Author Topic: Has Anthony Davis always been THIS good?  (Read 3722 times)

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Has Anthony Davis always been THIS good?
« on: March 21, 2018, 09:59:42 AM »

Offline smokeablount

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I follow the NBA pretty closely like most of us, and I know AD has been a first team All-NBA player in the past, and thus a top 5-10 player.  But it seems like he's made a leap this year.

His teams never could win really, never won a playoff game, etc- until this year, when the Pels made a leap after Cousins went down, and Davis has been playing like a monster.  I was at his game vs the Celtics where he dropped 40 and looked like he barely broke a sweat. 

I guess what I'm asking is- has he always been THIS good?  I feel like he's made a leap from maybe the 6th-7th best NBA player to like the 3rd-4th, which is significant.  Or am I wrong, and he's been this good for the past few years when we've all been salivating after trading for him, and I just haven't noticed?
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Re: Has Anthony Davis always been THIS good?
« Reply #1 on: March 21, 2018, 10:04:23 AM »

Online Donoghus

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He's always been insanely gifted.  You're just seeing him really come into his own and starting to enter his prime now.   

I just hope he stays healthy.  He's right on line to be an all-timer.   The scary thing is that he just turned 25 last week.  His window is still wide open.


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Re: Has Anthony Davis always been THIS good?
« Reply #2 on: March 21, 2018, 10:08:27 AM »

Offline Androslav

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He has the best supporting cast of his career, even with DMC out half of the year.
Plus he has more experience than ever.
But in general, he is pretty much the same guy, elite athleticism, elite length, great touch, and not too many tricks beyond that (by that I mean advanced footwork, advanced ballhandling, volume 3pt shooting, passing or creating for others except with his "gravity").
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Re: Has Anthony Davis always been THIS good?
« Reply #3 on: March 21, 2018, 10:21:06 AM »

Offline smokeablount

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He's always been insanely gifted.  You're just seeing him really come into his own and starting to enter his prime now.   

I just hope he stays healthy.  He's right on line to be an all-timer.   The scary thing is that he just turned 25 last week.  His window is still wide open.

He now reminds me of TWolves KG- worse at creating shots for others and defense than KG, but potentially a hair better at everything else except scoring, where I think he's clearly better.

I would not have said that last year, I don't think. 
2023 Non-Active / Non-NBA75 Fantasy Draft, ChiBulls:

PG: Deron Williams 07-08 / M.R. Richardson 80-81 / J. Wall 16-17
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PF: Larry Nance Sr 91-92 / Blake Griffin 13-14
C: Bob Lanier 76-77 / Brad Daugherty 92-93 / M. Camby 06-07

Re: Has Anthony Davis always been THIS good?
« Reply #4 on: March 21, 2018, 10:39:02 AM »

Offline Moranis

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Re: Has Anthony Davis always been THIS good?
« Reply #5 on: March 21, 2018, 11:00:47 AM »

Offline smokeablount

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Ok.  Then in a season where James Harden is historically great, why is Davis getting MVP consideration for the first time?  His reputation is now catching up to his game?  Competitors like Westbrook and Lebron got 'worse'? 
2023 Non-Active / Non-NBA75 Fantasy Draft, ChiBulls:

PG: Deron Williams 07-08 / M.R. Richardson 80-81 / J. Wall 16-17
SG: David Thompson 77-78 / Hersey Hawkins 96-97
SF: Tracy McGrady 02-03 / Tayshaun Prince 06-07
PF: Larry Nance Sr 91-92 / Blake Griffin 13-14
C: Bob Lanier 76-77 / Brad Daugherty 92-93 / M. Camby 06-07

Re: Has Anthony Davis always been THIS good?
« Reply #6 on: March 21, 2018, 11:31:00 AM »

Offline PhoSita

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Man when the Warriors trade Klay and Dray to New Orleans for AD it's gonna be nuts.
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Re: Has Anthony Davis always been THIS good?
« Reply #7 on: March 21, 2018, 12:16:35 PM »

Offline Moranis

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Ok.  Then in a season where James Harden is historically great, why is Davis getting MVP consideration for the first time?  His reputation is now catching up to his game?  Competitors like Westbrook and Lebron got 'worse'?
Davis already has a top 5 finish in MVP voting (he was also 9th last year).  And you could argue last year he had better overall stats then he does this year. 

