A common discussion during the long NBA offseason revolved around whether Anthony Davis might become a bona-fide MVP candidate at some point over the next few years. He only needed 36 minutes of playing time Tuesday – in the very first game of the regular season – to make fans and media observers wonder if it could potentially happen this season.
In one of the finest individual performances in New Orleans franchise history, Davis piled up 26 points, 17 rebounds and nine blocks. The nine rejections tied a team record – which he set last season. He became the first NBA player since the 1985-86 season to generate a 26-17-9 statistical line in a team’s season opener. Davis is also the first player since Dwight Howard (30-19-10 at Oklahoma City on Nov. 12, 2008) to produce those numbers in any game.
“That’s AD,” Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday said. “He gets better and better.”
Even better for New Orleans (1-0), Davis’ dominant outing was merely one of several stellar efforts by the Pelicans. Davis’ tag-team partner in the paint, summer trade acquisition Omer Asik, also enjoyed one of the premier games of his career, registering 14 points (on 7-for-10 shooting), 17 rebounds and five blocks. The latter stat equaled his career high. Davis and Asik combined to spearhead New Orleans to a 62-56 advantage in rebounds and led the way to the team’s 17 blocks, which was one rejection shy of tying the single-game franchise mark.
Defensively, the duo anchored New Orleans’ effort to limit Orlando to just 38.1 percent shooting. Nearly one-third of the Magic’s 52 missed shots were blocked by the Pelicans.
“We just know that we’re a load in that paint,” Davis said. “Him with his big body, and me just being able to move around and funnel the ball and get rebounds. It’s a good combination. We just try to play off each other.”
“I love it,” Holiday said of having Davis and Asik in the front court. “They definitely clean up the boards. They kind of protect the guards. I know defensively, sometimes I pressure up and get beat, and I’m not really worried – I know we’ve got two trees down there. Altering shots, you saw that from both of them. That’s when we get out on the (fast) break.”
“They cover up a lot of mistakes that you tend to make just by being aggressive (defensively),” Pelicans Coach Monty Williams said. “Eric Gordon was really good on defense tonight. I think he had two or three blocks. If he defends like that, with Jrue and Tyreke, AD and Omer don’t have to do as much at the rim.”
New Orleans did not play well for much of the first half, struggling to make shots from anywhere – including the foul line (15-for-31 overall) – but still led 48-41 at intermission. The Pelicans began turning Magic mistakes into baskets at the other end in the third quarter, when the hosts held a 30-23 edge. New Orleans went on to push its lead to as many as 23 points in the fourth period.
Ryan Anderson led the reserves with 22 points, including a one-man barrage at the end of the third quarter that finally gave New Orleans a cushion. Anderson nailed three consecutive three-pointers during the run, shaking off a slow individual start. He and Tyreke Evans added to the boardwork by grabbing nine rebounds apiece.
“I like the fact that we rebounded the ball so well tonight,” Williams said. “Our effort was great. It didn’t feel like we lost anything with our bench coming in. Matter of fact, I think that was when we got some separation.”
“(If) we defend, hold teams around 85 points, 90 points a game (we will be successful),” Davis said. “Our defense kind of picked up our offense. We got a lot of easy buckets and transition plays. We’ve just got to rebound like we did.”
The Pelicans will have three practice days to prepare for their first Western Conference game of 2014-15, a home tilt Saturday against division rival Dallas. New Orleans likely will need to shoot better (40.6 percent from field Tuesday, 4-for-17 from three-point range, the 16 missed free throws) against the Mavericks.
“We know we made a lot of mistakes,” Williams said. “We know the free throws were opportunities we left on the board. We got off to a slow start. We can play a lot better.”