To argue that Anthony Davis wasn鈥檛 himself the other day would be to grossly understate the obvious. After all, he managed just three points off one basket and one free throw in playing half the game, his eight misses from the field coming just one short of his combined aggregate in rebounds and blocks. The offensive output was his worst ever in any match he was able to burn rubber for at least 21 minutes, and he wasn鈥檛 happy. In his post-mortem, he professed that he missed 鈥渁 lot of easy shots, layups and stuff that I normally make,鈥 adding to his frustration.
Significantly, Davis wasn鈥檛 himself off the court, either. Not normally predisposed to verbosity, he went out of character and accompanied a glaring self-assessment with even more pointed pronouncements that appeared to be directed at the other Pelicans. 鈥淲e sucked,鈥 he contended. 鈥淣obody was interested in playing. That鈥檚 what it looked like.鈥 Considering that he had hitherto all but demanded to be dealt before the trade deadline, he was no doubt frustrated to find himself still headed towards yet another early vacation.
Indeed, the Pelicans aren鈥檛 headed anywhere but to the lottery. No doubt, they harbored aspirations of a deep run in the 2018-19 season following an inspiring campaign that had them making the conference semifinals for the first time with Davis as the centerpiece. Instead, they were derailed by injuries early on, leading their franchise player to request for a change of address to a contender and thereby sealing their fate. And given their understandable intent to get more than pennies to the dollar for their most valuable asset, they face an immediate future that is rocky at best.
To be sure, the Pelicans would be right to place blame on Davis鈥 shoulders. He was the one who tried to twist their arm by publicly asking out. Then, when his wish wasn鈥檛 granted, he insisted on suiting up alongside teammates already primed to move on without him. When he says he wants to go to a contender, he鈥檚 indicating that they鈥檙e not good enough to be one. When he says he has to go all out just for them to have a chance to win, he鈥檚 indicating they鈥檙e doormats without him. While he may well be speaking the truth, they鈥檙e not wrong to counter that he鈥檚 actually pulling them down.
True, the Pelicans could have avoided the lingering fallout by going for the Lakers鈥 bets offer prior to the trade deadline. Instead, they saw it as underwhelming in the face of a potential blockbuster coming from the Celtics. Now, they are compelled to accept the risks and the consequences of their decision to wait. And because addition by subtraction will come later, they have no choice but to accept mail-in performances over the remaining 27 games of a once-promising season.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994.
