Early-season studs Cousins, Davis set for head-to-head showdown

Two of the best subplots early in the NBA season have been the emergence of Anthony Davis as a legitimate superstar and the ascension of DeMarcus Cousins into a bona fide top-10 player.

Davis has been dominating all over the floor, filling highlight reels with dunks and blocks that don't seem physically possible. He has his New Orleans Pelicans at 5-4, has emerged as the league's very best fantasy basketball option and appears to fancy himself both the unstoppable force and immovable object.

Cousins, meanwhile, has continued to edge his way from post-up beast to full-scale problem for the opposition. What's more, he's been consistently engaged at the defensive end and has shown maturity the likes of which nobody anticipated. He has his Sacramento Kings at a spry 6-4 and is making it laughable that Mason Plumlee was actually considered his competition for minutes at the FIBA World Cup this summer.

The Pelicans and Kings square off in Sacramento on Tuesday night, a game that will be broadcast on NBA TV at 10 p.m. ET. That means most of the country will be able to tune in and watch two playoff hopefuls and their big-man stars go toe-to-toe.

But who has the edge? For a little help, we can turn to theScore mobile app's player comparison tool, which matches up Davis and Cousins, or any other two players you'd want to see side by side. Have a look:

In the aggregate, Davis has a bit of an edge. He's scoring more thanks to a heavier minutes load and a higher shooting percentage, but Cousins makes up for some of that by living at the free-throw line. They're close in rebounds and assists, but Davis has a major edge in the defensive counting categories.

It's early to look at such measures, but Basketball Reference's win shares rank Davis as the league's best player so far, having been worth 2.4 wins. Cousins has been worth an impressive 1.4, a top-20 mark, but Davis's immense two-way value has been the talk of the league. The Brow's 37 player efficiency rating, a catch-all for offensive efficiency, would rank as the best of all-time if the season ended today, and it wouldn't be close.

So yes, Davis has been a little better in the early going. Through two seasons, though, Cousins has owned the edge when the two square off.

Of course, that was a less mature Cousins, one who could be taken off his game, and a young, still-developing Davis. Tuesday night's showdown should be an exciting look into how the two stack up, even if they only occasionally draw the assignment of guarding each other.