Anthony Davis has only sniffed the postseason once during his NBA career. The New Orleans Pelicans franchise player helped lead his team to the playoffs as a #8 seed during the 2014-15 season. The Pelicans eked out the Oklahoma City Thunder for the final playoff spot after both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook missed significant time with injuries.
Davis fielded career high averages in points (24.4), blocks (2.9), steals (1.5), assists (2.2) and minutes (36.1), as well as field goal (.535) and free throw (.805) percentages. If he wants to make it back to the postseason, he may have to best all those numbers once again.
Once thing is certain, if the Pelicans don’t make the playoffs this season, don’t blame Davis. Maybe it was the Halloween spirit, but the All-Star big man came out in the opening week looking a lot like Wilt Chamberlain.
Through four games, Davis has put up NBA 2K numbers with averages of 37 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2.5 assists per game. Those numbers include a 50-point outburst in the season opener versus the Denver Nuggets and a 45-point follow up in the second game against the Golden State Warriors.
Davis is dominating in nearly every imaginable way. He is incredible with his back to the basket, his mid-range jumper is dangerous, he’s a beast on the boards, a stopper on the defensive end and plays with a relentlessness and hunger that’s impossible to miss.
A perfect example was late in the game versus the Warriors when he drove to the basket only to have his shot blocked by Durant. However, by the time Durant landed, Davis had jumped back in the air, grabbed the rebound, laid it in the basket and picked up the foul. And 1.
The sad part though is that despite his heroic efforts, the Pelicans have come up short in every game and the team’s record stands at 0-4.
Following his outstanding game against the Nuggets, Davis told reporters, “I’m gonna have to … probably not [get] 50 every night, but try to get somewhere along those lines every game to give ourselves a chance to win.”
Realistically, ‘50’ isn’t the most-important thing the Pelicans need from Davis. It’s the ‘every night’ part that the team will need most. Davis has yet to play more than 68 games in a season during his brief career. He will have to surpass his average of 65 games in order to lift the Pelicans from the abyss.
Davis’ absence isn’t the only one. Oft-injured small forward Tyreke Evans is likely in street clothes until mid-December and former All-Star Jrue Holiday is sidelined indefinitely while he cares for his wife, who recently had brain surgery, and newborn child.
Though Halloween has passed, Davis will need to keep up his Chamberlain impersonation if he wants to keep the Pelicans playoff hopes from wilting.
Russ Unchained
When Durant left OKC for greener pastures, everybody around the league began preparing for the Russell Westbrook revenge tour. Westbrook was already one of the most feared players in the league with Durant by his side. What type of monster would he turn into without another player gobbling up more than 19 shots per game?
Now we know.
Westbrook has gotten out of the gates like a madman. Through three games, Westbrook is averaging 38.7 points, 11.7 assists and 12.3 rebounds per game. That includes dropping 51 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists versus the Phoenix Suns.
While three games is a short sample size, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that Westbrook can indeed be the first player to average a triple-double for an entire season.
Last year, Westbrook averaged a double-double with 23.5 points and 10.4 assists per game. His rebounding was at 7.8 per game. With Durant (8.2 rpg) and Serge Ibaka (6.8 rpg) gone, there will be plenty of opportunities for Westbrook to make up those extra 2.2 boards to reach double digits each night.
The bigger question will be whether Westbrook can keep his assist totals high without a reliable second scoring option. Victor Oladipo and Steven Adams are solid players, but are nowhere near Durant’s league in terms of scoring reliability.
The rumor mill has linked Sacramento Kings small forward Rudy Gay to a potential move to OKC for quite a while. If the Thunder acquire Gay, you can bank on Westbrook accomplishing the first triple-double season since Oscar Robertson did it in the 1961-62 season.
Even should Westbrook’s season be one of the ages, his team still could struggle to reach the postseason. Sure, the Thunder are off to a 3-0 start, but the team has defeated the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers – not exactly a murderer’s row.
NBA awards go from ashy to classy
After decades of announcing its annual awards winners in leaks and press releases, the NBA will step follow the lead of the NHL and NFL with an actual awards show.
The NBA announced it will televise the NBA Awards Show in New York on June 26 on TNT. On the telecast, the league will announce the winners of the MVP, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man Award, Most Improved Player and Coach of the Year.
Some believe the move will clutter up the NBA’s offseason, though I disagree. It will be nice to see highlights and excitement from the players as the winners are announced. Watching clips from the Grammys, Emmys, Oscars, etc. have gotten old. However, watching vicious dunks, crazy crossovers or clutch three-pointers never gets old for true sports fans. Big ups to the NBA for making the change.
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