It's clear the team is at it's best when he's on the court. He protects the guards defensively and creates space on offense with his screens. Plumlees playmaking can be useful with the second unit since mccollum is the only ballhandler.
I guess what I'm trying to say is sign larry sanders. Imagine the C depth chart consisting of davis and larry
I mean sure, barely, but everything Ed does well, Ed does WELL. Setting screens, playing solid defense, rebounding.....etc. On a night in night out basis you're getting more production on average with Big Ed. Mason has his moments, but even if he gets better stats than Ed the eye test tells me Ed is just better. I also love that Ed doesn't lose chippy rebounds because of his T-Rex arms. *cough Mason*
Mason also has leonarditis when attacking the basket. It's like DUDE. SLAM THAT SHIT DOWN THEY THROAT
Love Ed's motor around the rim. It never goes off. Mason and Meyers turn into silly putty when they get to the hole. Next year I want to see somebody who can go BOOM! So Neil if your reading....
I still view Davis as more of a PF. Problem is he can't play with Plumlee. My hope is we get a stretch 5 next year that can somewhat defend (Pau Gasol, Al Horford, Kelly Olynyk, etc.) That would allow Davis to play at the 4 and having a 3rd shooter would mean we could go after Derozen or keep Aminu and our unit would still mesh. Plumlee would be great off the bench next to Vonleh.
I've been one of the biggest Ed supporters this whole season. He's definitely our most certain 3rd core piece on this roster after DameCJ. Ed is excellent off the bench. He can really exploit his advantage over other backups. There's a number of advanced statistics showing he has less of an advantage against starters. We could start him and yes he'd be productive but would be be more productive than in his current role? I tend to think not. Now if we have different starters next year perhaps the dynamic will change and he will be more beneficial at that time as a starter. But I wouldn't force him into the starting lineup. Think of him as our big man version of Ginobili.
No--keep him in the backup frontcourt with Vonleh. Those two worked great together in preseason, and are renewing that same chemistry now after Noah's demotion. The bench lineup we're running of Henderson/Crabbe/Vonleh/Davis is perhaps our biggest advantage over other teams. As long as Davis is getting plenty of minutes (which he is), I prefer him in the role he has now--dominating lesser bigs through sheer force of will.
no. he brings solid defense and rebounding to our bench. not to mention the energy. i love Ed, but he is more valuable off the bench at this time.
Nope, I agree with what others have said. Ed is PERFECT in his current role, thriving in it and seems content playing that role. I love the energy he brings when he enters the game. I like Harkless in the starting line up and Davis/Vonleh coming off the bench. I think Stotts has done a wonderful job maximizing each players production for the benefit of the team. I know there was a lot of criticism of Vonleh starting, but I even think that was a good move. It made Vonleh more comfortable and helped his development. After a few months of starting, he doesn't have any jitters when entering the game. He's used to playing against NBA starters, so when he enters the game against reserves, he's calm and confident in his ability to play at this level. That's significant progress for a 20-year old. It also made Harkless hungry. He's a young guy that wants to make his mark, but didn't always bring his A game earlier in the year. His effort night to night was very inconsistent. Since the all-star break, he has gone from being out of the rotation to being a key reserve to being a starter - and he's earned it and is playing much better and bringing much more consistent effort on a nightly basis. If he would have been gifted the starting role and training camp, I don't think he'd be nearly as productive and consistent as he is now. So, different players, different needs. Stotts managed them both well, as he has with Davis, who seems very happy in his role on this team. He seems much happier as a bench player on a winning team with great chemistry than he was as a starter on that dumpster fire of a team he played for last year. I'm done questioning Stotts' player usage. The man knows what he's doing. BNM
