Anthony Davis = Smart, skilled Javale McGee with a jumper
Sacramento has to be the least fundamentally sound team in the NBA. That aside, this video proves what we already knew. The dude is lanky, athletic, and his highlight reels are filled with dunks. The shot coming off the screen was nice, but I really want to see Davis use some legitimate post moves. When he gets those, he will be deadly.
He should get that pump fake - slash move before anything...
His shooting, with his ability to put in the floor, combined with his IQ and athleticism (dunking) would be devastating in the hi-post.
Some Chris Bosh film would do him good.
This isn't the main point of the thread, but I went to both the Hornets and Nuggets games when they played the Pacers this season and I was A LOT more impressed with McGee physically. For real... McGee's physical qualities/attributes are something special. That's a HUGE young dude. It's a shame his basketball IQ is so low.
But I really like Davis. As long as he stays healthy, he should develop into one of the better power forwards in the league. What'll make him a superstar in my opinion though is if he can develop that back to the basket low post game and draw a double team. He's a looong way from doing that.
"I was A LOT more impressed with McGee physically"
For sure, but you also have to account the fact that Mcgee jumps as high as he can every time he dunks it, Davis is merely getting the job done.
(not saying is all about the dunks)
Also, Davis is gonna get more athletic, while Mcgee has peeked.
I'm not really talking about just athleticism. I mean, McGee is just so much taller, longer and his reach is enormous. He's got Davis beat by a lot.
Lamarcus Aldridge was always a guy who's size, length, etc put me in shock, but McGee even has him beat.
Mcgee has the tools to be a top5 big in the league but more then likely won't end up being that. As for Davis I think he should get a post up game into his bag of tricks sooner then later and lift more weights and grab a meal or two to eat.
Anthony Davis is 43-155 beyond 9-feet, which is 27.7 percent. 0-6 from three, 25-96 (26 percent) from 16-feet to the arc, 18-53 (34 percent) from 10 to 15-feet. Over the past season and a half, JaVale is 36-120(16-53 this season and 20-67 in 11-12), which is 30 percent.... I guess the take away can be that some of the shots went in and can be assembled in a video, which because the only videos worth having of JaVale McGee are on Shaqtin' a Fool can then be used to overshadow the actual numbers.
Anthony Davis is a 19 year old rookie big. How does he compare to other 19 year old bigs from the past? Pretty fantastic actually, and he's only going to get much, much better.
Players Age PER TS% TRB% STL% BLK% TO% ORtg DRtg WS/48
Anthony Davis 19 20.4 0.54 16.0 2.3 5.4 11.0 108 102 .140
Dwight Howard 19 17.2 0.571 17.3 1.5 3.6 16.1 111 104 .131
Kevin Garnett 19 15.8 .522 13.1 1.9 4.4 12.1 107 107 .092
Sorry for the bad formatting here, someone else posted this at the link below and it's easier to read:
http://www.hornetsreport.com/showthread.php?75420-Davis-vs-The-Field
First off, what does that have to do with anything I wrote? I took issue with a statement that he could be JaVale McGee "with a jumper." Taking perimeter shots is not the same thing as having a jumper. 28 percent is not good, and it is a fact that JaVale McGee is actually shooting a higher percentage.
Second, cherry-picking stats and giving greater weight to whatever stat helps you feel better doesn't make for a compelling argument. You compared him to two guys who didn't play a year in college, Davis did and turns who will turn 20 in a couple weeks. Garnett and Howard turned 20 after their rookie years. Also, using your same logic, Andre Drummond is having a better rookie year than Davis. If you take out all context and just look at your selected statistics absent of context, someone can make that argument. I wouldn't, because it is wrong, but no more wrong than what you did.
Third, did you ever think to compare him to other players? What about all those other one-and-dones like Chris Bosh, Lamar Odom, Charlie V, or Shareef Abdur-Rahim? Could it be because at the same point in their development they were more developed offensively raising the problem of Anthony Davis shooting 28 percent outside 9-feet as well as him not being someone who is a creator offensively for himself or others. Would pointing out that Andrei Kirilenko (who similarly turned 20 as a rookie) was able to stuff a stat sheet in a very similar manner and also shot a lousy percentage on jumpers (albeit many were 3-pointers) dull the NBA contender cornerstone-in-training vibe you want to believe?
I totally agree with your view on Davis. I have watched him, and he's a nice player who does some things well, but he is far from the franchise cornerstone some thought/still think he is. Most of the arguments against this are based on his age, what other players were doing at his age, how good he *could* become, and how good his jumper is *going to be*. He doesn't have a very consistent jumper at all, he just takes a lot of them and sometimes he can get a bit hot. I'm not saying he has no chance at being good, I just think people need to stop relying on what he compares to statistically with rookies out of high school, or the "eye test" and take the facts that he really just isn't that great at this point.
Idk, Garnett had more of a mean streak, and definitely put more ferocity in his dunks. But the ease of that two hand dunk from about 7 feet out on the fast break with Gordan made me think he could probably dunk from the free throw line. He kinda hangs when he jumps, and definitely is a special athlete.
The Bosh upside for Davis is a good comparison, if he gets anywhere near KG level then NOH are laughing. As regards McGee if Coach Karl cannot get anything out of him over and above what Washington saw then I really doubt anyone can.
Coach Williams at NOH is doing a nice job with Davis but it would be fun to think how good someone like Coach Karl to polish his game.
Anthony Davis definitely has the length and athleticism to be a great defender similar to Kevin Garnet. The thing is KG took up most pride in being elite defender and even had that crazy eyed intensity right from the beginning. Davis will need a couple more years for me to really be able to gauge his defensive level activity.
Just a quick aside. Andre Drummond and Anthony Davis are 1 and 2 in rookie teenager WS per 48. Kobe's 19 year old season was his sophomore season. Just a note for you advance metrics types. Drummond is already one of the best post defenders in the league. He's quickly becoming the steal of the draft with his athleticism, defense and unbelievable upside.
Heres the basketball reference link.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&...
In that clip did they really run Davis off a high screen to free up a 20 foot jumper? Like that is actually a play that they drew up and thought was a good idea. Yeah, the kid hit it. But what are they trying to do? Create the next Beasley? Low percentage jumper and no chance of drawing a foul. Wow seems like an awesome play to me.
Yes, Davis looks great. The stats do not support that he has a jumper though. The video does suggest that the Hornets are dumb enough to think he should be shooting 20 footers though.
McGee is an even more impressive physical specimen though. I will give you that he might have slightly less touch and obviously worlds less of basketball IQ. But if Coach Karl didn't hate him as a player, the dude would be playing 30+ minutes a night and putting up some big numbers.
This dude will be one of the top players in the NBA....
I have stopped posting videos because F. it....
But just look at this, its scary how good he can be!!!
I think he's gonna keep getting more athletic as he gains even more weight.
BEAST MODE!!!
P.S. don't take the title too serious.