The DeMarcus Cousins experiment with Anthony Davis isn’t working yet

The New Orleans Pelicans have a second superstar now, but is it enough to turn this season around and compete next year? In this week’s FLANNS and ZILLZ, we discuss the fate of the Pelicans.

ZILLER: The early returns on The DeMarcus Cousins Experience in New Orleans are not promising. The Pelicans have gone 0-3 since Boogie arrived. That includes two losses to playoff teams and a very bad loss to the quite bad Mavericks. Those Mavericks are, nonetheless, two games ahead of New Orleans in the race for the No. 8 seed in the West. Yikes.

Three games in, what strikes you about the dual giants and the Pelicans’ struggles?

FLANNERY: It’s going to take some time, of course. Both Boogie and Anthony Davis are used to having everything run through them. Turns out that’s not possible when they’re both on the court. There’s a natural adjustment period that needs to take place and the Pels, frankly, don’t have that kind of time.

For reasons known only to the highest echelons of Benson Tower, they have been under pressure to make the playoffs since the dawn of the franchise. That’s led to a number of shortsighted moves whose bill still hasn’t come due — hi, Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinca — and an incomplete roster.

That didn’t change when Boogie came on board. If anything it only magnified the issues. This team needs an offseason and a full training camp to get everyone up to speed. Problem is, once they have that under their belt, this experiment will be on borrowed time with Cousins’ contract coming due.

You think they have time to turn it around this season?

ZILLER: There’s still time. Not much, but the other teams in play for No. 8 aren’t exactly lighting the world on fire. There’s just no room for error. That happens when you start the season 2-10.

I find it interesting that both Cousins and Davis are getting big numbers. The three games have actually been a spot-on microcosm of Boogie’s career to date: huge numbers two out of every three games (the other an absolute stinker), foul trouble (which probably cost New Orleans a game on Sunday), and losses all around. It’s worth noting that his plus-minus has been better than that of Davis in two of the games. But he’s going to be graded on actual wins, not ephemeral victories at this point.

FLANNERY: Yeah, there’s no more grading on a curve for Cousins. He either contributes to a winning team and culture or he gets hammered for not making it happen.

And, I think that’s fair. Lord knows we don’t need to re-litigate the Kings‘ years but Cousins’ issues lay somewhere between full blame and complete absolution depending on one’s perspective. That cover is gone now, even though the Pels have made their own share of weird roster calls.

I’m a little concerned about pace of play. Cousins was used to a slower tempo in Sacramento that played to his strengths. The Alvin Gentry Pels want to get up and down, which plays into AD’s. What gives here?

ZILLER: Cousins put up great numbers under George Karl’s fast teams in Sacramento. The issues there come on the defensive side primarily — Cousins is not known for running the defensive break well — and in not delaying offensive sets. Arguably, if the non-Cousins Pelicans run, that gives Cousins a better opportunity to effectively trail. This assumes he gets past half-court before a shot goes up.

This all gets around the fact that defense is New Orleans’ problem right now. The duo has rebounded well but playing two giants in the modern NBA is dicey on that end. Without more shooting the Pels won’t be able to outscore many other teams by brute force. They need to get stops.

Jrue Holiday has had trouble adjusting so far. He’s a pro and will figure out how to fit in, but it’s a concern. He’s their third-best player by far and they desperately need him at peak function.

FLANNERY: Right and that’s a big reason why it’s way too early to make a judgment. It’s not just the two of them.

At the same time, we have to consider the long view more quickly than we’d like because of Boogie’s contract situation. Don’t get me wrong, I would have made this move and twice on All-Star Sunday if I were the Pels, but this is a fluid situation.

Let’s spin this forward. If it doesn’t work — and by work I mean a solid playoff contender with win totals trending toward the upper 40s — how tricky does that make the Pels’ situation at next year’s deadline?

Unless this is a total disaster, I’m holding on to this idea for as long as I can for the same reasons I thought the Kings should have continued trying with Boogie: Great players only come along every so often. But I’m curious how you would view that scenario.

ZILLER: You have to be a no-brainer playoff team to walk into July 2018 fully confident you’re keeping Cousins. At this point in his career, he knows he needs to win games to protect his reputation. If New Orleans is winning, I struggle to see him leaving for anywhere.

If New Orleans isn’t above .500 a year from now, I think that’s a disaster. I wouldn’t say the same of missing the 2017 playoffs — as I mentioned, they dug a pretty deep hole due to some unavoidable circumstances — but falling short this year probably costs Alvin Gentry his job. Next year, below .500 at the deadline? I think Cousins’ value will be so low you might as well keep him. He’s graded on a different curve now.

The problem is the Pelicans don’t have cap space to play with in the summer and there aren’t many tradable assets at this point. Barring a Dell Demps miracle, this is pretty much the team they have.

FLANNERY: I felt a lot more optimistic about things before we started this little chat.

ZILLER: Welcome to Boogieland.