Halo

During his lone season with the Chicago Bulls, Rajon Rondo didn't quite mesh with Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade.

But now that he's playing alongside two new stars in Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins with the New Orleans Pelicans, Rondo is bursting with confidence about his fit in the Big Easy.

"It's early to say, but my expectations are it'll probably be the easiest I've ever had it as far as [playing] with a dynamic duo," Rondo said Thursday, per the Times-Picayune's William Guillory. "Jrue [Holiday] can go get 40 [points] as well, so my job is a lot easier. I just got to make sure I manage getting guys the ball in the right spot, and its up to them to play unselfish and do the rest."

Cousins, Davis and Holiday are all known commodities as scorers, so Rondo shouldn't have a problem piling up assists as the Pelicans' primary distributor.

The real question is whether Rondo's arrival can inject New Orleans with more stability and efficiency after its offense generated a 26th-ranked 105.2 points per 100 possessions last season.

Namely, the focus will be on how Davis and Cousins work together.

Although the Kentucky products have a chance to operate as one of the NBA's premier one-two punches, their results together in a 25-game sample last season underwhelmed.

Following Cousins' arrival, the Pelicans went 11-14. Beyond that, the Pelicans managed just 102.5 points per 100 possessions when Davis and Cousins shared the floor, according to NBA.com's lineup data.

That was a small sample, to be sure, and Rondo noted as much Thursday.

"They've only had a couple months together. I don't count pretty much last year even though they did play together," he said, per Guillory. "I think those two guys are capable of being two of the best bigs to ever play this game as a duo. That's pretty high expectations, but they have the talent to do it."

Now in possession of a savvy passer and pick-and-roll navigator, the Pelicans will hope Rondo's arrival can allow Davis and Cousin to maximize their potential as the franchise eyes a trip to the postseason in 2017-18.



Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com unless noted otherwise.


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