re: Zach Lowe on the Pelicans

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But Cousins is a big reason those guys are playing so well -- and even for some of Davis' career-best shooting numbers. On offense, he has transformed himself into what the Pelicans need him to be -- a monstrous, 3-point-shooting point-center logging huge minutes. The price of that transformation is Cousins occasionally falling down while dribbling, turning the ball over, and huffing at the referees while the other team scores.

Cousins happily cedes the lane -- and rim-running duties -- to Davis, allowing Davis to act in a more natural finisher role. Davis gets more shots in the restricted area with Cousins on the floor, and enjoys more assisted baskets, per NBA.com. A full half of Holiday's baskets have come via assist this season, up from just 29 percent a year ago, and that role recalibration has turned him into a different player.

Cousins is good enough with the ball to make you wonder if the Pelicans need a traditional point guard at all. They have outscored opponents by almost 19 points per 100 possessions -- insane -- when Holiday, Cousins, and Davis play without either of the Rajon Rondo/Jameer Nelson duo, per NBA.com. (The margin doesn't drop much when you slide Davis out, either.)

Rondo and Nelson are sieves, and lineup data at least raises the possibility that New Orleans' bad defense has less to do with Cousins than the eye test might suggest.

Because nobody fails the eye test on bad nights like Cousins. A lot of other stars -- including Davis -- lollygag back on defense, but no one does it with Boogie's gusto. You notice it more, and for Boogie skeptics (guilty!), the nausea of watching him loaf probably colors our perception of him more than it should. It's also easy to overlook the unusually high number (for a big man) of steals he swipes -- thefts that compensate at least a bit for his own oafish pratfalls.

The Pelicans spring leaks on the defensive glass when Cousins sits. The Boogie/non-Brow lineups have been net positives since December 1 after a hideous start. Opposing coaches fear Cousins, even if they would never want to coach him.

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