NBA New Orleans Pelicans

Anthony Davis Continuing To Establish Himself As Dark-Horse NBA MVP Candidate

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By @TheSizzle20

Anthony Davis MVP

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The New Orleans Pelicans are entering the 2014-15 NBA season with high hopes. There is clearly a ton of talent throughout their roster, but the reason for their high hopes this season is that, unlike last season, that talent is fully healthy right now. Bigger for their hopes, though, may be the fact that Anthony Davis looks like the league’s next superstar already.

Coming into Tuesday night’s contest against the Charlotte Hornets, Davis had been putting up arguably the most impressive numbers in the league. Over the first three games of the year, the 21-year-old big man was averaging 23.7 points, 13.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, two steals and 4.3 blocks per game. Though there are players scoring more than him in the league, there’s been no one thus far this season contributing all over the floor like Davis has been.

Not looking to disappoint, Davis continued his tear against Charlotte as he put up 24 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, three blocks and one steal while shooting 10-17 from the floor in 37 minutes of action. What may be even more impressive is that he was able to put up those kind of defensive stats while not drawing a personal foul for the entire game.

Though it’s early in the season and many things are still taking form right now, there’s a case to be made that Davis is the MVP of the league right now. There was talk leading into the season that, with a prime candidate like Kevin Durant injured to start the season, Davis could possibly sneak in as a dark-horse in the MVP race. If he continues playing at this level, there won’t be a case to make against him regarding his production.

The key for Davis’ possible MVP candidacy comes back to the high hopes for the Pelicans this season. It’s been a proven thing in years past that the league’s MVP has to come from a team with a win-total in the mid to high 50s. That level of team success factors into the MVP race a great deal, even if a player is playing out of his mind. That’s something that could definitely hinder Davis’ claim to the MVP.

With a win over the Hornets on Tuesday, the Pelicans moved to just 2-2 on the season. Obviously Davis has been firing on all cylinders right out of the gate. However, guys like Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans have been inconsistent contributors at best. For players that play integral roles for the Pelicans, that’s not a positive sign.

We are obviously looking at an incredibly small sample-size at the moment. Davis’ production could taper off and an argument for his MVP candidacy may start to seem a bit far-fetched. Things could also go the other way and he could continue this type of performance while the Pelicans as a whole start clicking and get to be a firmly established playoff team in the West. As for right now, though, it’s hard to say there’s been a better player in the league through one week than Davis.

Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20, add him on Google and like his Facebook page.

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