Pelica Debrief
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New Orleans Pelicans: MVP Odds undervalue Anthony Davis

By Brendon Kleen

Mar 20, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis sits on the bench during the first quarter of a game against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Smoothie King Center. It was announced prior to the game that Anthony Davis would miss the remainder of the season with a left knee injury. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 20, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis sits on the bench during the first quarter of a game against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Smoothie King Center. It was announced prior to the game that Anthony Davis would miss the remainder of the season with a left knee injury. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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The first batch of NBA MVP odds of the 2016-17 season are here, and they drastically under-estimate what Anthony Davis can do for the New Orleans Pelicans this season.

As the 2014-15 NBA season rolled to a close, one could have considered the New Orleans Pelicans to be something of a league darling. They were certainly a League Pass darling, having constructed a fun offensive team full of familiar parts in first-time roles. And if you fancied yourself an NBA fan two years ago, you were likely bombarded by the brightness of Anthony Davis’ star in the league only three years into his career. In leading the team to the eighth seed and a competitive sweep at the hands of Stephen Curry and the Warriors, Davis earned a fifth-place finish in MVP voting. He seemed destined to catapult upward unstoppably for years to come, having finally settled right around 70 games played and beginning to overcome health issues that had plagued that beginning of his career.

As it turned out, that forward momentum didn’t even make it to the beginning of the next season. Injuries stuck the first training camp for the new coaching staff, and the chemistry built over the second half of the 2014-15 campaign crumbled into dust. However, capitalizing on the national awe and intrigue in Anthony Davis, Bovada set his MVP odds at +300 heading into the season. Golly.

We all know the rest of that story, so I’ll spare the internet it’s millionth re-hashing. Suffice to say, things went poorly, Davis landed on his back foot statistically, and the Pelicans lost heaps of games.

Now, fans and bettors across the country are equipped with two completely opposing seasons – and schools of thought – to look at when playing the odds this year. Davis made it through another mostly healthy season, added some nice new teammates, and will have another offseason with Darren Erman and Alvin Gentry. So what does Vegas make of this new core?

They’re not quite feeling it. In the initial release of MVP odds for the 2016-17 season, Anthony Davis sits fifth in the pack at +1400. Not one player is as high as he was at +300 before last season, and more importantly, no one really jumps out as an obvious favorite or clear sleeper. Only Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and Larry Bird have won the MVP award three consecutive times, and Kevin Durant (somehow still a +800) is around to steal some votes from the incumbent, Steph Curry. Russell Westbrook appears ready to set the world on fire after signing a new deal, but that could end pretty inefficient and ugly. LeBron James remains without a jumper and with a more talented Robin than AD.

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Is the basketball world undervaluing Anthony Davis? It seems like they are, purely when looking at his odds. He’s too far behind Durant, and too close to the guys behind him (Kawhi Leonard and James Harden). If everything breaks right for the Pelicans, they could launch past a couple squads in the Rockets-Mavericks-Grizzlies-Jazz-Blazers second tier and end up in the middle of the Western Conference postseson tournament. Unfortunately, that’s generally not a recipe for MVP votes; both player and team generally need to dominate for voters to buy in.

But Anthony Davis isn’t one for relaxing into “generally’’s and “unfortunately”’s. He’s a damn special player, and possesses the physical freakishness, work ethic, and skill-set to earn his place at the top of the league’s hierarchy, with or without a dominant team around him. If I were in the business of betting on men to push past physical limitations and win incredibly difficult games against one another, I know AD would be my dude.

Next: Addressing the Rudy Gay Rumors

And I can’t wait to watch him make every sports book in Vegas, the National Basketball Association, and even the freaking number 1400 look downright foolish.  

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