Projected to miss a grand total of 32 games with an injury – a broken finger suffered in the Feb-7th loss to the San Antonio Spurs – Anthony Davis has waited along the sidelines with bated breath, yearning to once again terrorize opposing frontcourts.
It should be, perhaps, no surprise that the Pelicans have managed only a 10-16 record since losing their star forward. Still, the timely arrival of Damian Lillard has helped prop-up this floundering Western Conference hopeful – Lillard has been the leading scorer in 15 of the contests that Davis has missed.
The additional loss of Sam Dekker shot more holes in the already thin, post-trade depth chart for the Pelicans. Losing both Anthony Davis and Sam Dekker saw the Pelicans lose 72 combined minutes of starting-level productivity.
Clint Capela has been a bright spot in an otherwise rough end to the regular season. The 3rd year forward, stepping into the massive void left by Davis’ injury, has improved his field goal percentages by almost five percent and has begun generating almost four trips to the free throw line per contest, generating roughly 1.28 PPSA.
Ultimately, the looming fervor of the playoffs weighs heavily. The beginning of the 2016 season saw an arms race of unparalleled proportions, with the top several teams in each conference consolidating power even further through the acquisition of even more top-level talent.
Two teams in the Western Conference already sit north of 60 regular season wins – the Rockets and Kings still have 6 more games to improve those already impressive totals. Both present daunting obstacles to a championship run and most will eagerly await a 7-game Western Conference Championship series between the two.
If – and that’s a big if – you can get through them? The Pistons, Bulls and Celtics with a sprinkle of Magic await in the title bout. That’s enough to make even the most battle-hardened teams flinch.
Once thing is for sure – this postseason will be epic.
Congrats to all on a great season so far! Let’s do this!
Perhaps he need a few more weeks to rest 
Dream Team 
