Three reasons the DeMarcus Cousins-Anthony Davis pairing will work in New Orleans
By John Buhler
1. This trade helps the Pelicans on offense considerably
Besides needing an overall facelift as a basketball franchise, the best thing the Pelicans get out of this trade is much-needed offense at the center position from Cousins. New Orleans has been adamant about playing Davis at power forward. It seems that general manager Dell Demps has had enough of the Omer Asik experiment in the Crescent City.
The Asik/Davis pairing resolved into a conundrum that couldn’t yield the best of both worlds for the Pelicans on the court. Cousins is an outstanding offensive player, arguably the most skilled center on that side of the ball in the NBA. Yes, he leaves a ton to be desired defensively, but how much of that was effort? It’s understandable how difficult it must be to play defense for a poorly run organization like Sacramento.
On both sides of the court, it will now be difficult for the opposition to matchup with New Orleans. Sure, sharp-shooting teams like the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets can drill the Pelicans senselessly from three, but nobody is going to want to deal with Cousins and Davis down low.
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The defense will come, but if spacing issues can be worked out, New Orleans could have the best scoring frontcourt in basketball. Cousins and Davis have more complementary offensive games than people initially realize. Either way, Cousins to the Pelicans is a good thing because it changes the team’s perception and possibly his own as an enigmatic superstar center.