Another game, another tough loss for the New Orleans Pelicans who again fall below the .500 might have Anthony Davis as frustrated as he’s ever been.
Multiple reports after the loss to the Memphis Grizzles on Friday night surfaced saying that New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis stormed out of the locker room before speaking to reporters. That in itself may not be the worst thing in the world. However, this is the second time this week that this has happened.
Skipping out on the media after a tough loss isn't that big a deal in a vacuum.
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) December 8, 2018
The fact that it's happened twice in the last three home losses is just a bad look.
As the leader of the team, AD has to be better than that.
It may be understandable how frustrated Anthony Davis must be. The Pelicans are a woeful 3-7 in their last 10 games. What’s worse a lot of these have been close games that the Pelicans simply cannot finish. Take this stat for instance.
NBA.com clutch team advanced stats measure how a team performs in the fourth quarter with under five minutes to go and the point differential five or less. The Pelicans have played 11 such games this season under this scenario and are 3-8. That ranks second to last in the NBA.
Last season the New Orleans Pelicans finished tied for first with 30 wins in 50 of these clutch scenarios. The most recent loss currently places the Pelicans 12th in the Western Conference standings, though they are only three games out of the eighth seed and only six games out of the number one slot.
That may be a slight reason for optimism along with a reason for trepidation as well. The Western Conference has not appeared to be as strong as many anticipated with perceived contenders like the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets struggling out of the gate.
Even the reigning NBA champs Golden State Warriors have had their internal and external struggles early this NBA season. One would hope there is enough time to right the ship in order to qualify for the playoffs. To do that the Pelicans must break a few bad tendencies.
Defensive lapses, turnovers, and lack of quality bench production have all been contributing factors to this recent slide. Injuries at various parts of the season to multiple players have contributed to shuffled lineups and inconsistent play. The one constant has been Anthony Davis.
That constant seems to be getting frustrated with each mounting loss. An MVP caliber talent like his won’t be content until he can win on a consistent basis. He would rather go elsewhere to salvage the rest of his illustrious career and win then be mired in inconsistency and be used up.
The New Orleans Pelicans know this and they must do something about it. As the great Bill Withers said, you just keep on using me……….until you use me up. Anthony Davis looks like he is tired of being used up.