News broke Sunday night that the Sacramento Kings have dealt All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Cousins will join fellow All-Star Anthony Davis in New Orleans, giving the Pelicans what is considered by many as one of the most lethal front courts in the league. While the move will certainly boost New Orleans chances at making a run for the playoffs, there are a few factors that will stand in their way, with one of them being the Denver Nuggets.
As it stands, Denver is two and a half games up on New Orleans, and with 26 games-to-go in the regular season, the eighth seed is the Nuggets’ to lose. 15 of Denver’s final 26 games are against teams with losing records.
New Orleans may find some difficulty implementing Cousins into their system. If the Pelicans were to hit bumps in the road with Boogie down the stretch, it would help the Nuggets chances at holding off the Pels, assuming they take care of business on their end.
That said, the Nuggets still have three matchups against the Pelicans. Those matchups will give Denver three opportunities to continue to put ground between themselves and New Orleans in the playoff push.
At this point in time, the Nuggets are a scrappy, youthful team, that have been resilient all throughout the season. Denver has been tested in numerous ways this year, ultimately bouncing back from all challenges thrown their way.
This move was a great one for the Pelicans long-term, assuming Boogie re-signs with the team. With that said, time is on the Nuggets’ side in the present. 26 games may not be enough for the Pelicans to get things figured out. The Nuggets, on the other hand, have been solid as of late, owning a winning record since their Dec. 15 lineup shakeup, a move that ultimately changed the team’s direction this season.
While the Pelicans will certainly present the Nuggets with problems in the future, right now, Denver is in the driver’s seat for the final playoff spot in the West.
“26 games to go and I’m looking forward to the challenge down the stretch of playing meaningful games and try to become a playoff team,” head coach Michael Malone said in reference to the team’s playoff push. “One game at a time, don’t get too high, don’t get too low and be ready for the next challenge that is in front of us. “