Halo

The New Orleans Pelicans are battling for a spot in the NBA playoffs, but Anthony Davis believes this squad would be a legitimate title contender if DeMarcus Cousins hadn't gotten injured.

"We could have gone through the playoffs," Davis told ESPN's Rachel Nichols. "No one could really stop us as bigs. We go to the Finals if we went."

Cousins suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon at the end of January and will miss the remainder of the season.

Like Davis, Cousins was named an All-Star Game starter after an outstanding start to the season. The former Kings star finished the year averaging 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game in 48 appearances.

The Pelicans were 27-21 with Cousins in the lineup, but they have gone 4-5 without him. They enter the second half of the season in the eighth position in the Western Conference but hold only a half-game lead over the Los Angeles Clippers for that final playoff spot.

While losing an elite player is bad enough, Cousins' absence also puts extra pressure on Davis.

"When he goes down, it's, all right, it goes back to AD before DeMarcus, a lot of minutes, weight of the world on your shoulders," Davis said. "You know, you gotta carry the team on your back, you gotta almost get 40 every night for us—to give us a chance to win."

Davis is averaging 27.4 points and 10.7 rebounds per game this season, so he is clearly capable of carrying the squad to a lot of success. However, the squad lacks scoring depth beyond him, Jrue Holiday and E'Twaun Moore.

With the team currently facing 200-1 odds to win a championship, per OddsShark, Cousins' loss was a big one.

Read more New Orleans Pelicans news on BleacherReport.com



More...