Davis, Pelicans recalibrate playoff push without Cousins

METAIRIE, La. — The New Orleans Pelicans held the first practice of their new, more challenging reality Saturday — less than 24 hours after losing All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins for the rest of the season because of his Achilles tear.

The question now is: What happens to a team that has won seven of eight and was coalescing around its somewhat unconventional lineup featuring Cousins and fellow All-Star big man Anthony Davis?

“It changes for everyone, but that doesn’t mean we can’t accomplish what we set out to do,” coach Alvin Gentry said after practice. “And that’s to be a playoff team.”

The Pelicans’ offense has largely run through Cousins, who’ll miss his first game this season Sunday afternoon, when New Orleans hosts the Los Angeles Clippers.

“We have to obviously realign some things and rethink some things that we’ve done and probably add a few things and take away a few things,” Gentry said. “We have to adjust and figure out how we can best work with what we have now.”

Cousins, named an All-Star starter little more than a week ago, has averaged 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists. Cousins routinely dribbled up court after rebounds and initiated the offense, which is somewhat unusual for a center, as is his shooting range that extends beyond the 3-point line.

When the high-flying, 6-foot-10 Davis and powerful, 6-11 Cousins were on the court together, opponents trying to defend them both had tough choices to make. Meanwhile, New Orleans was looking increasingly comfortable with the scheme lately. That was evident in recent victories as well as in Cousins’ production; he registered two tripledoubles in New Orleans’ past three games, including 15 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in Friday night’s victory over Houston before his injury in the final 15 seconds of that game.

The Pelicans’ decision to attack with a tandem of dynamic post players ran counter to a trend in the NBA toward smaller lineups that rely on tempo, spacing and reliable perimeter shooting to create scoring opportunities. Even Gentry was a proponent of “small ball,” having served as a lead assistant for a Golden State squad that won a title with that style of play three seasons ago. Gentry took over in New Orleans with the intent of running a similar system — until the Pelicans seized the opportunity in a trade last February to pair Cousins with Davis in the front court.