The New Orleans Pelicans, amidst a 0-6 free fall, are in a dangerous tailspin that has nothing to do with the supporting cast, and everything to do with their MVP candidate, Anthony Davis.

Labeled as the game’s best by The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor and Bill Simmons, Anthony Davis posted a horrendous -22 plus/minus in his first 30 minutes in last night’s eye-sore against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Anthony Davis began the game shooting just 4/11 after having finished 6/16 against the Golden State Warriors and 5/13 against the San Antonio Spurs. And yet, it wasn’t Davis’ offensive performance that has the Pelicans’ fan base concerned. It’s the general apathy to do anything on either end of the floor. Davis has begun to settle for deep contested-twos, turned the ball over an appalling four times, and shied away from contact early and often allowing a dominant performance from Steven Adams (18 points, eight rebounds and game leading +22).

The Big Kiwi Steven Adams combines with Westbrook for the JAM ???? #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/GKskTXtxCx

— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) November 6, 2018

On this possession, Davis recognizes the rolling big man, and instead of rotating to absorb the contact, opts for the lazy swipe as Adams takes it hard to the basket.

In addition, as pointed out by Oleh Kosel of TheBirdWrites.com, Anthony Davis displayed an overall lack of focus, as evidence by this what-were-you-thinking travel late in the third during what would become a 16-2 run for the Thunder.

The Pelicans should have taken control once Russell Westbrook exited with a nasty ankle sprain, but instead, the Thunder, led by Dennis Schroeder (22 points), used the opportunity to carve up the lifeless Pelicans, doing much of their destruction in the paint (64 points). A string of careless turnovers gave the Thunder a 13-0 run in his absence and a definitive 16 point lead heading into the final stanza. The Thunder would finish the third quarter with 100 points, after having shot over 70 percent in the first quarter alone.

The Thunder entered the game with the 20th best offensive rating, and the league’s worst three-point shooting mark (29 percent). The bulk of their powers come in the paint (52 per game), and in transition.

Defeating them means getting in front of them, and forcing them to make shots, and the Pelicans failed to do that all night long. In fact, the Pelicans were much better with Anthony Davis OFF the floor, as evidenced by third-year man Cheick Diallo’s +12 swing in just ten minutes. With Davis looking on from the bench, a lineup of Jrue Holiday-Ian Clark-Nikola Mirotic-Julius Randle-Cheick Diallo exploded for a lightning quick 8-0 run in the first 2:31 of the fourth quarter.

It is true that Anthony Davis has been struggling with an elbow strain suffered late against the Brooklyn Nets, but it offers no excuse for the complacency exhibited by the team’s leader. In the absence of DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo, there currently sits a void on the Pelicans’ bench, where vocal and on-court coaching tenacity once stood.

“DeMarcus told me at halftime, ‘If you won’t go back in, let me get your Achilles,'” Davis said. “I wanted to go out there and do whatever I can to help the team.”

Anthony Davis gave this quote before rattling off 19 third-quarter points in a critical victory over the Clippers just one year ago. Without Cousins to motivate him, who will force Davis to lead this team?

Through 10 games, Jrue Holiday, not Davis, has been the Pelicans best player, improving the Pelicans’ defensive rating by +12.8. Offensively, one could argue Nikola Mirotic has been the Pelicans’ most positive asset, improving the unit +9 in offensive rating.

The Pelicans have a grand opportunity with home games against the Bulls (3-8) and Suns (2-7) to right the ship this week and even out the record at 6-6, but returning to form will largely fall upon the sagging shoulders of Anthony Davis.

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Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images