The New Orleans Pelicans have been at a sort of crossroads for years now, consistently teetering the line as a playoff team. They have made the postseason just once in the past several years, that campaign coming in 2015 when they sneaked in as the 8th seed. Though they roster one of the most promising players in the entire NBA in Anthony Davis, they have failed to find sustained success whether it be due to lack of talent or injury issues.
Now after adding another generational talent mid last season in DeMarcus Cousins, the expectations for the Pelicans are exponentially greater for this upcoming campaign than in the past. Davis knows the only thing that matters is winning and expressed how determined this year’s roster is at bucking the trend of mediocre basketball in the Big Easy. Following from Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate:
“Everybody just wants to win,” he [Davis] said Tuesday. “Of course we have been hit with the injury bug for several years, but we can’t use that as an excuse. I think we are doing everything we can to win, whether that’s signing players, trading players or whatever it is to try to make sure we’re a winning organization. There’s been a couple of years that we didn’t make the playoffs. And when we did make the playoffs (in 2015), it was a great feeling. I just want to help the team get back in the playoff atmosphere, and that’s all it is…”
“Everybody is tired of losing,” Davis said. “We feel we have the tools right now to be successful, and we can still add some pieces, maybe, or sign some guys. But right now I think we look good on paper. We just have to figure it out, but we just want to win. Everybody wants to win.”
There’s no doubt the Pels have the requisite talent to be a solid team but now it remains to be seen whether it can all come together. Their lethal big man combo of Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins should wreak havoc next season after a full offseason under their belts together.
The Pelicans look to have a Rajon Rondo-Jrue Holiday starting backcourt which could compliment the bruising play of their bigs though they would probably like more spacing. Look for the Pelicans to take the court this season with renewed confidence and aim for a playoff berth at the very least.
