For the New Orleans Pelicans, At Least There Is Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis is off to a blistering start this season. He's averaging 31 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks per game; he put up a 50-16-7-5-4 line in the opener against the Nuggets; and a few days ago he dropped 33 and 13 on the Warriors. He has done it all against defenses tilted comically in his direction, with a supporting cast that makes Brooklyn and Phoenix look like basketball paradises.

The Warriors' game plan against Anthony Davis and the Pelicans was rather straightforward pic.twitter.com/I2ClGQbAlR
— Mika Honkasalo (@mhonkasalo) November 8, 2016

Thursday night, Davis pulled off his greatest feat yet. Thanks almost entirely to their 6'10" big man made of radioactive Silly Putty, the New Orleans Pelicans notched their first win of the year against the Milwaukee Bucks, 112-106. Davis did his thing—32 points, eight boards, four geometrically inconceivable blocks—and the rest of the Pels, well, were present on the court. People named Tim Frazier and Solomon Hill played 30 minutes apiece. Dante Cunningham made one of his five three-pointers. Buddy Hield lifted his season shooting mark up past 34 percent. Because they wore the same uniforms as Davis, they were all victors.

Look at the average Pelicans box score, and you might imagine a slog, Davis lurching into shot after contested shot while help defenders run at him from all directions. Watch his highlights, though—I wouldn't ask you to sit through a New Orleans game in real time—and what most stands out is how smoothly he plays. He picks, pops, and makes loopy jumpers. He strides once and moves to the opposite side of the court, where he cans a floater. On defense, he doesn't so much barricade the rim as intercept shots on their way to it, his hand swooping in on its own while his body hangs out somewhere in the background.

Midway through the second quarter on Thursday, Miles Plumlee tried to back Davis down and get a jump hook over him. Davis waited, stifled a yawn, and when the shot finally went up batted it to a teammate. On the other end, he got the ball at the foul line with Plumlee on his back (for all their faults, the Pelicans do a fine job of getting Davis the ball where he's less likely to be doubled, rarely having him camp on the block) and made a similar move in technicolor. One dribble right, a spin back left, and his arm was up and dropping in a ten-footer.

It was quietly, representatively brilliant, and like Davis's 30 other points, it was much needed. "We were 0-8 and fighting for our lives," New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said following the game—"our lives" here possibly meaning "my job". "We're not going to say it was just another game." Touring the NBA's better conference with a rec-league roster, the Pelicans have plenty more hard nights ahead of them. It's some small blessing that they have a player who can make the tough stuff look so easy.