Pelicans: Anthony Davis’ 2018 first-round numbers mirror 2015
By Joshua Lea
The New Orleans Pelicans are enjoying a small break in their quest for an NBA Championship while the first-round finishes. We here at Pelican Debrief will continue to bring you all things Pelicans.
The New Orleans Pelicans are awaiting their second-round opponent. Tonight, San Antonio and Golden State will play game five. If Golden State wins, they’ll be the team that will face New Orleans. If San Antonio wins, we continue our wait.
The Western Conference first-round looks to be coming to a close. Houston has a 3-1 lead on Minnesota and Utah has a 3-1 lead on Oklahoma City. Both series’ will play their game five’s tomorrow night.
While the Pelicans are waiting for the first-round to come to a close, ESPN asked a question on First Take yesterday. That question was “Who is having a better NBA Playoffs, LeBron James or Anthony Davis?”
Stephen A. Smith said without hesitation ” For me, it’s been Anthony Davis, he’s averaging 33 and 12 on 57 percent shooting.”
Anthony Davis’ numbers in these first four playoff games are outstanding. He scored a total of 132 points, grabbed 47 total rebounds, and blocked 11 shots. He’s shooting 61% from two and 30% from three.
Comparing Anthony Davis’ first-round numbers 2015 to 2018
Here’s the thing, these numbers aren’t all that different from his first-round playoff series against Golden State in 2015. He scored a total of 126 points in that series. He grabbed 44 total rebounds and blocked 12 shots. His numbers in the series against Portland almost mirror his numbers against Golden State three years before.
In the Golden State series (2015) Davis averaged 31.5 points a game, against Portland he averaged 33. His rebounding average for both series is right at 11 boards a game.
Anthony Davis’ numbers are so consistent that he’s managed to almost duplicate his exact productivity in the same number of playoff games three years apart. He’s literally putting up the same amount of points, rebounds, and blocks as he did three years ago in the playoffs.
Of course, the biggest difference for New Orleans is the addition of Rajon Rondo and Nikola Mirotic. Add that with the emergence of Jrue Holiday and you have a gumbo recipe that the rest of the league may not be ready for.
What these stats for Davis tells you, is that this season isn’t a new leaf for Davis. He’s literally played at this level for the last three years. His overall value to the New Orleans Pelican is without question. However, his supporting cast helps out in a big way.
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I do not think Anthony Davis will win the MVP award this season. James Harden is overdue for the honor. However, Davis is the MVP on the Pelicans. I would suspect Davis is more of a front-runner about the beginning of next season. This is due to the fact that New Orleans is winning games and climb up the NBA ladder.