The New Orleans Pelicans’ high hopes for 2017-18 took a big step back on Jan. 26. That night, the Pelicans took down the Houston Rockets in a thrilling game, but also watched as All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins was lost for the season to a torn left Achilles tendon.
As it was for the Pelicans in the days before Cousins arrived, the burden was solely now on their other All-Star — forward Anthony Davis. The Pelicans struggled without Cousins, losing four of their first seven games without him. Since then, though, Davis has picked up his game and has New Orleans back on track.
He logged 42 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks in last night’s romp vs. the Los Angeles Lakers. Davis is averaging 41.3 ppg, 14 rpg, 3.3 spg and 2.3 bpg over his last three games, all of which have been wins by the Pelicans. William Guillory of The Times-Picayune reports a talk Davis had with Cousins sparked his revival:
“I was trying to kind of do what DeMarcus did — getting a lot of guys involved. I was playing indecisive a lot. I was thinking too much,” Davis said. “Actually (Cousins) called me and said, ‘What are you doing? … Man, you just need to go out there and be you.’ … (The team) just needs me to take over. ”
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It looked like the Pelicans’ postseason hopes were fading away after Cousins went down, but Davis’ recent surge has given the team a glimmer of hope as it prepares for the final stretch of the regular season.
“I’ve played with a lot of great guys — guys that can score 20 or 30 — but Anthony is a different level,” said Pelicans forward Nikola Mirotic, who had 16 points and seven rebounds. “The way he shot, the way he plays, it’s just amazing. There’s no way that you can guard him because he can do everything.”
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“As long as we can keep in it a situation where we’re not asking him to force shots … we did it all within our offense,” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said of Davis’ night. “If they’re going to play him (one-on-one), he’s going to get 40 points. For us, we have to try to take what’s available.”
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