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NBA New Orleans Pelicans

New Orleans Pelicans Can’t Afford To Lose To Subpar Teams

By @KellanMiller

New Orleans Pelicans Vs. Denver Nuggets

Isaiah J. Downing- USA TODAY Sports

In the world of professional sports, it’s universally accepted by fans of the game that any team has the chance to beat any other team on any given night. It’s difficult to argue with this logic, considering the fact that the players who make it to the NBA are some of the greatest athletes in the world. On paper, a team may have a slight or huge advantage, but at the end of the day paper can’t put points on the board. Regardless, I’m not one to sugar coat things and the New Orleans Pelicans should not have lost to the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. Not in this lifetime, or the next.

Heading into the season, the Nuggets somehow convinced the world that they were playoff contenders. In hindsight, and in view of their first few games of the year, this notion was quickly deemed laughable by anyone with a keen sense of humor. However, sometimes the stars align just right for a team and things click on all cylinders, like when Kenneth Faried of all people drained a three with Anthony Davis defending him. Faried is a monster in the paint, but there is no reason why he should be draining shots from behind the arc.

Davis was long overdue for a mediocre game. His 18 points were impressive by most player’s standards, but at one point Davis drove head first into a Nuggets defender in an awful, Lamar Odom-esque charge. Not one of those charges where the commentators eventually conclude with “that’s a tough call.” No, a full on assault as he drove the lane. Davis’ 18-point performance is the first time all season in which he did not score 20 points and finish with an unreal stat line.

It’s interesting to think about how much general managers value seven-footers in the NBA, because if this were not the case, Javale McGee would most likely be serving you your Big Mac at McDonald’s. But even McGee had a solid game, finishing with 14 points. There is no reason why McGee should be in an NBA uniform, much less post double figures on a team loaded with big men, even without Asik in the lineup.

On the opposite end of the spectrum,the Pelicans were pretty unremarkable in the loss: Tyreke Evans scored 10 points in 32 minutes, Jrue Holiday managed 12 points in 29 minutes and Eric Gordon posted 13 points in 30 minutes. On the bright side, Alexis Ajinca scored a season high 12 points, as he filled in for the injured Asik.

So far, the losses that the Pelicans have suffered have come at the hands of teams that will be in the playoff picture this summer, such as the Portland Trail Blazers, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Dallas Mavericks. But the Pelicans can’t afford to drop games to teams like the Nuggets if they would rather be competing in the playoffs rather than watching them at home.

I always like to look at things like this with a clear, glass half-full sort of perspective, even when the glass is shattered and filled with dirty rain water. While the Pelicans have been impressive this season in terms of adhering to the concepts of team basketball, the players can’t expect Davis to carry the load for them day in and day out, especially now that the secret is out that he is pretty good at basketball.

In times of adversity, the likes of Holiday, Ryan Anderson, Evans, and even Gordon are going to have to take their game to the next level. When Kobe Bryant was floundering in Game 7 of the Finals series back in 2010, prompting criticism from virtually everyone, including Michael Jordan‘s son, the victory was cemented because his teammates took it upon their own to get the job done, particularly Metta World Peace.

This loss stings, further augmented by the fact that The Pelicans are a much more talented team. But in the small sample size we’ve witnessed this season, these players are determined to make it to postseason play. They will rebound against the Utah Jazz tonight. I’ll even go a step further and say that Davis will put on an absolutely dazzling display, to the point that he will be awarded his eventual MVP trophy early.

Kellan Miller is a writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @KellanMiller, “like” him on Facebook, or add him on Google Plus

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