Through the first several games of the 2017-18 season, All-Star big man DeMarcus Cousins has been off to a stellar start.

All of this came to a head during Saturday's convincing 123-101 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers where Cousins posted a triple-double with 29 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. Following the game, his teammate All-Star forward Anthony Davis stated that he believes the 27-year-old is playing with a totally different mentality, according to William Guillory of NOLA.com.

“He's had a different mindset. He wants to win,” Davis said. “He wants to get a taste of that playoffs and he's doing whatever he has to do to make sure that happens. He's been playing extremely well. To follow up a game like (he had against) Sacramento with a triple-double is unheard of, especially for a big. I'm happy he's on our team.”

This progressive change in Cousins has led to him playing some of the best basketball of his career as he's averaging 32.3 points with 13.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 2.3 blocks per game. This includes notching more than 20 points in each of the first six games while recording a double-double in every contest.

Cousins has taken his game another level and has found a way to co-exist alongside Davis while helping uplift the production and effectiveness of his teammates such as Jrue Holiday and E'Twaun Moore. This aspect could prove to be vital when it comes to facing some of the top tier teams this season.

Above all else, it is quite clear that Cousins is beyond motivated to finally break through into the playoffs for the first time in his career and could have a prime opportunity to do so in New Orleans.