Halo

The laws of physics don't apply to Anthony Davis. So why should we expect conventional rules governing space and time to determine when he wins his first MVP award?

Think about it: Davis defies everything we've come to expect from the normal NBA athlete—insofar as there's anything normal about NBA athletes. He's essentially a 6'10" guard with all the impossible-to-coach instincts of a polished big man. He moves in smooth, controlled bursts, somehow loping and darting at the same time—always in fully coordinated control.

Per Adi Joseph of USA Today:

Davis announced himself as a superstar-in-the-making in the 2012 NCAA championship game for Kentucky, when he dominated the entire game despite finishing 1-for-10 with six points. He does it all, and his Team USA performance this summer showed that again. Players with Davis' size, athleticism, versatility and sense for the court come along once in a generation, and he's primed for a huge season.

He covers more distance than any player his size has a right to. Sorry, space.

At 21, he's already the third-best player in the NBA. Time, you've just been made obsolete.



Davis doesn't operate by any book we've read, and his developmental timetable is unlike any we've seen in recent memory. By rights, he shouldn't be in the running for this year's MVP, and according to the rules of historical precedent, he's got no business winning the damn thing outright.

But Davis isn't big on rules. And if a few things go right, he could shatter the mold by taking home the highest individual honor of the 2014-15 NBA season.



Stay Strong



As superhuman as Davis so often seems, it's hard to believe he's capable of being hurt. But AD missed 18 games in his rookie season and another 15 last year. Far from frail, Davis merely ran into bad luck—a sprained ankle here, a broken hand there.

Freak injuries for a freak of nature. Nothing to be worried about long term.

That's good, because Davis must stay impeccably healthy this season if he's to have a real shot at the MVP award. Bill Walton grabbed the 1977-78 MVP despite playing just 58 games, by far the fewest of any winner. By and large, though, you've got to play a ton to win.

Since 1955-56, the first year the MVP was awarded, winners have averaged 77.3 games played.

As is the case for so many grand designs ahead of an NBA season, health is the most important factor. If Davis loses a couple of weeks to another unlucky break, he can probably kiss his MVP chances goodbye.



Dance



As in, making the dance.

Beset by injury, the 2013-14 New Orleans Pelicans finished 15 games out of the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference. Jrue Holiday, Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon (in addition to Davis) all missed significant time, making even fringe playoff contention impossible.

That has to change this season.

Per Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com, Davis said:

We’ve got great talent – we’ve got all of the pieces that we need. Now it’s about figuring everything out. Our coaching staff does a great job of doing that. When we have training camp and preseason, we’re going to use that to make sure when that first game comes around, we get the ball rolling. … I had a great time over there in Spain. Now it’s time to get back to work.

More than half the teams in the league make the postseason, which means, relatively speaking, it's not that hard to crack the playoffs in the NBA. For that reason, MVP voters have historically ignored players whose teams fall short of that modest standard.

Only once, when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the 1975-76 MVP, has the award gone to a player who didn't lead his squad to postseason action. The other 58 winners all made the playoffs.



The road will be brutally tough in the West, as the Pelicans, now little more than a dark-horse club, can't realistically expect to leap over the conference's elite. The San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers are all far superior to the Pellies, even if everything goes perfectly for Davis and Co.

That still leaves the rest of the West's playoff teams from last year—the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks—as roadblocks. Toss in the Phoenix Suns, who were a playoff team in everything but name a year ago, and it's going to be extremely tough for Davis and New Orleans to elbow their way into the picture.

But, if the Pelicans come together, avoid the injuries that crushed them a year ago and get major defensive production from new addition Omer Asik, the postseason isn't out of the question.

In order to get Davis some real MVP consideration, though, New Orleans is going to have to push its way up toward the fifth or sixth seed, which can only happen if...



Davis Goes Statistically Bonkers



A note about Abdul-Jabbar winning MVP without making the playoffs: He averaged 27.7 points, 16.9 rebounds and five assists while shooting 52.9 percent from the field.

There's your baseline, Brow. Get to work.

Realistically, Davis must score at least 25 points per game and grab 12 or 13 rebounds per contest to get the kind of notice he'll need (and drive the Pellies to the playoffs). In addition, he'll need to notch a few game-winners, preferably clustered together over a couple of weeks in order to build some buzz.

He'll need a bunch of 40-20 games, ideally against Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, Dirk Nowitzki or another similarly high-profile opponent. Remember, Davis is at a disadvantage. He plays in a nearly invisible market, will be on national TV just 10 times and still isn't recognized by casual fans as a superstar.



Sticking it to some better-known names will be important.

In addition to improving on his previous numbers, Davis must show new growth. He'll need to crank up his assists, moving from 1.8 last year into the three-four range. He'll have to show better efficiency, add some off-the-dribble moves (which we saw during the FIBA World Cup, if only in flashes) and wow us with increased range.



Davis is already capable of doing things few players his size have ever done, especially on defense. If he wants an MVP, he'll have to do even more.



Contender Slippage



Unfortunately, no matter how great Davis is this year or how successful the Pelicans are, the MVP status quo is going to be hard to shake up.

LeBron James and Kevin Durant are the league's premier talents, and it's tough to envision one of them (let alone both) moving down a peg.

I suppose it's possible Durant's numbers diminish a bit if the Oklahoma City Thunder rest him periodically in hopes of preserving his legs for a title run. We've seen Durant wear down in the past, especially during the playoffs. So such an approach could be in the cards.

But even if KD sees fewer minutes, there's always a chance he'll enjoy an efficiency spike, which would appeal to a voting pool coming around to the value of analytics.

James might see his statistics decline with his new supporting cast. With Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love around—both of whom are high-volume offensive players—it's possible LBJ will simply defer more frequently. We should also expect him to play fewer minutes as he enters his 30s this season.



Of course, it's also possible James will reach an entirely new level of productivity with his new running mates. He has to set an example for his team's younger stars, and strategically, he's never been on a team with players as capable of drawing defensive attention as Irving and Love.

James could be in for a statistical explosion. And if he is, Davis will find it very difficult to break through for his first MVP.

Nobody said this would be easy.



Throwing Out Convention



Is the smart money on Davis collecting an ahead-of-schedule MVP this season?

Of course not.

But it's not entirely outside the realm of possibility either.

Davis already defies so many of the conventions with which we've become familiar—positional, developmental, eyebrow trimming—that one more outside-the-norm achievement wouldn't be all that strange.

With a whole career of shattering expectations ahead of him, Davis shouldn't be feeling any urgency to win an MVP this season. There'll be time for that down the line.

But if everything breaks right, he might just fast-track this entire process.

Read more New Orleans Pelicans news on BleacherReport.com



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