Of course, the simple answer is team wins matter in that award and this is the best supporting cast (even without Cousins) that Davis has ever had.  When your team wins more games, you get more recognition for awards and accolades.
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Re: Has Anthony Davis always been THIS good?
« Reply #8 on: March 21, 2018, 12:28:26 PM »

Offline Surferdad

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... I feel like he's made a leap from maybe the 6th-7th best NBA player to like the 3rd-4th, which is significant.  ...
He was ranked as high as 3rd a few years ago.  Not just by me, but so called experts as well.

Re: Has Anthony Davis always been THIS good?
« Reply #9 on: March 21, 2018, 12:30:30 PM »

Offline gift

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Man when the Warriors trade Klay and Dray to New Orleans for AD it's gonna be nuts.

I don't think Klay and Dray will be the best move by NO when it comes time for that. They'd likely be trading to become mediocre concurrent to the extension of Golden State's dominance. Better to go younger and cheaper. But NO has a history of doing the opposite of what I recommend.

Re: Has Anthony Davis always been THIS good?
« Reply #10 on: March 21, 2018, 12:32:10 PM »

Offline Phantom255x

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Man when the Warriors trade Klay and Dray to New Orleans for AD it's gonna be nuts.

Klay and Dray only? What high draft picks do the Warriors have to offer?

Also the goal would probably be to bring in Klay to play alongside Davis, NOT ship Davis for just Klay and Draymond.

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Re: Has Anthony Davis always been THIS good?
« Reply #11 on: March 21, 2018, 12:39:07 PM »

Offline smokeablount

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... I feel like he's made a leap from maybe the 6th-7th best NBA player to like the 3rd-4th, which is significant.  ...
He was ranked as high as 3rd a few years ago.  Not just by me, but so called experts as well.

Ahead of which of these players? 

Lebron, Durant, Curry, Kawhi, Paul, Harden, Westbrook?  I don't see him being above more than 2 of those guys at any time in his career until now. 

It may be that he was a tiny bit below those guys, or just as good but isn't making the impact of a 2 way wing or triple-double-getting PG.  But I don't know how you put him 3rd above Curry, Kawhi, and either Paul 2-3 years ago, WBrook last year, or Harden now.  He didn't have the awards, stats, pedigree, or wins. 
« Last Edit: March 21, 2018, 12:59:22 PM by smokeablount »
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PG: Deron Williams 07-08 / M.R. Richardson 80-81 / J. Wall 16-17
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Re: Has Anthony Davis always been THIS good?
« Reply #12 on: March 21, 2018, 12:48:41 PM »

Offline smokeablount

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Ok.  Then in a season where James Harden is historically great, why is Davis getting MVP consideration for the first time?  His reputation is now catching up to his game?  Competitors like Westbrook and Lebron got 'worse'?
Davis already has a top 5 finish in MVP voting (he was also 9th last year).  And you could argue last year he had better overall stats then he does this year. 

Of course, the simple answer is team wins matter in that award and this is the best supporting cast (even without Cousins) that Davis has ever had.  When your team wins more games, you get more recognition for awards and accolades.

Yeah, 9th doesn't really count to me as 'in the running', but the team element makes sense. 

