Ed Davis Makes His DNB Debut

I will be the first to admit that I was not sure what to realistically expect from Ed Davis. When you consider he missed a chunk of his final college season at UNC and just prior to start of training camp he injured his knee requiring surgery. Davis would have to re-hab and fight to get back to make his NBA debut. He would have to make a stop in the D-League with the BayHawks. In just 2 games down there he averaged 10 points 5 rebounds and 3 blocks in just 17.5 minutes. We have no idea how long Davis was suppose to stay with the Bayhawks. The reason for that was the injury to Reggie Evans that Bryan Colangelo admits changed the plans for Davis. Since getting the call up from the D-League Davis has played 10 games he has averaged 5.2 points and 5.9 rebounds in an average of 18.9 minutes per game. He just had his first start and used it to record his first double double with 10 points and 10 boards exactly. So that is where we started this brief chat with his impressions of his first NBA start.

Terry Davis was not a lottery pick like his son. He didn't come from a big college program like his son as well. He signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat long before they had the superstars they do today. As you will see if you check his career stats he bounced around the NBA. Dad made a total of 632,000 dollars in his first 2 years in the NBA compared to 1.5 million and change that his son will bank in his first year in the NBA as the 13th pick in the draft. It sure seems that Ed has learned a lot from his father. Jay Triano said in a recent interview on the Fan 590 that Davis has done anything that coaches have asked him to do. He suggested that it was just a matter of the coaches making the demands of him. That Ed has not got to the point that he will do it on his own. But if he is asked to do anything he will. Davis clearly seems like a coachable type of player and has a background that offers him a realistic view of the life in the NBA.

While comparisons to Chris Bosh are not really accurate, Davis other then being a left handed guy out of the ACC does not remind me of Bosh at all. Well he is a little skinny like a Bosh was as well. However the comparison stops there. I feel he can be a better defender than Bosh ever was or will be. I also feel that he will never match what Bosh was on the offensive side of the ball. But the fact he missed so much time and has made the jump to the NBA without looking out of place speaks to his skill and in house knowledge. Not to say that he will be better than any of these guys, but Evan Turner, Derrick Favors and DeMarcus Cousins have all had a lot rougher transitions to the NBA than Davis has had. All 3 picked higher than Davis and you could say have struggled to fit in on the NBA level. That clearly does not seem to be the case for Davis.

Ed is one of a number of guys I asked a question for a special Christmas feature I am going whip together. I could use your help as well with it. The question is simple enough. What is the best basketball related gift you received as a kid? If you got an answer for that leave it in the comments or tweet it to me @Dinonationblog. Some of the better ones I am going to use in this feature as well. We still have interviews with Jerryd Bayless and former Raptor Kris Humphries to come for you as well in the coming days.