New Orleans Pelicans: 5 ripple effects of the DeMarcus Cousins injury

4. Pelicans’ playoff hopes hang by a thread

For the Pelicans to only be six games above .500 with both DeMarcus Cousins AND Anthony Davis on the roster, it goes to show how important that dynamic duo is to their success. No one should ever doubt the Brow, but even with the team’s recent surge up the standings, it’ll take a superhuman effort to keep NOLA in the playoff picture.

It’s hard to say what the Pelicans will look like without Boogie, since he hadn’t missed a single game in 2017-18. Last year after he was traded to New Orleans, Cousins missed eight games. The team went 4-4 in that span, but with such a small sample size and everyone still getting accustomed to each other, those results are hardly relevant.

However, it’s safe to say losing Cousins in the middle of the best season of his career is a substantial blow, especially as the Pelicans’ second-leading scorer, leading rebounder, second-leading assister, leading stealer and second-leading shot-blocker.

Surprisingly, the Pelicans are 1.3 points per 100 possessions better with Cousins off the floor, but those numbers will be put to the test with defenses keying in on AD and Jrue Holiday. The Pellies are 2.7 points per 100 possessions worse on the defensive end whenever Boogie sits, and their Net Rating drops from +1.7 to +0.3.

The problem is, the Pelicans are going to crater on both ends of the floor whenever Davis needs a breather now that Boogie is out. That duo posted an offensive rating of 114 with a Net Rating of +5.0 when sharing the floor, but when both were on the bench, the Pelicans posted a disastrous Net Rating of -19.7, per NBAwowy.

Losing him means minutes without AD are going to be an uphill struggle, and even when he’s on the floor, Boogie’s passing is sure to be missed for a team that ranked second in the NBA in assists per game.

Without Cousins, perhaps Davis spends more time at the 5. Maybe Alvin Gentry is forced to unearth Cheick Diallo or Omer Asik, or simply opts for a complete 180 from the luxury of the modern-day Twin Towers by adopting a complete small-ball approach.

Either way, the Pelicans leaned desperately on Boogie and the Brow to produce in heavy minutes. With Cousins out, AD’s minute toll is about to increase, which is worrisome given his own injury problems over the years.

With a three-game lead over the ninth-place Los Angeles Clippers, the Pelicans have some temporary breathing room to cling to a playoff spot. But with 34 games still left in the season, it’d take a Herculean effort from Anthony Davis to prevent New Orleans from sliding out of the top eight in the West.