Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins were top-10 NBA point producers last season, finishing fourth and seventh, respectively, in scoring average. How rare is it in today’s game for a team to receive that type of offensive production from its power forward and center combination? The next-best duo was Memphis’ venerable tandem of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, who ranked 32nd and 63rd (and Randolph departed for Sacramento this summer in free agency).
By pairing All-Star talents at the “four” and “five” positions, the New Orleans Pelicans are going completely again the grain in the contemporary NBA, where virtually everyone else is relying on backcourt firepower.