NBA Odds: Pelicans Playoff Push with Davis & Cousins

With David Robinson leading the way, the San Antonio Spurs were a perennial contender through the early-to-mid 90s. But then during the 1996-97 season, Robinson missed 76 games due to injury and the Spurs only managed 20 wins. As a result, San Antonio won the draft lottery and took Tim Duncan with the first-overall pick. This was the birth of the Twin Towers. The mighty duo would go on to win two championships and recorded winning-percentages greater than .700 in four of their six seasons together. The NBA is now facing the second-coming of the Twin Towers: Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins.

In a shocking move following the NBA All-Star Game, the New Orleans Pelicans acquired the only big-man who may be more dominant than their own Anthony Davis. The pair will form, without a doubt, the scariest frontcourt in the NBA.

But will the intimidation factor result in wins? How will the two mesh together? Is there enough time for the pair to elevate the Pelicans to a playoff spot? Here are all the odds on how the new Twin Towers will fare.

New Orleans Pelicans Odds

Odds to make the playoffs this year: 1/2

The Pelicans currently sit just 2.5 games back of the Denver Nuggets (25-31) for the final spot in the West. With the Kings folding their hand and Portland unable to play defense, New Orleans won’t have to worry too much about fellow teams on the outside looking in. The final spot is theirs for the taking.

Odds to win 2016-17 NBA Championship: 99/1

Let’s pump the brakes a little. I do love the idea of combating small-ball with a monstrous frontcourt, but unless they can make up nine games on the Thunder, the Pelicans will likely draw the Warriors in the first round of the playoffs. If not the Warriors, they’ll face the Spurs or Rockets.

With such limited time to build chemistry, and a bare supporting cast, Boogie and the Brow aren’t ready to pound their way through the West yet.

Odds Cousins re-signs: 5/3

This will largely depend on the success Cousins enjoys with Davis, and whether the Pelicans are able to bring in a third piece. If New Orleans is a contender, it’ll be tough for Boogie to leave. If not, Cousins will find himself a contender.

Odds Alvin Gentry is fired before the 2017-18 season: 7/4

If the Pelicans miss the playoffs, I have no doubt Gentry will be fired almost immediately. Boogie is known for getting coaches fired. But I believe they get in and Gentry gets the opportunity to at least begin next season as the head coach.

Odds Cousins and Davis ever win a title together: 15/1

If Cousins re-signs and Davis stays healthy, the massive duo will be a force for years to come. The team will still need to find a point guard to become true contenders. Oh hey, this year’s draft has some!

O/U total technical fouls assessed to Cousins this season: 20.5

Boogie has 19 technical fouls to this point. He put his name in the record-books by becoming the fastest player to reach 16 (and trigger an automatic one-game suspension) back on Feb. 6. Another technical will result in his third suspension of the season. With only 25 games to play and perhaps a cooler temper from being in a position to make a playoff-run, I foresee the big-man behaving himself … mostly.

O/U total games missed by Davis due to injury this season: 6.5

The Brow has only missed four games this season. This puts Davis on pace to break his personal-best of 68 games played in a season, set back in 2014-15. Now with the luxury of assuming a slightly lesser workload, the former first-overall selection should be able to stay on the court more often. (Hope I didn’t jinx it, Pelican fans.)

O/U average combined points by Davis and Cousins per game this season: 54.5

The two currently combine to average 55.5 points per game. While it is logical to assume neither will take as many shots now that they’re playing together, I don’t see that being the case. They’re both pretty efficient, averaging just over 20 shots per game each. New Orleans averages 86.8 field-goal attempts per game, and I welcome you to find a player on the roster who will prevent the two from accounting for nearly half of the team’s shots. In order for them to make the playoffs, the duo will need to put up serious numbers.

Opposing teams will obviously scheme to make the smalls beat them. But don’t expect the stats for the big-men to dip much. These are two very dominant post-players.

O/U average combined rebounds per game this season: 20.5

The last two teammates to each average more than ten rebounds in a season were Tim Duncan and David Robinson. Davis and Cousins currently combine to average 22.5 rebounds per game. With these two vacuums on the floor, it’s hard to imagine others getting the chance to snatch more than a couple boards.