New Orleans Pelicans teammates Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday find themselves in an interesting conundrum. When they're both on the floor together, the Pelicans are outscoring teams by a wide margin. However, when they are not playing alongside one another, the team's offensive production takes a serious hit.
Per The Ringer‘s Kevin O'Connor:
The Pelicans have outscored teams by 12.8 points per 100 possessions when Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday have shared the floor over 840 minutes, which is about same as a high-60s-win team. But when just one of Davis or Holiday, or neither, is in the game, the team has been outscored by 12.8 points per 100 possessions over 648 minutes, which is like a high-60s-loss team.
Davis, now 25 years of age, is enjoying one of the finest seasons of his career in the NBA. In his 27 appearances with the Pelicans this season (all starts), the former Kentucky Wildcat has posted averages of 28.0 points on 50.3 percent shooting from the field (32.4 percent from beyond the arc), 12.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.8 blocks and 1.7 steals in 37.0 minutes per outing.
Like Davis, Holiday is currently posting some of the best marks of his career. In 31 games played this season (all starts), the former UCLA standout has racked up averages of 20.5 points on 47.2 percent shooting from the field (30.5 percent from downtown), 8.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 36.7 minutes per contest.
What does this mean for New Orleans, you ask? It means the team will need some help from their reserve players going forward, as it will be tough for Davis and Holiday to carry such a load into the postseason. Other options could be found on the trade market, should they choose to take that route.
The Pelicans (15-16 and 5th in the Southwest Division standings) will be back in action on Wednesday night, as they're scheduled to face the Milwaukee Bucks. Tip-off inside the Fiserv Forum is set for 8:00 p.m. EST.
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