Via The Big Lead
The Urban Dictionary describes 'bittersweet' as when something is good but there is a bad part about it.
January 28th was bittersweet with an extra side of lemon for the New Orleans Pelicans. On the sweet end of the spectrum, the Pelicans managed to win their seventh game out of their last eight outings and move within 3.5 games of the West's third seed. However with eight seconds left and a 114-111 lead over the Houston Rockets, All-Star big man DeMarcus Cousins landed awkwardly on his left achilles; less than half an hour later, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Cousins suffered a torn left achilles and will miss the remainder of the season. One seemingly routine hustle play cost the Pelicans arguably their most important player.
According to Holliger Stats, DeMarcus Cousins is responsible for almost one third of New Orleans' offense and adds an estimated 11 wins to the Pelicans. In a tight Western Conference 11 wins is the difference between the third and ninth seed. 11 wins is the difference between attracting valued free agents and settling for the league's scraps. Those 11 wins have the power to change the dynamic of a franchise and all Pelicans' fans watched those wins disappear as DeMarcus was helped off the court.
Now imagine those wins as 2008 Finals' Paul Pierce. Wheelchair Paul Pierce, to be more specific. Watch the video below for imagination assistance.
Via Youtube/NBA
Much like that legendary Paul Pierce moment, those disappearing wins can make a comeback, contingent on one man--Anthony Davis. Davis is already putting up All-NBA numbers, 26.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, and a career-best 55% field goal perecntage, but in order for the Pelicans to stay in the playoff race Davis will need to pick up Cousins' slack while maintaining the efficiency he's displayed thus far. Cousins' inate ability to create for others, 5.2 assists per game, took the stress of late game playmaking off of Jrue Holiday and played to the strengths of role players like E'Twaun Moore, Darius Miller, and Ian Clark. Despite Davis having his best season assist wise, 2.4 assists a game, he still fails to create even half the scoring oppurtunites Boogie those nightly. Getting his teammates more involved is now just one of many tasks placed on the shoulders of Anthony Davis.
Calls for firing Head Coach Alvin Gentry grow louder with each head-scratching loss to a below .500 team and General Manager Dell Demps hasn't exactly been a fan-favorite since his questionable firing of former Head Coach Monty Williams; so it's safe to say Pelicans' staff is on a pretty short leash. Currently sitting at sixth in the West with a 27-21 record, it seemed as though Demps and staff were adding a little length to their expiring leash, but as Pelicans' fans know far too often injuries can change an entire season. In fact, injuries have been Gentry and Demps' crutch for the past couple of years, but a third consecutive year without a playoff appearance could spell the end of the Pelicans' current staff regardless of circumstance. Anthony Davis is too bright of a star not to play past April for a third year in a row. The question is just how much more can Gentry even get out of Davis.
In the 2014-2015 season 21 year-old Anthony Davis finished fifth in MVP voting, while leading the Pelicans to an eighth seed playoff appearance and was declared the second best player in the NBA and the clear successor to LeBron James' throne. Three years later, Davis is averaging more points(26.5 to 24.4) on more efficient shooting(55% to 53%) and added an entirely new element to his game, shooting 35% from three compared to his 8% conversion rate in 2014-2015. Despite clear improvements both from a personal and organizational perspective, Davis' name hasn't even reached the starting point of the MVP race. In a year with no clear leader, Davis' omission from the race is blaring yet understandable, as he's been playing alongside arguably the best big in the NBA, excluding himself, so his value has been hard to gauge. The injury to his parter-in-crime DeMarcus Cousins puts a heavier burden on Davis' back, but it also gives him the chance to show the world just how much he can carry as he attempts to save the season and ultimately the franchise.