When DeMarcus Cousins ruptured his Achilles tendon in a late January matchup against the Houston Rockets, the New Orleans Pelicans had a bleak outlook. Obviously, they already have a generational talent in Anthony Davis, but rostering Cousins alongside him gave the team a threat no one else in the league could compare to.
Anthony Davis was and remains aware of just how special he and Cousins had the potential to be this season. Over All-Star weekend, Davis told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols that the Pels would be in title contention had Boogie not gone down, adding that point guard Rajon Rondo felt the same way.
“We could have gone through the playoffs. No one could really stop us as bigs. We go to the Finals if we went,” Davis told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols.
“[Teammate Rajon Rondo] reminds us of it: ‘You guys are the two best bigs. I know what it takes to win championships; we got it.'”
New Orleans currently occupies the eighth and final playoff seed in a deep Western Conference but the rest of the way will be anything but easy. Not only are they without Cousins, but they also have the sixth toughest schedule after the All-Star break.
To overcome these shortcomings, Davis says he’s trying to adopt a new unrelenting mindset, similar to that of ferocious OKC Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook:
“When he goes down, it’s, all right, it goes back to AD before DeMarcus, a lot of minutes, weight of the world on your shoulders,” Davis said. “You know, you gotta carry the team on your back, you gotta almost get 40 every night for us — to give us a chance to win.”
You kind of have that Russell Westbrook mentality when [Kevin Durant] went out,” Davis said. “Russ just went out there and played, and he shot 40 shots sometimes, you know, whatever it takes to help your team win, and I’m kind of taking that approach.
With 25 games remaining, this take-no-prisoners mentality Anthony Davis is working towards could be what the Pelicans need to sneak back into the playoffs after missing out last year.
