In his rookie year Anthony Davis is exceeding expectations and developing at a much faster rate than we're familiar with for big men. He's averaging 14.5PPG at 49%. 4.2FTA at 84%. 8.4RPG. 1.2 Steals and 1.8 Blocks in 31.4 minutes. 21.3 PER as a big in a team where they have Austin Rivers and Brian Roberts in their guard rotation. For comparative purposes, Howard averaged 12/10 in his rookie year and Yao Ming averaged 13.5/8.2. Watching him play it's apparent that his sharp defensive acumen and play has translated over into the NBA despite the fact that his body hasn't fully developed yet. Further than that though, Unibrow has a more complete offensive game than Dwight did in his first few years with comparable athleticism - a soft touch around the rim, excellent free throw shooting and a consistent short jumper. With the expectation that Davis will continue to improve his game and put on another 20 pounds to his slender-man frame over the next few seasons, I wouldn't expect him to be anything short of the next dominant big man - A true low-post threat with elite handles and agility for his position and size, and on the other side of the ball a rim-protector with brilliant defensive awareness. Anthony Davis will be the next Tim Duncan.
I don't know if he'll be the next Tim Duncan, but I'm certain he will be a top 5 big man by the middle of next season. I'm also wondering if he will look even better once Gordon returns and takes some pressure off him.
he looks pretty thin to me. Don't think he can be called a true center yet. Van Gundy brothers were very supportive of getting stronger. Yao and Dwight come to mind. They were scronny as rookies. Dwight got posterized by kobe badly and Lamar.
What I'm wondering though is why is NO trying to turn AD into a center? He's not a center, if you look at his body type he has amare's build rather than say, Yao Ming or Bynum. Centers have the worst job in the NBA, due to the lack franchise big men NBA teams resort to no-name players at the center who end up dishing hard fouls left and right just so they can keep up with the franchise C. This resorts in a lot of wear and tear, just ask Yao Ming, DH and Shaq how much they've been hit over the years. Just look at our team, who do you think gives more of a pounding, Asik and Smith? Or PP, MM and Parsons (who goes to PF at times)? If NO is really serious about making AD their cornerstone, they should put him at the PF spot ala Duncan and preserve his health, having him get knocked around by guys like Perkins and Marc Gasol does him no good.
