Better fantasy pick: Anthony Davis or DeMarcus Cousins?

This is the second installment of a preseason series in which ESPN fantasy experts debate a pair of players who have similar fantasy values and/or average draft positions. The first edition compared LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo. This time, Greg Rosenstein and Tom Carpenter debate DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis -- a pair of big men with top-five upside, great nicknames and tons of risk -- whose current average draft positions are ninth and 10th, respectively.

Rosenstein on why Cousins should go ahead of Davis

Anthony Davis, without a doubt, is one of the most exciting young players in the NBA today. I mean, how many guys at 6-foot-10 have comparable athleticism, length and ballhandling ability? In many ways he's the exact opposite of Sacramento center DeMarcus Cousins; one boasts a charismatic personality who's so smooth it appears he glides up and down the court. The other has come under consistent criticism for his off-the court antics and has a physical, bruising style around the rim.

Sexy versus ugly. And I'm taking ugly.

Similar to last week's debate on LeBron vs. the Greek Freak, I prefer knowing what I'm going to get rather than hoping that player takes the next step. James is as consistent as they come, and Cousins is fairly similar in that regard.

The Sacramento star has averaged 20.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 blocks per game through his six-season career, but what I like most is he's clearly trending up. As he assumes more of a leadership role in the Kings' offense, his overall production has improved. Take last season as an example, as he posted career bests in points (26.9), steals (1.6), field goals made (9.2) and free throws made (7.3) a night. Many of his other statistics remained in elite range.

His overall production is, in fact, remarkably similar to Davis. The following categories showed them with nearly identical numbers per 36 minutes on the court: average points, average steals, field goal percentage, free throw percentage and 3-point percentage. But while you may scoff at that final statistic, keep this in mind: Cousins made 70 long-distance shots last season after attempting just 69 in his career prior to that. It's an added aspect to his already versatile offensive arsenal. He also gets to the line more -- 8.2 attempts per 36 minutes compared to 6.3 for Davis -- and has shown a better ability to find teammates for scores. His 3.1 assists per 36 minutes is nearly double that of The Brow.

Another major factor is the differences in offense. The Kings went through Cousins so often last season that he ranked No. 2 overall in usage rate (33.2) behind Russell Westbrook. Davis was 23rd. Sacramento also finished as No. 1 overall in pace, which means there should be a greater amount of possessions for Cousins to put up huge stats each night. The Pelicans, in contrast, were 11th. Even without Rajon Rondo at the point, I don't see a major difference in Darren Collison, and have no reason to believe the Kings won't finish at or near the top again.

Lastly -- and this is the biggest reason why I'd side with Cousins over Davis -- is health. If I owned the Pelicans' big man on a fantasy team, I would need to check on his status every night to make sure he wasn't hurt. In four seasons, he's already missed 68 games to a variety of injuries. Even this preseason, he had an ankle sprain. Cousins has had injuries in his career, but nothing close to as frequent as this.

In fantasy basketball, you need your stars to be there when it matters most. Not on the bench in a suit.

Carpenter on why Davis should go ahead of Cousins

"Boogie versus The Unibrow!" Sounds more like this debate belongs in ESPN's WWE section.

Let's face facts here: Aside from maybe Hassan Whiteside, there aren't two players in fantasy hoops who have such a high risk/reward ratio. Each surely would land in the top five if he is able to play 82 games, but Davis hasn't topped 68 games during his four-season career and Cousins has topped 71 games just once since his rookie campaign.

With that much volatility, it's no wonder they have fallen to the bottom of the first round.

Still, if I were to pick one, it would be Davis, and I'll point to four reasons:

1. Maturity

Davis is 23. Cousins is 26. Unfortunately, age doesn't always equate to maturity.

Cousins has a short fuse, which led to a one-game suspension last season for racking up too many technicals, but that's not the real issue. When it comes to converting talent into maximum fantasy stats, a player needs to be fully dedicated to his craft, something we have rarely seen from Boogie during his six-season career.

Although Davis has not been able to stay healthy, he has generally showed quality focus on the court.

2. Percentages

Cousins' lack of on-court focus has been reflected in a fading field goal percentage (49.6 FG percentage , 46.7 FG percentage , 45.1 FG percentage the past three seasons) and inconsistency at the stripe (72.6 FT percentage , 78.2 FT percentage , 71.8 FT percentage in that same stretch).

That's not something you can simply gloss over, either, considering he took 20.5 field goal attempts and 10.2 free throw attempts per game last season.

We saw Davis' percentages slip last season (49.3 FG percentage ; first season under 51.6 FG percentage-- 75.8 FT percentage ; first season under 79.1 FT percentage since rookie campaign), but I'm willing to blame that on a nagging knee issue which required surgery, from which he has since recovered.

3. Blocks

We also saw the Brow's block production fade, as his 2.0 BPG marks the first time since his rookie run that he failed to average at least 2.8 BPG. But Boogie's career-high mark is 1.7 BPG.

Big-time shot-blockers are a scarce commodity - even more so when it comes to those who score and shoot well from the stripe.

If Davis' worst production in blocks is better than Cousins' best, that's a notable edge in a key category.

4. Stability

Neither the Pelicans nor Kings have done a good job of putting together a well-rounded roster, but Cousins is on his sixth head coach, the Kings lack player leadership on the court and in the locker room, and from ownership to the front office, it's been an absolute circus in recent years.

To me, an immature mercurial player like Cousins without leadership and direction is just a mess waiting to happen. Maybe new coach Dave Joerger can find the magic touch, but I remain skeptical.

Instead, give me the Brow and his more enticing all-around stats. I prefer crossing my fingers in the hope that he can stay on the court for 70-75 games, because the only thing I see stopping him from a top-five finish is his health -- and that's an issue that also continues to plague Boogie.