3 reasons why the Boogie-Brow combination remains winless
The New Orleans Pelicans were the undisputed winners of the trade deadline, having aligned the two most talented bigs in the league.
Adding DeMarcus Cousins - at a steep discount, no less - to go along with Anthony Davis was a clear win for the Pelicans' long-term prospects. Regardless of what your opinions are of Cousins' abrasive persona, his talent is undeniable, and there isn't another frontcourt in the league that can stand up to "Fire and Ice."
Adding a player like Boogie also promised a short-term boost, but for the moment, the move seems to have backfired.
The Pelicans were two wins back of eighth coming out of the trade deadline - that deficit is now four thanks to a 0-4 start with Cousins in the lineup. They'll need a sudden turnaround and plenty of luck to steal the eighth seed.
Here's three reasons why the Pelicans have slumped in the wake of the trade deadline.
Taking a Holiday
Nobody had a harder time adjusting than starting point guard Jrue Holiday, who shifted over a seat to become the third option to accommodate Cousins.
Holiday averaged 10 points and six assists per game in his first three games with Cousins while shooting 28.9 percent from the field. He failed to provide an outside threat - hitting 2-of-14 from deep - to balance out Cousins' and Davis' production on the interior. It wasn't for a lack of trying. Holiday actually saw an uptick in touches, from 84 touches on average for the season, to 92 in those three games.
In that sense, the suspension for Cousins (stemming from his uncontrollable habit to accumulate technical fouls) actually proved to be a blessing in disguise for Holiday. A return to normalcy restored Holiday to his usual rhythm as he posted a 22-point outing in a landslide win over the Detroit Pistons, followed by a 26-point effort on Saturday once Cousins returned.
Finding his touches within a new role will be key for Holiday. Not only is he the only starting caliber perimeter player on the Pelicans' roster, he is set to become a free agent next summer. These last two dozen games to finish out the season will be a short test run to see if the Holiday-Davis-Cousins trio is a core worth keeping for the long haul.
Top-heavy to a fault
The Pelicans didn't give up much to land Cousins, but the Pelicans also just straight-up had very little to give.
Shedding a rookie in Buddy Hield, an oft-injured option in Tyreke Evans, and an inconsistent bench guard like Langston Galloway isn't much on paper, but it robbed the Pelicans of what little depth they had.
Davis and Cousins have been excellent, averaging a combined 54 points, 23.6 rebounds, and seven assists between them. Everyone else has been utterly unplayable.
| LAYER | MIN | PTS | FG% | REB | AST | Plus-Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Davis | 36.6 | 33.6 | 49.2 | 10.6 | 2.2 | -4.6 |
| DeMarcus Cousins | 30.7 | 20.4 | 46.7 | 13 | 4.8 | -7.2 |
| Jrue Holiday | 36.2 | 15.6 | 39.8 | 5 | 5.6 | -3.8 |
| Omri Casspi | 23.7 | 12 | 55.6 | 2 | 0 | -12 |
| E'Twaun Moore | 28.2 | 8.3 | 34.4 | 2.3 | 2.8 | -2.5 |
| Dante Cunningham | 23.5 | 6.8 | 57.1 | 2.8 | 0.4 | -5.2 |
| Hollis Thompson | 25.8 | 4.6 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Donatas Motiejunas | 12.9 | 4 | 36.4 | 3.7 | 0 | -6.3 |
| Solomon Hill | 32.5 | 3.8 | 23.8 | 3.2 | 1.8 | -0.8 |
| Jarrett Jack | 16.5 | 3 | 66.7 | 0 | 2.5 | -3 |
| Tim Frazier | 14.3 | 2.6 | 35.3 | 1.8 | 2 | -5.2 |
| Reggie Williams | 16 | 2 | 33.3 | 0 | 0 | -17 |
| Cheick Diallo | 1.8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Being top-heavy was always the expectation, but even the best frontcourt in the game can't be reasonably expected to offset an entire roster of struggling supporting pieces.
Bad luck
Much of the Pelicans' misfortune can also be attributed to bad luck.
Boogie and Brow's first game together was a wash. Not only were they getting their feet wet, but nobody can beat the Houston Rockets when they catch fire and rain 20 threes in regulation. It's part of the regular ups and downs that happen over the course of the regular season.
Blowing a four-point lead in the final minute of regulation before losing in OT to the San Antonio Spurs is unlucky. The Pelicans played well enough to win on Saturday night but Kawhi Leonard scored nine points and assisted on another six in crunch time to bolster his case as a dark horse MVP candidate.
Finally, the Pelicans continue to be battered by the injury bug.
Omri Casspi played 24 minutes after being freed from Sacramento, only to suffer a broken thumb. Jarrett Jack lasted a little while longer - he appeared in two games after being scooped up off the free-agent scrap heap before tearing his meniscus. Those injuries have only exacerbated the Pelicans' problems with depth.
The early going has been a kick in the teeth for New Orleans, but everything should even out in the long run.
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)