Anthony Davis gets the first playoff win pressure off his back

Now that the first round of the NBA Playoffs are underway one thing stands out. Anthony Davis is the best player on the floor in the Pelicans vs Blazers series, and in Game 1, the team with the best player walked away victorious.

Since Davis entered the league, his critics have all pointed to one thing when they try to downplay just how good Davis is, and that is him not having any playoff wins.

Davis made his first and only previous trip to the playoffs in the 2014-15 season which saw him getting swept by the Golden State Warriors. The Pelicans failed to make the playoffs in four of his first five seasons.

In Game 1 Saturday, Davis posted a very strong stat line. He finished with 35 points, 14 rebounds, 2 steals, and 4 blocks. On top of his play of the floor, he finally got a playoff win to remove that weight off of his back and silence the critics.

One thing that makes this Pelicans team fun to watch is the connection that Davis and Rajon Rondo have in the pick and roll. Rondo is able to direct the offense is beautiful fashion and he had 17 assists in the game. Rondo is the perfect type of point guard to complement Davis and the other players on the team. Really makes you wonder what this team would be had Demarcus Cousins never gotten injured.

After the game Davis said his first playoff win was “huge” but went on to say that they have things to improve on. You can see the full press conference here.

You can also watch a postgame interview with Rajon Rondo here.

Davis and the Kentucky heavy roster of the Pelicans will be looking to take a 2-0 lead over the Blazers on Tuesday night. That game will be at 10:30pm on TNT.