Portland Trail Blazers: Ed Davis Q&A With FanSided’s Lake Show Life
One of the Portland Trail Blazers key free agent acquisitions this week was the 26-year-old big man, Ed Davis. They reportedly agreed on a three-year, $20 million contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Davis is hardly a LaMarcus Aldridge replacement, but he does have a specific skill set and seems to be the type of player that will buy into a role.
I reached out to Scott Asai (@GrowingForward), a writer for the FanSided Lakers blog, Lake Show Life, to get his opinion on Ed Davis as someone who watched him play for an entire season.
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Here’s the interview:
Chris St. Jean (HoopsHabit): From afar, Ed Davis seems to provide rebounding (7.6 rpg, 44.4% Contested Rebound %) and rim protection (1.2 bpg, 53.9% Opp FG% at the rim). Is it fair to say these are his strengths? He excelled compared to other Lakers in these departments, how about relative to his opponents? Does the eye test match the numbers?
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Scott Asai (Lake Show Life): Ed Davis is a workhorse. His production in limited minutes last season with the Lakers was impressive. Rebounding and contesting shots are two of his strong suits, but his biggest impact on his court is his ability to finish around the rim and energy.
If you look at Davis’ shot selection rarely does he shoot outside the paint. Some may criticize his range, but he knows his role and stays there. A lot of players try to do too many things well and therefore become mediocre at all facets of the game. Davis on the other hand sticks to what he does best: rebound, block shots and get points in the paint.
Chris: Over the last few seasons, Portland tends to play one of the most conservative pick and roll defensive schemes in the league in which big men are asked to stay low and protect the paint while the guards chase ball handlers over the screens to limit 3-point opportunities. Do you think that style fits well with Ed Davis’ skill set on defense? Should they ask him to be more aggressive and hedge or show more?
Scott: Staying with your man off a pick and roll is a trend in the NBA just like small ball. But if you look back to one of the most lethal pick and roll combos in NBA history, John Stockton and Karl Malone, you’ll see they did it much differently.
Malone would always hedge the ball handler and force him back the opposite way. He didn’t care about size, that was the strategy and it worked well. Davis has the speed to stay with guards, so he should have no problem showing more off pick and rolls assuming Coach Stotts wants to do that. Passively switching off a pick and roll is just lazy defense. The only time that should be done is if both defenders and the same height, but not as your default plan.
Chris: Is there any offensive upside for Davis? Is it simply that he knows his limitations considering he shot 60% on the season and took 452 of his 469 shots from within nine feet (according to NBA.com)? Is he as effective of a finisher at close range as his numbers seem to indicate?
Scott: Last season Ed Davis played alongside Jordan Hill, and both are traditional power forwards. Since the NBA is all about comparisons, Davis has much more room to grow than Hill. Davis is better off the bench because he has a tendency to be so aggressive that he can get into foul trouble early if he’s on the court for too many minutes consecutively.
Davis’ shot selection reminds me of Shaquille O’Neal in his prime. In no way is Davis as big or as good as O’Neal in his prime, but both knew their limits. Davis it strong in pick and roll situations as well as on the glass offensively. Defensively he plays great help-side defense and has the speed and athleticism to stay with his man. Close to the rim he’s close to as good as it gets in the NBA. He can finish well with both hands and is able to adjust in the air seamlessly.
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Chris: During the season, it seemed like Davis’ minutes fluctuated. Why did he only play 23 minutes per game? How come he couldn’t convince Byron Scott to trust him more?
Scott: This has little to do with Davis and more with Byron Scott. Coach was experimenting with lineups the entire season as if it was a scrimmage. Davis was never in the doghouse, rather he was a coach favorite.
At a certain point, it almost seemed the Lakers were trying to preserve and hide Davis from the rest of the league in fear others would realize what a steal he was. In the end, Portland got a great deal before the salary cap rises next summer. Davis’ energy and skill set is something every team needs in their locker room.
Chris: At 26, has Davis flashed have any more upside, or is he essentially what he will be?
Scott: Like most players in the NBA how you come into the league is usually close to what you’ll become. Strengths should be optimized while weaknesses can be improved, but usually aren’t. Davis will never be a stretch 4 and there’s nothing wrong with that. he plays bigger than his frame and doesn’t have the ego that most athletes do.
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His production will rise based upon the minutes he receives. With Portland in rebuilding mode, expect Davis to average in the high 20’s to low 30’s in terms of minutes. He can be a double-double guy each night he steps on the floor as long as he stays out of foul trouble.
Chris: How do you think Davis is going to be viewed by Portland fans at the end of this three-year, $20 million contract?
Scott: Ed Davis, as long as he stays healthy, will be a steal. He’s going to bring it every night and doesn’t need plays drawn up for him. He’ll blend in with the team and be a locker room glue guy. As a Lakers fans I was sad to see him go, but for the Blazers he’ll soon be a fan favorite because of his hustle and work ethic.
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Davis not only provides an element of rim protection (1.9 blocks per 36, 22nd in the NBA among players that logged at least 1000 minutes) but he also serves as an athletic roll man option that nearly mirrors Robin Lopez‘ production in that situation. He produced 1.09 (Lopez produced 1.17) and shooting 61 percent (Robin shot 60%) as the roll man, according to NBA.com’s Play Type data.
Blazers fans may still be stinging after watching LaMarcus Aldridge flee Portland for San Antonio and replacing him with a couple of role players, but it’s clear that Neil Olshey is changing the direction of this franchise. Once Portland comes to terms with lower expectations for this team, it sounds like they may grow to love Davis’ energy on both ends of the floor.
Special thanks to Scott Asai and Lake Show Life for dropping the knowledge.
Next: Neil Olshey Moves Forward Without LaMarcus Aldridge
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