I'm still up in the air, but I'm skeptical that he didn't improve from age 23 to 25. 
2023 Non-Active / Non-NBA75 Fantasy Draft, ChiBulls:

PG: Deron Williams 07-08 / M.R. Richardson 80-81 / J. Wall 16-17
SG: David Thompson 77-78 / Hersey Hawkins 96-97
SF: Tracy McGrady 02-03 / Tayshaun Prince 06-07
PF: Larry Nance Sr 91-92 / Blake Griffin 13-14
C: Bob Lanier 76-77 / Brad Daugherty 92-93 / M. Camby 06-07

Re: Has Anthony Davis always been THIS good?
« Reply #13 on: March 21, 2018, 01:09:58 PM »

Offline Moranis

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Ok.  Then in a season where James Harden is historically great, why is Davis getting MVP consideration for the first time?  His reputation is now catching up to his game?  Competitors like Westbrook and Lebron got 'worse'?
Davis already has a top 5 finish in MVP voting (he was also 9th last year).  And you could argue last year he had better overall stats then he does this year. 

Of course, the simple answer is team wins matter in that award and this is the best supporting cast (even without Cousins) that Davis has ever had.  When your team wins more games, you get more recognition for awards and accolades.

Yeah, 9th doesn't really count to me as 'in the running', but the team element makes sense. 

I'm still up in the air, but I'm skeptical that he didn't improve from age 23 to 25.
I'm sure he is a bit better, but statistically he has been fairly consistent on a per possession basis for the last 4 season.

Here are his Per 100 possession numbers for his career.  notice the last 4 seasons are very similar.

Season/Age/Tm/Lg/Pos/G/GS/MP/FG/FGA/FG%/3P/3PA/3P%/2P/2PA/2P%/FT/FTA/FT%/ORB/DRB/TRB/AST/STL/BLK/TOV/PF/PTS/ORtg/DRtg

2012-13
19 NOH NBA PF 64 60 1846 10.3 19.9 .516 0.0 0.2 .000 10.3 19.7 .521 5.0 6.6 .751 4.8 10.5 15.3 1.9 2.2 3.3 2.6 4.6 25.5  113 104

2013-14 ★
20 NOP NBA PF 67 66 2358 11.5 22.2 .519 0.0 0.2 .222 11.5 22.0 .522 7.7 9.7 .791 4.6 10.3 14.9 2.3 2.0 4.2 2.4 4.4 30.8  119 104

2014-15 ★
21 NOP NBA PF 68 68 2455 13.7 25.7 .535 0.0 0.3 .083 13.7 25.4 .540 7.9 9.9 .805 3.7 11.2 14.9 3.2 2.1 4.3 2.0 3.0 35.4  122 100

2015-16 ★
22 NOP NBA C 61 61 2164 12.8 26.0 .493 0.8 2.5 .324 12.0 23.6 .511 7.5 9.9 .758 3.0 11.4 14.4 2.7 1.8 2.9 2.8 3.4 33.9  110 104

2016-17 ★
23 NOP NBA C 75 75 2708 13.9 27.6 .505 0.7 2.4 .299 13.2 25.2 .524 9.4 11.7 .802 3.1 12.9 16.0 2.8 1.7 3.0 3.3 3.0 38.0  112 102

2017-18 ★
24 NOP NBA PF 64 64 2334 13.7 25.6 .537 1.0 3.0 .340 12.7 22.5 .563 8.5 10.2 .830 3.3 11.3 14.6 3.1 1.9 3.1 2.9 2.8 37.0  119 103
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Re: Has Anthony Davis always been THIS good?
« Reply #14 on: March 21, 2018, 01:15:13 PM »

Online johnnygreen

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There is no doubt that Davis is a great player and has shown improvement this season. However, I still think he lacks the killer instinct that separates the elite players from everyone else. For me, he is in the same category as the Greek Freak. They both put up great stats, but those stats seem hollow in relation to team success. The Pelicans are having a good season and could make the playoffs for just the second time in Davis’ young career. Then again, they’re only 3 games out of missing the playoffs too. If Davis is ever going to win a title, then I think he will probably end up being the second best player on his team. He needs that elite player next to him. In Boston, Kyrie could be that guy.