first child in New Orleans – tonight the Pelicans will be able to go back to a quintet that enjoyed some success in a brief sample.
Tuesday’s first-string fivesome of Hill, Jrue Holiday, Buddy Hield, Anthony Davis and Alexis Ajinca went 2-1 over a Dec.