Dale Davis was a good man defender, but didn't provide much in the way of rim protection. Ed Davis does, so that's also a significant difference. Dale was a defensive and rebounding hound, but had virtually no value on offense (outside of offensive rebounds and the occasional put-back). Ed Davis is a solid pick-and-roll player, which is quite important in a pick-and-roll league. I actually think it's debatable which player was better in a vacuum, but I'd definitely prefer Ed over a prime Dale in today's league.
I wonder if we are better off with Ed Davis than Greg Monroe. With Dame, CJ, and Leonard what do we need more ....an offensive big or a defensive big? Monroe is probably the correct answer, but It is a lot closer than their salaries might suggest.
Monroe is probably the "better" player, but Davis is a better fit for the current era of basketball. If Dame is going to be the offensive centerpiece, a pick-and-roll big who can protect the rim probably makes the Blazers better than a classic post-up big who can't play defense.
Also, you take salaries into account and this is a much better signing than if we got Monroe. The only reason I was enticed by Monroe was it would have made it more likely to bring Aldridge back. But if we are going to miss out on LMA, I'm thrilled with the Davis signing. If nothing else, this is going to me an extreemly tradable contract next offseason, but I think this guy is going to big time wow people and in a couple years he will be worth twice his pay.
Supposedly, that was one of Dame's strengths coming out of college. Maybe we'll see his assists rack up next year.
I've always been a fan of Ed Davis came out too early much like john Henson but looks like he's finally growing into his body. Now I'm starting to think of the three that got away RHJ Tyus jones and RJ Hunter. Vonleh was thinking great at first now it's my time no LMA, ok Plumlee, damn now Ed Davis.
Not having Batum next season guaranteed that. Toewards the end you could actually see Lillard get pissed off when he'd swing a pass to Batum for a shot, only to see his assist disappear when Batum tried to swing the ball somewhere else instead.
All his points came off of Linsanity lobs. Linsanity anyone? I'm sure he'll be cheaper as of right now Frazier is our back up. How did we not get Tyus jones who the fuck is Frazier? Lol
Lillard never seemed the type to care about assists. He would often pass the ball up court to another player instead of just dribbling up court. The ball doesn't "stick" in his hands, like other ball-dominant point guards (e.g., CP3). The only player that seemed to hunt for assists on our team was Batum.
One more thing about Dame: it seems to me that, if he passes you the ball, it's because he thinks you are in the right spot to shoot it. You should shoot the ball when he passes it to you, because he's collapsed some defenders or gotten a good switch or something. Players like Batum (who likes to pass more than shoot) and even Leonard (the king of shot selection) made him second-guess passing to them because they weren't in tune with his philosophy, the philosophy of a guy used to being The Man, and used to completely running an offense. If LA does not return, I think you'll see players shoot when Dame passes to them, because they'll be open.
I expressed myself poorly there. See my other post above; it's not really about the stat, it's about his view of the court and when a play is ready to end in a shot. If he passed it to Batum, it's because he thought Batum should shoot it. If he got frustrated it's because Batum squandered the opportunity to grab a potential assist.
Lin would be a good backup PG/SG. I don't want to rely on Frazier, who is still unproven at the NBA level, and on CJ, who hasn't proved that he's can run point.
I wouldn't mind that, but isn't he really really bad defensively and with clutch decision making? We like to run two PGs in the fourth, and Lin being one of them increases the odds of a bad decision.
