New Orleans Pelicans Season Review: Anthony Davis
By Rick Stone
The 2016-2017 New Orleans Pelicans season did not go as planned. Some Pelicans shined, while others fell short. Anthony Davis stole the show again this year.
Anthony Davis’ production continues to amaze New Orleans Pelicans fans.
Even with the major disappointment of a season the Pels had as a whole, Davis shined. It all started with his 50 point, 15 rebound, five steal and four block performance, to start the season. He followed that up with 45 points and 17 rebounds in game number two. Those performances put quite the spotlight on him on the national stage.
It also set the tone for the first half of the season. Davis would put up masterful numbers, yet only got the Pelicans wins in 23 of their first 57 games. There was not much more he could do to help this team win.
Anthony Davis would get the surprise of his career during the All-Star Break, as the massive trade for DeMarcus Cousins went through. This changed his role completely on the team. Before, Davis was the small-ball center, who was given full throttle of a high-tempo offense. However, Boogie’s addition forced him back into the power forward role. He went from commanding the paint and having freedom all over the floor, to becoming more of a stretch big, to give Cousins space inside.
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Overall, his numbers did not really take a tumble. However, his importance in the offense became much more apparent without Buddy, Tyreke and Langston. The Pelicans’ lack of shooters really put the pressure on Davis, similar to the beginning of the season.
New Orleans did not have Jrue Holiday to start this campaign. That put a huge burden on Davis. It was a burden that would be remembered after this trade. When New Orleans lacked the shooters and individual play makers around Davis, his numbers would go up drastically. However, the Pelicans chances of winning went the opposite direction.
Anthony’s best winning run of the season happened in late December through early January. Davis would mostly command the glass and have his team help him produce the offensive numbers. His biggest outbreaks on the year occurred the most early and late in the season, when the lack of a supporting cast was most apparent.
In this campaign as a whole, Davis showed vast improvement. Anthony increased his points per game by over three points, finishing with 28 points per contest. His rebounds jumped a board and a half, as he averaged 11.8 per contest. Davis’ assists and blocks per game also saw minor improvements. Even with averaging almost two more shots per game, his shooting percentage took a step up and his free-throw percentage went from just over 75 percent last year, to over 80 percent this year.
The only stats that saw a downward trend was a few more turnovers committed per game and a drastic cut in his three-point percentage. Davis shot 32.4 percent from deep last year, yet did not eclipse over 30 percent in the 2016-2017 run. However, this season continues to show New Orleans Pelicans fans something remarkable.
Anthony Davis is getting better and better.
This was another fantastic campaign for Davis to show off his incredible skill. Even through drastic changes in the franchise, Anthony stood out as the shining star throughout. He played the most games in a season for his career, missing just seven games. Three of those games would be at the very end of the season, meaning on four true games were lost from the main portion of the campaign. There was a lot to love out of Anthony Davis.
Next year will be a critical one for the New Orleans Pelicans franchise. If the team can make a leap from fun team, into a playoff contender, Davis will need to continue to improve. However, if he really can make another leap in his game and turn this team into a real threat, he might go from one of the top players in the league, into a legitimate candidate for MVP conversation. Fans can only hope that is in Davis’ near future and the future of Bayou Basketball.