Pelicans drop pre-season opener despite strong performance from Anthony Davis & DeMarcus Cousins
On paper, a roster housing DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis sounds formidable. Unfortunately for the New Orleans Pelicans the game of basketball is played on a court and not on paper.
Yes, the dynamic duo of Cousins and Davis dropped 44 points, 20 rebounds and eight assists against the Chicago Bulls in their preseason home opener, but they also lost the game 113-109 to a team full of fringe NBA talent.
Here’s what I’m saying. The two players individually are superstars, there is no doubt about that. However, working in tandem the two have absolutely no chance to sniff a championship trophy.
In an era when the NBA is going smaller, it’s not just counterintuitive to trot out a lineup featuring two big men who need the ball, it’s foolish.
DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis can score from a variety of spots on the court, pass the ball, and play though the post or facing up. So why isn’t this seemingly interchangeable combination of skill sets overpowering their opponents on a nightly basis?
First off, no matter how many points they put up and assists they dish out, they simply take too many touches away from their facilitator. Taking away touches from their floor general would be fine if they were Draymond Green and had the ability to set players up and run the offense in absence of a guard, but they can’t.
Secondly, while they are more than capable of spacing the floor for one another, both Boogie and The Brow prefer to operate deep in the post. It’s not that I don’t believe they want to work together, I just think they feel so safe being close to the basket that they instinctively gravitate towards the hoop when they don’t have the ball in their hands.
These two issues are major problems for the team if they ever hope to compete in the modern NBA.
As long as Cousins and Davis encroach on each other’s space and fail to spread the floor with their serviceable long distance shooting, what was supposed to be the NBA’s worst nightmare will always be the opposing team’s fairy tale ending.
