Sir Charles in Charge
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Yes, the New Orleans Pelicans still need DeMarcus Cousins

By Angela Bucalo

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 07: DeMarcus Cousins
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 07: DeMarcus Cousins /
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – MAY 04: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans reacts after scoring against the Golden State Warriors during the second half of Game Three of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at the Smoothie King Center on May 4, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA – MAY 04: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans reacts after scoring against the Golden State Warriors during the second half of Game Three of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at the Smoothie King Center on May 4, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

But, they’re winning…

Let’s get this out of the way: the New Orleans Pelicans are not a better team without DeMarcus Cousins. They’re not a worse team either. They’re simply a different team. And that’s not just because Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, and Rajon Rondo are filling in the holes Boogie left behind – it’s because the roster is, quite literally, different.

Losing Boogie so spontaneously was a major kick in the ass for the Pelicans’ front office. Casual fans may forget that prior to Boogie’s injury, he and Davis were rolling with fossilized versions of Jameer Nelson and Tony Allen, a geriatric backup center in Ömer Aşık, and a starter who may as well have been wearing an invisibility cloak in Dante Cunningham.

GM Dell Demps flipped this baggage into Nikola Mirotić and a little bit of cap-related breathing room.

Sprucing up the personnel paid dividends. Cheick Diallo earned a spot in the rotation, providing much-needed rebounding and energetic activity when Davis would sit. Ian Clark finally started to look like the 3-and-D specialist the Pels snatched from Golden State in the offseason. Darius Miller continued to make the most of his role as a perimeter threat.

Emeka Okafor even came into the picture as the 5 to Davis’s 4, giving decent albeit short minutes before swapping places with Mirotić. Mirotić, who did not start on a regular basis until early April, gradually came into his own as a scorer and rebounder next to AD. He’s no Boogie, though.

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