Disclaimer: Im bored, this is going to be long..... Just past the halfway point of the NBA season, Anthony Davis is my MVP. If the Pelicans dont make the playoffs he will not get serious consideration and its bothering me, well, a lot actually. In my years Ive always argued, especially in basketball, if your team doesnt make the playoffs you should not be an MVP. However, I feel inclined to cape for Davis here, because he is having a season unprecedented for a guy his age, or any age for that matter, especially in terms of efficiency (but well get to that). For now, it has to be mentioned that the Pelicans have won four in a row, and are back in contention for an 8-seed in the West just 1.5 games out of Phoenix. To start, lets look at the numbers: -Davis statline (to date): 24.5 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 1.7 APG, 2.9 BPG, 1.7 SPG, 55.6 FG%, 82.9 FT% These numbers are a little reminiscent of Garnetts MVP year in Minnesota. I think Garnett might separate himself a little, because they were a 1-seed in the West that year but, for the sake of argument, lets compare the stats: 24.2 PPG, 13.9 RPG, 5 APG, 2.2 BPG, 1.5 SPG, 49.9 FG%, 79.1 FT% While the impressive rebounding and assist numbers for Garnett trump Davis the thing that is so staggering about Davis season is the shooting percentages from the field and line. I might add that Garnett shot 25.6% from three that year and Davis doesnt shoot threes. When taking a look at true shooting percentage (TS%), which formulates a players overall efficiency at shooting by combining the FG, FT, and 3PT% stats, Davis is 61.3% in this category to Garnetts 50.4% that season. This is a stat that helps to be efficient at shooting the three-ball in. The other beneficiaries of this stat are guys who dont shoot a lot and shoot high percentage looks, typically role playing big men like Tyson Chandler and Chris Andersen can dominate here. Davis does not shoot threes and he shoots 18 times a game, while shooting 4.8 mid range jumpers a game (the lowest percentage shot in basketball), and is still top 20 in the league this season. Its possible that if he shot two more times a game, equaling Garnetts total of 20 shots per, that he could average between 25.5 and 27 PPG. Davis is first among qualifiers in PIE% (Player Impact Estimate) at 19.8%. This measures the statistical contribution of a player against the teams total statistics and is in place to argue a players impact on those around him. I am not going to say he directly makes his teammates better, because it is not his job to. He is not a point guard or wing that commands the ball and makes the offense run, he simply does what he can with the ball when he gets it passed to him. New Orleans has trouble spreading the floor with certain lineups and have a bunch of guys in the backcourt and on the wings that do too much of the same thing. Its a puzzle with uneven pieces when you try to combine Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans, and Eric Gordon together. All pretty decent players, just not the right fit around Davis. Yet, they are still in contention for the playoffs, and would be one of the worst teams in the NBA without Davis production. Lastly, since PER is legitimate I wanted to highlight that advanced stat the most. His current PER of 31.91 is the best. Ever. In the history of the NBA. Only 10 times has a player achieved a 31+ PER and it was done by three guys. Some guys named Wilt, Lebron, and Michael Jordan. Is that pleasant company or the best company you can ask for? When Garnett won his MVP he was at a, measly in comparison to Davis, 29.0 PER for the season. Woof. Shrug. Garnett was a great basketball player, who won an MVP and a title but not even his best season stacks up to Davis statistically, when you go through it with a fine tooth comb. The last thing Ill add is that there is still a lot of basketball to be played, and it is likely that Davis will not be able to keep up his statistical pace, at least in the advanced stat regard. It is also likely that New Orleans will not make the playoffs, due to the Wests difficulty and them just not having the right talent around Davis to be serious when games actually mean something for trying to make it in and seeding. However, if he keeps ballin like this, even if they finish a few games out and dont make it hes got my vote. Ive just never seen a season like this.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:37:09 +0000