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After the All-Star break last year, the New Orleans Pelicans traded for DeMarcus Cousins, one of the best centers in the league. Cousins joined Pelicans franchise star Anthony Davis to form the best frontcourt in the NBA. Together, the Pelicans dominated teams on the interior and brought themselves back to postseason contention. Unfortunately, after suffering a ruptured Achilles, Cousins will miss the rest of this season. This has put some added weight on Davis, who had to compete without his frontcourt buddy.
Nonetheless, Davis has been very optimistic about the outlook of his team. He even went as far as to say that the Pelicans would have made the NBA Finals with Cousins healthy, per ESPN's Rachel Nichols
“We could have gone through the playoffs. No one could really stop us as bigs. We go to the Finals if we went,” Davis told ESPN's Rachel Nichols in an interview over All-Star weekend. “When he goes down, it's, all right, it goes back to AD before DeMarcus, a lot of minutes, weight of the world on your shoulders,” Davis said. “You know, you gotta carry the team on your back, you gotta almost get 40 every night for us — to give us a chance to win.”
Undoubtedly, the Rockets are an excellent team when both of their superstars are clicking. In fact, teams like the Pelicans are keen to slow the game down and dominate the interior, which is a weakness for teams like the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors. Still, it is unlikely that the Pelicans would have made it to the Finals. Right now, Davis has a job to do, and that is leading the Pelicans to the postseason. Hopefully, he can succeed.
