The New Orleans Pelicans are headed to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in over a decade after sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers. It had also marked the first time that star big man Anthony Davis earned his first postseason win and series win.

It has also brought forth a huge amount of optimism about what could lie ahead of the Pelicans in the playoffs with a convincing performance against the Blazers. Following the Game 4 win, Davis stated that he wants the team's success in this year's postseason to give much reason to believe that the franchise is building something special in New Orleans.

The manner in which the Pelicans played in the four games in the first round demonstrated the potential that the team has to go much further than just the Western Conference semifinals. Davis led the way averaging a double-double with 33.0 points and 12.0 rebounds along with 2.8 blocks per contest.

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Portland simply had no answer for stopping the All-Star big man as he scored more than 20 points in each contest while setting a franchise record with 47 points in the Game 4 win. Davis is a matchup nightmare for just about every team in the league due to his ability to make a tremendous impact on the game on both ends of the floor.

His play combined with the cast of talent around him in Jrue Holiday, Rajon Rondo, and Nikola Mirotic has seemingly made the Pelicans a possible title contending team. What has also been impressive about the team's play is that they have been able to play at a high level without the services of All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins due to a torn Achilles tendon.

New Orleans looks to have finally found the right core group of players that could help take the franchise to a high amount of success that Davis has long been eyeing.