Anthony Davis coronation as the Next Big Thing was over last season before the save-the-dates could be distributed. After a summer of MVP hype and heavy promotion by the NBA, most notably via booking the Brow for all three of its marquee regular-season slates, what was supposed to be The Year of AD began with the budding superstar starting next to Nate Robinson against the reigning champs and rolled, rather unmercifully, downhill from there. Davis potential at one point seemed limitless, but by the end of the New Orleans Pelicans slide from 45 to 30 wins, even his first big payday fell short of expectations.A year after Alvin Gentrys champagne-soaked entry, the hangover lingers. Davis received just two third-place votes in ESPNs early MVP projections for the 2016-17 season, and his Pelicans, after an offseason spent identity-shifting the supporting cast with a group of self-made grinders, are expected to finish three spots below the postseason cutoff.So while New Orleans deservedly celebrates its winning bid for the 2017 All-Star Game, its possible that Davis, who finished ninth last season in fan voting among Western Conference frontcourt players, may again need to sweat out a spot in the main event instead of automatically assuming the role of unofficial host.Or maybe everything is aligning for All-Star weekend to serve as some scaled-down version of that long-awaited coming-out party.A leap all the way back to the front of the line is unlikely. MVP recipients teams have won 61.5 games on average, meaning the Pelicans, who finished 30-52 last season, would have to double their win total in 2016-17. Which is possible, but not probable: A turnaround of 30 wins or more has happened just five times before and twice in the past decade-plus -- the 2004-05 Phoenix Suns and 2007-08 Boston Celtics, both of which were spurred by the addition of an MVP in free agency.The Pelicans have taken quite the opposite approach, swapping high-profile scorers for high-level role players to space the floor and finally plug a defense that has ranked among the leagues bottom third throughout the Davis era. While a far cry from the fever dream of adding Kevin Durant, the hope is that a few able bodies more befitting coach Alvin Gentrys preferences -- plus a prayer for improved health after last seasons prodigious body count -- will be enough to unleash the MVP-caliber player already in house.Thats whats so often lost in the discussion of Davis: The historic production at such a young age elicited all sorts of wild fantasies for the future, but his reality already warranted Executive Platinum status. While the Brow brand took off in earnest at some point during the 2014-15 season -- likely while suspended in air for that double-clutch, game-winning 3-pointer in Oklahoma City -- talk of Davis emerging as the leagues top player can be traced back as early as the start of his sophomore season. Even last season, his raw production was eerily similar to the season prior, when he finished fifth in MVP voting:The difference, of course, lies in the details: Davis played a career-low 61 games, shot a career-worst 49.3 percent and turned in the 16th-best defensive real plus-minus at his position as the Pelicans slunk to their lowest win total since Davis rookie season.The downshift in outlook, both for Davis and the Pelicans, has certainly been a disappointment; with the NFLs Saints mired last year in a repeat 7-9 season, fans and staffers quietly savored the opportunity to finally carve out their own place in the sports hierarchy. But this summers purge of Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon, the last vestige of a time before Davis, has at least provided the team with something of a clean slate. While team brass may fret over the repercussions of another season in the draft lottery, the unburdening of external expectations could possibly lead to a renewed appreciation of some of the feats -- the League Pass Alert performances, the athleticism and ferocity unleashed on lobs, the touch and skill of a guard from a gangly giant -- that helped push Davis to the precipice to begin with.If anything, the recalibrated roster could provide more of a platform than ever before. Amid the league-high 42 different starting lineups New Orleans trotted out last season, Davis and Jrue Holiday utilized more offensive possessions than at any point in their careers. With Anderson and Norris Cole out, Tyreke Evans on the outs, and ball-moving, tertiary options like Buddy Hield, Solomon Hill, ETwaun Moore and Langston Galloway in, the onus should be on, and thus a greater opportunity to rack up numbers will be present for Davis.Maybe he cant regain the overwhelming momentum for his MVP candidacy or even get back on the ticket next season, but there will be plenty of chances to remind everyone of why such outsized expectations were placed upon Davis in the first place.Cheap Yeezys For Sale . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. Authentic Cheap Yeezys . 8 Kansas to a 64-63 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The freshman from Vaughan, Ont. http://www.discountyeezy.com/ . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Yeezy Wholesale Authentic . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. Discount Yeezy Shoes . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif.SPRINGFIELD, N.J. -- The question stumped Patrick Reed and he asked for it to be repeated.Or maybe he was simply stunned that after shooting a second-round 65 to move into contention Friday at the PGA Championship, someone was asking him about his cockiness.Reeds self-assurance is well known throughout golf. Why it would be a topic following several enthusiastic answers about his upcoming Olympic participation, and some insightful thoughts on how Baltusrol played in the second round, was somewhat difficult to fathom.But Reed scrambled -- something not required much in his seven-birdie performance that placed him at 5-under 135.Asked about believing in himself as a top-three player, Reed seemed somewhat amused.I appreciate you saying top three, because I said top five, he said. And I appreciate you calling me cocky, as well. I dont really know how to take that one.You have to believe in yourself. If there was not a mic around and you went out and asked every single guy, and if they knew you werent media and ... asked every single guy where do you want to be, they are going to say No. 1 in the world. And if they dont, then those guys also arent winning every week or even having a chance to win golf tournaments because they are not believing in themselves.But really at the end of the day, when it comes down to it, yeah, I believe in myself. I play golf. I am who I am. ... Im not writing the articles. It comes down to how you all portray me, not how I portray myself, because I didnt write the article. Theres been some I fixed and some that are true and I like the articles.But at the end of the day, all I can do is play golf and be who I am, and hopefully Ill write the good ones.Reed has written an impressive story since becoming a PGA Tour regular in 2013. Hes won four times, including becoming the youngest player to take a World Golf Championship by winning at Doral in 2014. He also won the 2015 Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. His 3-0-1 showing at the 2014 Ryder Cup was the strongest and most forceful of any American.Yet because he hasnt won this year -- he has ttwo runner-up finishes and ranks 14th in the world -- his confident attitude gets questioned.ddddddddddddReed also was asked why he hadnt elevated his game to match guys your age?Im playing great, I have a lot of top-10s, he responded emphatically. Ive just had my best finish at a major so far (tied for 12th at the British Open) and Ive only been on the tour for three years. Everyone acts like Ive been on tour for 15, 20 years. Im only 25.Reed always brightens when asked about representing his country. He actively sought a spot on the U.S. team for Rio, something he got when Dustin Johnson pulled out. Reed was in the middle of a round at the Scottish Open, where he finished tied for 10th, when Johnson withdrew.After discussing the options with his team, Reed and his wife, Justine, basically said, `Lets go.I cant wait, he said. Its one of those things that just talking about it kind of gives me goosebumps, because going over there, wearing the stars and stripes, playing again, its going to be great.His 65 Friday was the best morning round and matched Jimmy Walkers opening score. Reed shot it after an overnight change of driver. In his first round, Reed was happy with his iron play and his putting.But I couldnt keep a driver on the planet, he said. So I switched to my old driver and went and hit the driver better. The difference between a top-10 and a win out on tour is if you hit fairways, youll hit greens, and those 50-50 putts, youre always on the right side of them.One putt that definitely wasnt a 50-50 proposition came on the ninth, Reeds final hole. He hit a 6-iron to the par-3, but couldnt tell how close it was to the hole.So I just thought it might have been on the green because not a single person clapped, he said with a chuckle. So I walk up there and I realize its a foot (from the pin). I was just like, OK, I guess the rest of the field has been hitting it inside a foot all day. Didnt get a single clap, and its in there tight. ' ' '