The Portland Trail Blazers will face the New Orleans Pelicans in round one
By Ty Delbridge
Taking a look at the Pelicans
The Pelicans finished the season 48-34 and won their last five games of the season. They came into the season with high expectations, but things changed once DeMarcus Cousins tore his Achilles before the All-Star break.
The Pelicans haven’t missed a beat since Cousins went down and shocked most of the league by earning a playoff spot without one of their main guys. Anthony Davis is one of the best players in the NBA and put the team on his back.
Since Cousins went down, Davis is averaging 30.2 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, 2.2 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. He is going to be a handful for the Blazers in the first round.
Jrue Holiday, Rajon Rondo and Nikola Mirotic have been solid contributors next to Davis. Holiday and Rondo are big, physical guards who can impact the game on both ends of the floor.
Mirotic was acquired in a mid-season trade with the Chicago Bulls and is an excellent shooter at the starting power forward position. He allows the Pelicans to space the floor with Davis at center.
The Pelicans do not have much depth and don’t have guys who can come off the bench and score the ball at a high rate in a playoff series. Davis and Holiday will be asked to do a lot in this series and may tire out in a seven-game series.
The team has been great without Cousins, but they are going to miss him a lot in the playoffs, especially when playing such a high powered team like the Blazers.