Since the All-Star break, no player in the league has been as efficient as Ed Davis. The Lakers’ big man has gone 50-for-67 in the 10 games since, leading the NBA in field goal percentage (74.6), ahead of the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan, who has the same number of baskets on five more shots.
“(I) basically just try to talk a lot of high percentage shots,” Davis said during his recent Lakers Voices session. “I get a lot of easy buckets around the paint playing with the guards we have: the rook (Jordan Clarkson) and (Jeremy) Lin. They find me and give me easy buckets.”
L.A.’s point guards have indeed gotten Davis the ball where he can do the most damage, as 36 of his 50 baskets since the break have been assisted. But he also benefits from a natural ability to score down low.
“I always had this good touch around the basket,” Davis said. “It’s not really something that you can work on. It’s second nature now. Pregame I do my usual hooks and I get some spot shots in. But everything now is second nature.”
However, Davis’ success has not been limited to only the nine games since All-Star Weekend. The five-year pro is on pace to set new career highs in points (8.4), rebounds (7.4) and blocks (1.3) per game.
Davis has also shot 61.1 percent from the field and is five attempts away from qualifying for the league leaderboard. Should he qualify, the 25-year-old will rank second in the NBA, behind Jordan (72.0).
“He’s had a breakout season on the offensive end (and) defensive end,” head coach Byron Scott said. “He’s been fantastic offensively. He does exactly what he’s capable of doing. He doesn’t try to go outside of his capability. So he’s one of those guys I think has definitely had one of the biggest years of his career.”
Part of the reason for Davis’ success has been his shot selection. The 6-foot-10 big man has taken 59 of his 67 attempts in the restricted section and has shot 81.4 percent in that zone. In fact, the only time Davis hasn’t been efficient is when he steps out of that area, where is has gone 2-for-8.
“He just gets to his spots,” Scott said. “He takes what the defense gives him. He’s able to get to the rim, (grab) offensive rebounds. But when he’s catching it in the post now, he’s doing a really good job of continuing to just knock down shots.
“They’re five-, six-, seven-, eight-footers, but those are the shots he knows he can make. So like I said, you don’t see Ed out there taking 15-foot jump shots, because he knows that’s not his specialty.”
And while Davis appreciates his point guards setting him up, his aggressive play around the hoop benefits them as well.
“That’s my guy,” Lin said. “He gets the ball, gives it to me, sets a pick, rolls and that’s about it. What maybe people don’t realize, too, is that he opens up a lot of shots for other people as well just by rolling so hard.”