Last February the New Orleans Pelicans were in a bad place. DeMarcus Cousins was lost for the season and his future was in doubt. The Pelicans had lost five of six games since his injury and slipped out of playoff position in the standings.
With the entire team in a depression, coach Alvin Gentry came to Anthony Davis with a message. Davis had put up a few duds since Cousins went down. A 6-of-19 shooting night, a couple of 6-of-16 nights. Games where he had scored just 14, 15 points. He was having to play center more, a position he loathed.