ESPN Rookie Watch: Which NBA Veteran Should Ed Davis Study?

[Tim W.]

rasheed wallace

You want him to pattern himself after a guy who never fulfilled his potential, made Bargnani seem like a half decent rebounder, really only tried during the playoffs and fell far too in love with the jumper despite a scary ability to score in the post when he set his mind to it, which was about every 8 or 9 games. Oh, and he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

No thanks.

[Tim W.]

Antonio Davis
... bulk up that frame ... polish the mid-range ... attack the rim with monster two-handed dunks.

EVeryone loved Antonio Davis here, but you do realize the guy never shot above .450 once while in Toronto and only shot above 50% once his entire career. I'd love to see him be like Davis on defense, but I'd like to see him pattern his game after someone who was a bit better on offense. Davis was pretty bad.

[JoePanini]

I would have said Joakim Noah and Ben Wallace.

Although I loved Ben Wallace, like loved him, I think that Ed should develop more offensively as well. Not necessarily scoring 15+ but I'd not want him to be really bad. If Ben Wallace could hit a couple free-throws in a row, and have an 'okay' offense, the Pistons would have been unbeatable.

[JoePanini]

I'd want him to be like Garnett, but definitely not as polished offensively. Hopefully defensively he'll be a total beast.

[RaptorsFan4Life]

With offense slightly worse then Bosh.

To people who are saying he shouldn't model his game to Bosh I personally think you guys are wrong. Him spending time on his jumper and FT shooting isn't going to automatically kill his rebound/defensive skills. You have to keep in mind Davis is a better leaper and athletic (arguably) than Bosh and his defense is already slightly better.

If he turns out anything like bosh with better D I'd be happy. (Bosh was a pretty good rebounder so it probably wouldn't realistic to expect Ed to surpass him in that area)

BTW Why is everyone here acting like Bosh has no inside game?

[grindhouse]

You want him to pattern himself after a guy who never fulfilled his potential, made Bargnani seem like a half decent rebounder, really only tried during the playoffs and fell far too in love with the jumper despite a scary ability to score in the post when he set his mind to it, which was about every 8 or 9 games. Oh, and he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

No thanks.

LOL at least he played defense every game every position.

No one is saying become rasheed himself but you admit he had a inside game, outside game, and played defense whether he used it all the time is a different discussion entirely.

[Apollo]

Although I loved Ben Wallace, like loved him, I think that Ed should develop more offensively as well. Not necessarily scoring 15+ but I'd not want him to be really bad. If Ben Wallace could hit a couple free-throws in a row, and have an 'okay' offense, the Pistons would have been unbeatable.

Ed is better than Ben already on offense. My whole thing with selecting these two names was this: a big man with lock down defensive abilities and mediocre offense is much more difficult to find than a guy who isn't elite or poor on either side of the court. If you have an elite defender in the paint life gets easier for everyone else and they can feed off what that one guy is doing.

[TheGloveinRapsUniform]

EVeryone loved Antonio Davis here, but you do realize the guy never shot above .450 once while in Toronto and only shot above 50% once his entire career. I'd love to see him be like Davis on defense, but I'd like to see him pattern his game after someone who was a bit better on offense. Davis was pretty bad.

Agree. The title says "should study", so he should aim for the elite. Can he be one of the elite? who knows. I think he can, others may think otherwise but on a bigs-riddled team, essentially he is a 4th stringer (behind Bargs, Amir and Reggie) but he still manages to squeeze out a decent 6pts/6reb almost 2blks per game. If he does stay with the Raps, he has the chance to become elite coz as it stands right now, he is one of the building blocks which means more opportunities for him to improve and excel.

[TheGloveinRapsUniform]

Ed is better than Ben already on offense. My whole thing with selecting these two names was this: a big man with lock down defensive abilities and mediocre offense is much more difficult to find than a guy who isn't elite or poor on either side of the court. If you have an elite defender in the paint life gets easier for everyone else and they can feed off what that one guy is doing.

I hope he becomes much like what Bosh was when he was here in Toronto (sad to admit), plus the lockdown defense capability. I do hope the Raps let him develop as to what he can become and not as to what they want him to be. I just think its a huge waste of talent if they keep letting Bargs do the offense while Ed and Amir get stuck on rebounding and defense. Good for the team, but even better if they both become at least 15-20pt players. I think this is what happened to Bargs, having Bosh as a rebounder, Garbajosa as a good defender, they relied on Bargs's scoring abilities and molded him into a scorer rather than an all-around player.

[TheGloveinRapsUniform]

You want him to pattern himself after a guy who never fulfilled his potential, made Bargnani seem like a half decent rebounder, really only tried during the playoffs and fell far too in love with the jumper despite a scary ability to score in the post when he set his mind to it, which was about every 8 or 9 games. Oh, and he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

No thanks.

Do you think Rasheed Wallace was a good defender?

[Apollo]

I hope he becomes much like what Bosh was when he was here in Toronto (sad to admit), plus the lockdown defense capability.

I think hoping for him to become the best PF in the NBA is setting the bar reaaally high.

Do you think Rasheed Wallace was a good defender?

Sometimes but the Raptors don't need another guy playing outside... Why are a lot of people wishing to see Ed and DeMar take their games out of the paint? Haven't we learned the importance of the inside game by now? The Raptors already have a center out there, a PG on the perimeter and maybe another wing on the way.

[JoePanini]

Ed is better than Ben already on offense. My whole thing with selecting these two names was this: a big man with lock down defensive abilities and mediocre offense is much more difficult to find than a guy who isn't elite or poor on either side of the court. If you have an elite defender in the paint life gets easier for everyone else and they can feed off what that one guy is doing.

Very true, but I do feel like Davis could become a great defender. A mix of Garnett and Bosh? Wallace was athletic and extremely physical, I don't think Ed will be that kind of a presence. And the Raps also have a luxury in Amir Johnson, which means the team doesn't lose a beat on defense when Ed is in foul trouble or tired, this will help Ed a lot because too many minutes might not be the best idea for now.

[Apollo]

I don't want him to be a face up guy. KG and Bosh are face up guys. I want him to be a back to the basket big man. Those are rare and needed in Championship level teams. I think the worst scenario is him moving outside. I want to see him stay inside.

[JoePanini]

I don't want him to be a face up guy. KG and Bosh are face up guys. I want him to be a back to the basket big man. Those are rare and needed in Championship level teams. I think the worst scenario is him moving outside. I want to see him stay inside.

But for now he doesn't have the body for that. He'd get injured pretty often. And I can't really picture him like a Perkins kind of player, I don't know. But it's still early in his career, he definitely needs to bulk up during the summer.

[Mack North]

I'd obviously like for him to try to be like Tim Duncan, greatest PF of our time and probably of all time for that matter. His championships, drive, and skills just don't lie!