The biggest news to come out of New Orleans during the All-Star break didn't come from the All-Star Game that the city hosted.No, the weekend's festivities were overshadowed by a blockbuster trade that had the hometown Pelicans dealing for Sacramento Kings superstar DeMarcus Cousins.Now there's reason for excitement in the Big Easy, as Cousins and his new Pelicans teammate, Anthony Davis, get ready to play in their first game together.As seen in the video below, the new teammates got together to get some shots up on Wednesday afternoon as the Pelicans prepare for a possible playoff run:

Between them, Cousins and Davis have averaged a total of 55.5 points and 22.5 rebounds per game. Whether they can both get the touches they need to keep those averages up, however, remains to be seen.

With a 23-34 record, the Pelicans are currently 2.5 games behind the Denver Nuggets for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference and 9.5 games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the No. 7 spot.

Climbing into the playoff mix won't be easy, even with Boogie on board, but the Pelicans needed to try something to give Davis some help. To be able to land Cousins for a 2017 first-round draft pick, Tyreke Evans, Buddy Hield and Langston Galloway was simply too good of a deal to pass up.

Thursday night's matchup against the red-hot Houston Rockets, who currently hold the No. 3 spot in the West, will be a good test for the new-look Pelicans, who can't afford to have any growing pains with their star duo if they're going to earn a playoff spot this season.