As a franchise athlete or someone competing at the very highest level of any field you need to have a special amount of self-confidence and belief in your abilities.
Anthony Davis has that confidence in his ability and the ability of his currently injured All-Star teammate DeMarcus Cousins.
When asked by Rachel Nichols of ESPN over All-Star weekend about the “what ifs” surrounding the team with Cousins injury and impending free agency, he shared his belief in their ability as a duo…
“We could have gone through the playoffs. No one could really stop us as bigs. We go to the Finals if we went,” Davis told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols in an interview over All-Star weekend.
“[Teammate Rajon Rondo] reminds us of it: ‘You guys are the two best bigs. I know what it takes to win championships; we got it.’”
The Pelicans were in the 6th seed in the west when Cousins went down at 27-21, so saying that they were contenders is far-fetched to say the least. While they could have presented a match-up concern for the Warriors, there is essentially zero chance in my opinion that they could have defeated them or the Rockets in a seven-game series with a healthy Cousins.
It is good that Davis feels this way though. If you are a Pelicans fan or in the organization it shows how much faith he has in Cousins as being the guy to put around him to turn the Pelicans into a top-tier team in the western conference.
It will be interesting to see how they handle the head coaching and front office situation this summer and handing a super max contract to a 270 pound man that will be coming off a major Achilles injury in his late 20s feels risky.
The Pelicans are likely betting on Davis’s opinion of the team manifesting into a reality in the near future.
