ESPN just published an article about how Lebron is having his most efficient start in his career days ago. I looked up the PER ranking today, and I see AD sits right above LBJ and Love at the top, and he's younger than a lot of rookies. Pre draft, Hollinger's formula predicted AD to be better than Love by some margin and Morey repeatedly said what a transcendent player he would be... I don't think anyone in 2014 draft would top him.
It's probably a little too early to say something like that, but there is no doubt the kid is special. --------------------------------------------------- What I wanted to show you guys is that, while his defense is widely celebrated, it is his offense that the Pelicans seem to rely on more often than not. Every night, Davis has the ability to get a double-double simply by outworking his opponents and using his natural talent. And the truth is, the one-on-one matchup doesn't seem to have a bearing on Davis' output. He's had great games against traditional/lumbering centers (Pau game 1, Hibbert, Kanter, Biyombo?) and poor games (Marc w/o ZBo, Pau game 2). Great games against mobile bigs (Vucevic, Hawes) and poor games (Plumlee x2). However, a pattern emerges when you give his opponent another shot at him. Legend: Increased/Decreased/Negligible change Pts/Reb/Ast/Blk/Stl/FG%/FGA/FTA LAL Game 1(WIN): 32/12/3/6/1/67%/18/11 ----Game 2(LOSS): 15/5/2/0/2/55%/11/4 PHX Game 1 (LOSS): 17/11/0/5/0/36%/14/8 -----Game 2 (LOSS): 14/12/1/1/4/39%/13/5 It is interesting to note that, purely based on the numbers, the key to beating him is to limit his shot attempts (including FTA). It makes a lot of sense if you think about it: Davis has a raw offensive game so most of his buckets come off of quick-hitting easy buckets, thus you can take him out of the game by denying him the ball and hustling to limit his fast break and 2nd chance opportunities. Thus NO has designed their offense around him, so they struggle a bit when he doesn't get going. Basically, if Davis is denied his bread and butter, NO is forced into tougher shots and is more likely to lose. ORtg in wins:134 ------losses:113 Contrast that with his defense: DRtg in wins:82 ------losses:108 Besides demonstrating the importance of Davis's offense (rather than defense) in wins, these numbers also illustrate Davis' innate ability to get himself involved on defense even if his shots are not falling. That is the hallmark of a star: the ability to influence the game in multiple ways. Scary good.
The ESPN article was talking about him shooting 60% from the field and 50% from threes, not so much PER... (IIRC). Those are some incredible percentages, and he has had back spasms early this year. Just incredible.
His numbers are insane for a 2nd year player, if he stays healthy he'll have one of the greatest careers in history.
He reminds me more of a young Duncan. Young Olajuwon was almost more Shawn Kemp like. Pure explosion. Davis' game seems a little more fundamental, ala the Big Fundamental.
Kemp was nothing like a rookie Akeem. But at 19 yrs old like Davis, I'd agree with that. A 19 yr old Duncan. Can't recall. I stopped watching college by then I think the Bill Russell comparison still works better than others Davis surely would have one multiple NCAA chips like Russell did
Unibrow is 20 years old and he already is posting a 29 per. The kid is so legit, like a young Zo Mourning in my opinion.
^ Did he just discover Pierre the Pelican? Spoiler Give me your soul!!! Edit: Spoiler Yes, yes he did
Talk about a horrible assessment and prediction. Just horrible, and I do remember this convo and knew I would have to face it at some point. I think Davis is great. I still question how much he contributes to actual winning and success. Although, this year once cousins went down he seemed to finally take a step towards being a dominant force that could attribute to victories.
KD & AD to LA! Jalen Rose: Anthony Davis Will Be On Lakers By 19-20 Season Anthony Davis signed with Rich Paul of Klutch Sports and it has ramped up speculation over his future with the New Orleans Pelicans. Davis will be eligible to sign a supermax contract in 2019 and his willingness to sign that deal or not will be an indicator of how he feels about his future with the Pelicans. "I am predicting that Anthony Davis ends up in Los Angeles with LeBron James (next season) and they will be another dynamic duo trying to put together a squad to take down, potentially, the Golden State Warriors," said Jalen Rose. Davis cannot become a free agent until 2020, which means the Lakers would have to trade for him.
