Some NBA players, many of them highly regarded defenders, would view leading the league in blocks as a luxury, an added bonus that, in the end, doesn’t mean too much.
Anthony Davis is not one of those players.
The New Orleans Pelicans wunderkind sent away 200 shots last season, which led the entire Association. That’s pretty incredible when you think about it, since Davis missed 14 contests. Leading the way in per-game swats—as he did—makes sense. But he racked up nearly 50 blocks more than Andre Drummond, despite appearing in far fewer tilts.
Anyway, that intangible shot-blocking crown means something to him. Asked if he would be OK not leading the league in blocks this season, Davis left nothing to interpret, per the New Orleans Advocate‘s Brett Dawson:
Davis on if he’d be OK with not leading the league in blocked shots this year in revamped defense: “No.”
— Brett Dawson (@BDawsonWrites) October 14, 2015
No, seriously, Davis seriously takes this shot-blocking thing seriously.
And so does his agent:
Anthony Davis has 3 blocks in preseason: “My agent called me and said, ‘You don’t block shots anymore. You just score the ball, huh?’”
— Brett Dawson (@BDawsonWrites) October 14, 2015
Daaaaaaaamn.
In actual seriousness, though, Davis offered some insight into why he isn’t sending back shots in volume during preseason play:
Davis concedes defense has him on perimeter more, so blocks will be tougher. But also: “I’m only playing 20 minutes.”
— Brett Dawson (@BDawsonWrites) October 14, 2015
Two very, very valid points, the latter of which will address itself. Davis won’t be playing under 25 minutes per game during the regular season. He’ll be closer to 35, if not higher. He’ll have plenty of opportunities to replicate his shot-swatting prowess.
But head coach Alvin Gentry’s defense is a more permanent factor. The Pelicans aren’t an especially strong defensive team on the perimeter. Tyreke Evans, Eric Gordon and Jrue Holiday can all be quality stoppers at times, but they’re not consistent stalwarts. Ryan Anderson isn’t suited to chase around—well, he isn’t suited to chase around anyone these days. He’s a lights-out shooter who works hard on the glass, and who, despite his best efforts, just can’t keep up with opposing wings or power forwards.
Sending Davis to the outside mitigates the damage New Orleans’ suboptimal perimeter defenders might inflict. Davis is an alien robot and can defend all five positions, so switching gears isn’t an issue. And the Pelicans, at least when they’re healthy, can use Davis as that safety net knowing Omer Asik or Alexi Ajinca will be behind him.
Still, with Ajinca and Asik both injured, not to mention with Davis being Davis, I wouldn’t expect him to fall out of the shot-blocking race entirely. He has long arms, quick feet and an apparent need to muck up shot attempts.
Play him, and the blocks will come.
