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 – APRIL 19: Nikola Mirotic #3 of the New Orleans Pelicans reacts after scoring a three pointer during Game 3 of the Western Conference playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Smoothie King Center on April 19, 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 – APRIL 19: Nikola Mirotic #3 of the New Orleans Pelicans reacts after scoring a three pointer during Game 3 of the Western Conference playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Smoothie King Center on April 19, 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, Mirotić…

In a league where the best teams are led by multiple All-Stars, it makes little sense to suggest the Pelicans should let Cousins walk come free agency. New Orleans won’t be winning a championship any time soon without him.

Yes, the Pelicans swept a playoff series in an upset no one predicted; that doesn’t mean they couldn’t have swept the same team with Cousins in the lineup, exposing all of Portland’s weaknesses along the way. Much of the overreaction to the Pels’ Round 1 success doesn’t account for what would come next.

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The Boogie-less incarnation of the Pelicans has run headfirst into a gold-and-blue brick wall exposing, in wicked turn, a few Cousins-sized craters. Though the Pelicans managed to win Game 3, a tragic ending to this series is inevitable. 

The idea of Nikola Mirotić taking DeMarcus Cousins’s roster spot is incomprehensible. There are plenty of analysts who disagree and have carefully chosen advanced metrics to back up their position, but in a situation like this, we need to remove the recency blinders and take a hard look at reality. Yes, Niko is a catch-and-shoot guy who moves well without the ball, and yes, he defended the Trail Blazers adequately.

That doesn’t necessarily make him a better fit, and a four-game sample size based on one advantageous matchup doesn’t merit kicking a superstar like Cousins off the team. It instead merits applause for Mirotić for stepping up and making the most of his role, one he knew prior to agreeing to the trade is subject to change upon Boogie’s return.

The Pelicans don’t have, by NBA elite standards, a deep bench, and if they’re interested in a deeper playoff run in 2019, Mirotić will have to prepare for Sixth Man of the Year-caliber play. Through two painful games against the Warriors, he’s offered no resistance to Kevin Durant and taken no offensive pressure off of an asphyxiating AD. As long as the Pelicans need to get through the Golden State Warriors for a shot at a title, life without Boogie is death.

In three autumn-time losses to Golden State, Cousins averaged 23 points on 46.9 percent shooting, 10.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, three blocks, and three steals. The Pelicans played the Warriors tightly and toughly, jumping out to big leads in all three contests, including one without Rondo and another without Davis. They couldn’t close out these games, but the Pelicans hadn’t yet become the clutch time masters they are now.

In the Western Conference Semifinals against the same team, Mirotić is putting up 14.3 points on 43 percent shooting, 10 rebounds, 2.0 assists, zero blocks, and one steal. The Warriors, without Steph Curry, blew the Pelicans out of the gym in Game 1; Game 2, which included Curry, had the Pels playing from behind for 48 minutes. The Pels are playing the Warriors fast without Cousins, and maybe too fast: Boogie slowing things down wasn’t a disadvantage back in the fall.

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