Voodoo priest suggests curse on New Orleans Pelicans

NEW ORLEANS, March 31 (UPI) -- Although teams might be buying into analytics, it could take a while for Voodoo to take hold.

Zaar, also known as Belfazaar Ashantison, recently told the Advocate's Brett Dawson that he believes the 27-47 New Orleans Pelicans are jinxed.

"I do believe, honestly, that they are jinxed, for lack of a better word," the New Orleans voodoo priest told Dawson. "I think there's a negative energy that keeps surrounding them."

Pelicans star Anthony Davis leads a cast of hobbled hoopers now out for the season. Those injured Pelicans include: Quincy Pondexter, Tyreke Evans, Eric Gordon, Bryce Dejean-Jones, Jrue Holiday and Alonzo Gee. Ryan Anderson and Norris Cole are also injured and sitting out.

As Dawson noted, "Pelicans players have missed a combined 267 games to injury and illness and will miss at least 63 more over the team's final nine games."

Ashantison works at Voodoo Authentica in the French Quarter. He told Dawson that he would help the Pelicans if asked.

"The easy way around that is a spiritual cleansing," Ashantison told Dawson. "There's a number of different ones you could do."

Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry recently made the request for assistance.

"I am gonna send out an all-points bulletin to anybody in the French Quarter or anywhere else," Gentry told reporters this week. "We need a voodoo doctor or something here. We've gotta find the bones under this place. We've got to do something, because this is becoming comical."

New Orleans has lost five of its previous seven games.