The Bird Calls Podcast Ep. 74: New Orleans Pelicans recaps, midseason grades and mailbag

The Saints ended a wonderful season with the heaviness that the flu season has dropped upon our chests, but the future looks bright for football in New Orleans — and as a silver lining the Pelicans have now jumped into the 6th seed in the West with some signs of probably sticking there or even moving up.

We, naturally, discuss the heartbreaking Saints’ loss, and Preston dives into how much the city embraces that franchise and the outpouring of support we saw from fans upon the team’s return from Minnesota. We briefly discuss what it will take for the Pelicans to get that type of love and hold in the city. Preston also makes an interesting comparison between DeMarcus Cousins and Sean Payton.

We open the pod with a quick recap of the back-to-back wins that pushed us up out of 8th and into sixth — discussing how a rejuvenated Anthony Davis put the team on his back and perhaps finally claimed his rightful spot as king of the nest. To quote JB Smoove as Trucky in Pootie Tang, “He was rejuvenated. You hear that? Rejuvenated. He was juvenated before, lost it... and got juvenated again. Rejuvenated!” Will this set a clear hierarchy? Everyone in the stands already understood what the hierarchy should be, but wanted to see Anthony Davis take claim of since the offseason — let’s hope everyone falls in line.

Then we get into grading everyone who played meaningful minutes this season and of course Alvin Gentry and Dell Demps. Where do we agree? Where do we differ? Find out. We round out the pod with some mailbag questions from fans — please keep those coming and enjoy the pod.

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