Anthony Davis defends teammates amid poor start

Despite the MVP-caliber play of Anthony Davis to begin the season, the New Orleans Pelicans remain out of a playoff position thanks in large part to the struggles of some of Davis' lesser teammates.

While "The Brow" acknowledges the criticism that many of his teammates have received, he's not overly concerned with it, noting that he's well-aware of all the hard work they put in on a daily basis.

"I hear it. I see it. I'm on social media, so I see it all the time," Davis told ESPN's Marc Stein. "But I think, for me, it's just about the guys in that locker room. I know they come out here every day in practice and every night in the game and fight and leave everything on the floor. It's nothing that I try to pay attention to as much. But you see it. You have to pay attention to it."

Although the Pelicans are still just 6-12, the team has played better of late, going 4-2 since Jrue Holiday's return from a personal absence.

"We were very worried," Davis said. "We didn't envision ourselves being in that situation. But we dug ourselves a hole. We're slowly climbing out of it, and we just have to keep fighting. Nobody wants to start 0-8. Nobody wants to start off on the wrong foot. But it happens."

With his individual numbers higher than ever before, Davis plans to improve his leadership skills moving forward in order to become an even better player.

"I watch LeBron (James), Steph (Curry), all those guys make their teammates better," Davis said. "They find them. Even Draymond (Green). He plays the same position and does the same thing, and he's able to find his teammates in a way that I can't right now. That's definitely what I want to get better at."

The 6-foot-10 big man is averaging career highs in points (31.6) and rebounds (11), while also chipping in 2.8 blocks per game this season.