Predicting Basic Stat-Lines For All 5 New Orleans Pelicans Starters

Anthony Davis

"2016-17 Season Stats (per ESPN.com):  PPG: 28.0 RPG: 11.8 BPG: 2.2 Potential 2017-18 Season Stats: PPG: 24.6 RPG: 11.4 BPG: 2.7"

The heart and soul of the New Orleans Pelicans!

Their ride or die!

Coming into his 6th year as a pro Anthony Davis has already established himself as one of the great basketball players of his generation. Every season it seems Davis finds a way to improve upon the one he had prior, regardless of how good it may have been. From his rookie year to his most recent campaign “The Brow” has improved, or remained the same in regards to the main 3 statistical categories at his position (points, rebounds, blocks). Last season, Davis set career highs in both PPG (28.0) and RBG (11.8), ranking him 4th and 7th in the NBA respectively in those categories.

Now, after reading that last paragraph, you may be looking at Davis’ “Potential 2017-18 Season Stats” and be wondering why we have him projected with averaging less points and rebounds than he did last season. Frankly, this has nothing to do with regression in his game but, rather expansion of his leadership abilities.

MUST READ: Player Breakdowns – Anthony Davis

During his first 5 years as a pro, Anthony Davis has only seen the postseason once, which was in 2015 when his Pelicans were swept in the first round by the eventual champion Golden State Warriors. Although Davis has been putting up record breaking statistical numbers, it has to be noted that more than 60% of his seasons in the NBA have ended in late April!

While Davis has been “the guy” on his respective team for basically his whole career, this could finally be the season in which he can share the load, or “burden” as teammate DeMarcus Cousins calls it, of being the main offensive weapon.

Davis has acknowledged that this is a very important season for the Pelicans to find success for, if not, guys like Rajon Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins are free to ship out of NOLA as their contracts are up come July. In an interview with NOLA.com’s William Guillory, the star forward claimed that, even with these new additions to the team, he wishes to develop and grow more as a leader in the organization.

"“I think that’s the next step: trying to lead this team physically, mentally and emotionally,” Davis said. “I never really had to say much (as a leader)…but that’s the next step for me.”"

MUST READ: Season Goals – Anthony Davis’ Offensive Efficiency 

While it’s safe to say Davis will certainly get his fair share of offensive touches and scoring opportunities, him finding ways to get others involved while he does some of the non-recorded aspects of the game is also a likely scenario. Make no mistake, we are not saying Davis will regress talent wise or, in the words of Max Kellerman “fall off a cliff”, this season. We’re merely saying that Davis will be doing whatever is best for the team to get as many wins as possible. Whether that means scoring 30 points or 13, it appears Davis will be ok with either outcome. As long as the Pelicans find success this year, AD will be a happy man!