Ed Davis Will Help the Trail Blazers’ Offense

By Carlos Diaz | Sep 7, 2015

Since the Portland Trail Blazers have signed Ed Davis, much of the talk surrounding the acquisition has been focused on his defensive potential. It is understandable after all; he is quick, athletic forward with tremendous length. While he has shown flashes of being a consistent defender, there are still times when he comprises his position in favor of going for a block.

He often relies on his speed to salvage a defensive possession; he roams instead of securing position. Despite all that his speed is useful when dealing with guards and 3-point shooting big men. He can be a good defensive player but his true worth might be on the offensive end for the Trail Blazers.

He provides no shooting, but is lethal in the pick-and-roll. Davis just doesn’t roll to the basket mindlessly. He is a master at slowing down and shifting into open space. He is always aware of where the ball handler is and makes himself available for a pass:

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Despite not being explosive at the rim, his length allows him to seemingly glide across the paint and finish. Considering Damian Lillard’s affinity for the pick-and-roll, Davis will get ample opportunity to showcase these skills. But the best version of Ed Davis might have already been seen already with the journeyman’s first team, the Toronto Raptors.

During the 2012-13 season, in a 23-game span in which Davis started because of injuries, he averaged 14.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, and two assists while having a true-shooting percentage of 56.8 per 36 minutes. These numbers don’t scream All-Star but you have to look deeper, specifically at the assist numbers and the circumstances in which they were obtained.

As a starter in that limited time frame, Davis had a usage percentage of 19.9 and assisted on 9.4 percent of his teammates made baskets. To put that into perspective, Former Trail Blazer LaMarcus Aldridge had a usage rate of 30.2 percent but only assisted on 9.2 percent of his teammates’ made field goals last season.

Despite having a higher usage rate than Davis, Aldridge assisted on fewer baskets. A playmaking big man is a valuable commodity in today’s NBA.

Davis was able to grow and become a facilitator of sorts because of the main offensive set the Raptors used: HORNS. This set has two big men on the team set up at the elbows and the two wings in the corner. Although multiple plays can develop from this base, this set calls for the big men being at least adequate passers.

The Raptors were able to use this offense to reasonable effect because Davis and the other big man, Amir Johnson, were more than just adequate. Despite not being shooters, they were able to space the floor to an extent.

Davis will be called on to use his playmaking skills this season with Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts’ “flow offense.” It calls for the players to react to the defense and make the appropriate reads to counter it. His days as a Raptor have prepared Davis for this sort of offense, and he should be a prominent figure in the Trail Blazer rotation, if not the starting lineup.

He might not be able to hit a 3-pointer, but he can certainly help an offense. Just look at this pass:

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