17.3
Ed Davis may not be quite the scorer or defender that Derrick Favors was for the Jazz, but he still is good in both those areas. But the way in which Davis really shines, even more so than the ever beloved D-Favs, is in his rebounding.
Last season, Davis pulled down an astounding 8.6 rebounds per game in just 17.9 minutes per contest. That’s nearly two rebounds per minute! Apply that into more of a catch-all metric and you’ll get the Davis stat I want to highlight here. He averaged an incredible 17.3 rebounds per 36 minutes.
Just how good is that, you ask? Well, among NBA players who appeared in at least six games last season, it was the second-best mark in the entire league, trailing only Miami’s Hassan Whiteside by 0.3 rebounds.
Not only that, but of Davis’ 17.3 boards, 5.4 of them came on the offensive end. Much like I mentioned that Conley’s ability to take care of the basketball will earn the Jazz extra opportunities, Davis’ offensive boards will give the Jazz additional possessions as well and a chance to earn easy second-chance points. Favors was known for pulling down key offensive boards in the playoffs the past three seasons, and Davis should take over that role seamlessly.
He’ll be an all-around board-crasher on both ends which will help the Jazz significantly, especially when Rudy Gobert is on the bench.