PITY poor Anthony Davis.
Without debate, a top five player in the NBA.
Averaging career-highs of 29.3 points and 13.3 rebounds per game.
A veritable monster and still aged only 25.
But still, since joining the league in 2012, the All-World forward has only been to the playoffs twice as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans, with a solitary series win (last term, against the Trail Blazers).
Many more losses than victories. And headed into Thursday’s visit to the Oklahoma City Thunder, his team are on the wrong side of .500 following Wednesday’s narrow loss to the Detroit Pistons, leaving them in the hinterlands of 12th place in the Western Conference.
Anthony Davis trying to request a trade pic.twitter.com/8aQ4Ot2HI3
— Bruh Report (@BruhReport) January 15, 2019
A waste, most would say, of his redoubtable talents. And he will have time to ponder his long-term willingness to watch his peers chase titles with a hand injury that is set to keep him out for 2-4 weeks.
Bad news for New Orleans in the short and long term. Immediately, it should make the Pelis easy pickings for OKC who have won three straight and have an extra night’s rest. Sixth in scoring in the NBA with 114.0, they will have less resistance with their opponents’ totem absent are backable on a handicap of –12 at 1.98.
It will also give Davis food for thought, seeing how OKC have managed to build despite losing Kevin Durant and James Harden, with Paul George the kind of accomplice he would dearly love to have in the Bayou.
On the horizon is the decision Davis must make on whether to sign a max extension this summer with the only professional team he has ever known. A rejection would force his employers to think the unthinkable: to trade away a player who might be top of the list for anyone else seeking to build a contender.
With New Orleans primed to run into Houston, San Antonio (twice) and Indiana before Davis’ returns, their hopes of even making the post-season could irrevocably evaporate.
That would be tough to watch. Never have the stakes been higher for a supporting cast which does not have the same sheen of star power. Or for a front office that may need to pull a pre-deadline rabbit out of the trading hat.
And who would really blame Davis for skipping town? Worthy of featuring in championship moments. It is the Pelicans who may need sympathy, if not pity.
Best bet: Go under 228.5 total points in Oklahoma City-New Orleans
No laughing with the Cavaliers
The rapid fall from champs to chumps for the Cleveland Cavaliers has happened quicker than almost any team in history.
Four NBA Finals in succession, including a title in 2016. Now seemingly a lock to end up with the worst record in the league. The LeBron James effect underlined.
Not our night.
Time to punch back to The Land. pic.twitter.com/7t60gU9Tmk— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) January 24, 2019
And not even those in similar deficit are within reach. The Cavs visit Chicago B on Sunday just six days after a 104-88 spanking by the Horri-Bulls at The Q, part of a 1-11 start to the New Year.
The Cavaliers are 4-17 against sub-.500 opponents and, by midweek, were 5-37 when conceding 100 points or more and 0-30 when trailing at half-time with all but two of their nine wins coming when they – somehow – managed to take a lead into the fourth quarter.
The Bulls aren’t much better, having gained no discernible uptick with the appointment of Jim Boylan as head coach and losing eleven straight until
the win over the Cavs.
Hosting the forlorn Atlanta Hawks on Thursday, where Chicago is for victory, could offer another temporary lift. And although they face a gruelling weekend with an evening game on Saturday against the LA Clippers before a daytime duel with Cleveland, it’s still worth backing the Bulls by -6, or going over 205.5 total points, as the Cavaliers sink further in the mire.
