‘ABOVE THE RIM’
Time may be now for new Grizzly Ed Davis
Athletic newcomer Ed Davis is emerging as a dangerous addition to the Grizzlies’ stellar frontcourt.
Zach Randolph had walked off the floor, as had Mike Conley and Marc Gasol and all the rest. Soon, there were just two Grizzlies working at FedExForum after the end of a recent shootaround — Ed Davis and Austin Daye.
Davis, just a few weeks into his Memphis tenure after being received from Toronto as part of the Rudy Gay trade, was being tutored on post moves by assistant Bob Thornton. Soon, head coach Lionel Hollins strolled over from his seat on the scorer’s table and added to the impromptu education session.
Later that night, Davis played all of five minutes.
It’s been a slow process integrating the young but athletic forward into the Grizzlies’ lineup since the trade, but that may speed up soon. If Randolph continues to be hobbled with an ankle sprain and if Darrell Arthur is limited because of the hard fall he took Sunday, look for the Grizzlies to get more time
to the 6-foot-10, 232-pound Davis.
It’s the kind of opportunity Davis spoke of last week, after that long shootaround.
“Just keep playing hard,” he said. “Whenever the opportunity’s there, I’m going to just take advantage of it. Playing behind two great players, two All-Stars.”
In Memphis’ 26-point rout of Orlando Sunday, Davis played 24 meaningful minutes and made the most of it. He had 10 points and 10 rebounds, missing just one of his six shots.
Hollins last week downplayed the extra tutoring — “trying to get him more comfortable with how we post up,” is all — but there was symbolism. He’s new to Memphis, and in a wildly different role.
In Toronto, he averaged 24 minutes a night and started 24 times. In January alone, he averaged 34 minutes per game. Then came the trade, consummated on the last day of January.
Until Sunday’s 24-minute night, Davis had averaged about 10 minutes per game. Davis said the limited role has been an adjustment, but “an adjustment for the better. I’m happy about it.”
Davis is a 23-year- old third-year pro out of North Carolina; he played on the Tar Heels’ 2009 national championship team. Toronto selected him with the 13th pick of the 2010 NBA draft, a talent valuation that has given credence to the notion that when the dust from the Gay trade settles, Davis may well be the prized acquisition, at least for the long-term, of any team among the three in the deal.
Griz CEO Jason Levien, who engineered the deal, told an audience at a New Memphis Institute panel discussion last week that Davis is “the one guy on our team who plays above the rim.” And with Davis added to a group that includes Gasol, Randolph and key reserve Darrell Arthur, Levien said “we may have the best frontcourt in the NBA.”
Davis has another asset, his father Terry Davis. He played parts of 10 seasons in the NBA between 1989 and 2001, joining such teams as Miami, Denver, Washington and Dallas. It has aided the younger Davis’ maturity and given him perspective to weather the midseason jolt.
“Just being able to talk to my dad about the ins and outs of basketball that people who have never played the game don’t know,” Davis said. Such as? “We talk more about business, being professional, always being on time, never being late.”