NBA games of the week: All-Star Starters

Friday, Jan. 26: Houston at New Orleans, 8:00 p.m. ET

All-Star starters: James Harden, Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins

Feels like forever ago when people were wondering if the Chris Paul-James Harden thing was going to work, huh?

A healthy Rockets team may be the most intriguing in the league. Would they beat the Warriors in seven games in the Conference Finals? What if the Rockets catch the Warriors and have homecourt? I’d still lean Warriors, because they’re the best team I’ve ever seen play, but the Rockets are definitely their best competition in the league.

If he can stay healthy, Harden is now the clear frontrunner for league MVP. With the Cavs faltering, and LeBron’s insistence on saving himself for the postseason, there’s nothing stopping Harden from finally landing that vaunted MVP.

Cousins and Davis continue to be the dominant forces for the Pelicans. They’ll remain that way, and Jrue Holiday becoming the third player in that lineup who can get his own shot is huge for lifting some of the burden off New Orleans’ bigs. But their depth is still a serious issue.

Cousins and Davis have led the Pellies to the sixth best offense in the league, though their defense is still in the bottom 10. Davis is a freak and only continues to get better. He’s the fourth-leading scorer in the league and averaging career highs in field-goal percentage and assists. It’s such a pleasure to be reminded how good he is. As for Cousins, it’s not a pleasure to be reminded that about three or four times a game, the Pelicans are playing four-on-five while Cousins lazes back on defense. Sometimes there will even be multiple possessions in one sequence with Cousins off-screen.

I’m not sure of the Pelicans’ plan moving forward, but it should be groveling at Davis’ feet in an attempt to woo him to stay patient while they try and figure out how to surround him with more talent.