NBA scores 2017: DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis will be monsters — give them time

The new big man duo was obliterated by the Rockets, but New Orleans just needs time to gel

Feb 24, 2017, 1:00 PM UTC

NBA: Houston Rockets at New Orleans Pelicans

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

If the New Orleans Pelicans had anticipated making franchise history heading into the fourth quarter on Thursday night, this wasn’t the record they expected. The Pelicans trailed 100-67 to the Houston Rockets after three frames, the largest deficit in that situation in the team’s history.

That was an auspicious debut for DeMarcus Cousins, playing in his first game since being dealt to New Orleans over the weekend. That said, it’s hard to complain about the rest of it: 27 points, 11-of-19 shooting, 14 rebounds, five assists, five steals and four blocks — just a block away from becoming the 18th player to record a “5x5” in a game.

After Thursday’s loss — the final score was a 129-99 Rockets win — we can pretty clearly determine two things. Yes, it’s going to take some time and some adjustments for the Pelicans to adjust to Boogie and Anthony Davis. You could see that early on, and it didn’t necessarily get better as the game progressed.

But two: the Pelicans must be so damn glad they have him.

It’s not very often the league stumbles upon a center this skilled, this dominant and this driven to win. His anger management was a problem in Sacramento, of course, given that he already has 17 technicals and is just one away from a second one-game suspension this season. However, you could see moments where Cousins was frustrated and then consciously took a breath to calm down.

Anthony Davis played well in Cousins’ debut, too, scoring 29 points with a couple steals and two blocks as well. Between the two big men, you could see moments of indecision and times sharing the court where they were occupying each other’s preferred spots. Once, Davis noticeably passed up an open jump shot from the elbow — whether Cousins’ presence in the area had any effect on that mental decision, we don’t know.

The bigger problem was defensively, where the Clint Capela pick-and-roll beat the Pelicans defense repeatedly. New addition Lou Williams went off for Houston, nailing seven threes for 27 points on the game, while James Harden settled for a casual 13-point, 14-assist evening.

Houston is the type of team that will give New Orleans trouble trying to play their two bigs together. There are too many shooters, and they stretch a defense so far out with their ability to hit deep threes (especially from Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson). That’s a tough sell for two agile, but still very large, big men.

The Pelicans’ shooting problem was on display, too, hitting just 6-of-31 from behind the arc while Houston completely outpaced them with 20 makes. Jrue Holiday had a particularly rough evening, recording more turnovers (7) than points (6). For a moment, it looked like Omri Casspi might be a solution there, but his 12-point debut ended with a broken thumb that will keep him out four-to-six weeks.

Still, remember this was just one game with two practices to prepare for it. DeMarcus Cousins probably doesn’t even have an apartment yet. The chemistry between him and The Brow will come with time. They think they’ll play great off each other, for what it’s worth. Certainly, they have styles that aren’t so similar that they’ll clash, as Davis amusingly described it.

Just give them time. Cousins and Davis will be fine. They just have to catch the Pelicans up to their speed.

Another traded big man is making an impact in the West already

Jusuf Nurkic was dealt to Portland slightly before the deadline, so his 12-point, 12-rebound evening on Thursday was actually his second game with the team. He threw in five assists, two blocks and three steals, too, clearly doing his best Boogie impression. This comes a game after Nurkic scored 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting. Clearly, his early returns are very successful.

I’m not convinced Nurkic is the solution to Portland’s problems. They only beat Orlando by nine on Thursday, after all. But it’s good that he has started well.