Utah Jazz: How Ed Davis softens the blow of Favors’ departure
Following the departure of Derrick Favors, the Utah Jazz were quick to snap up Ed Davis to fill the void. But is Davis capable of matching the production of a player who’s been a key piece to the Jazz puzzle for so long?
Derrick Favors was always going to be sorely missed by Utah Jazz fans, whether he was replaced by a role player or a perennial All-Star. He embodied what fans love about this team with his next-man-up mentality.
You can claim that without the heroics of Derrick Favors in Game 7 against the Los Angeles Clippers in 2017, and in Game 6 against Oklahoma City in 2018, the Jazz would still be without a playoff series win since 2010.
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Yet, despite Favors’ importance to the success of the Jazz, the majority of his contributions came as a backup center to Rudy Gobert. So, with little money in the cap after trading for Mike Conley and signing Bojan Bogdanovic, how do you replace the rebounding, tenacity, defensive presence and pick-and-roll threat that you’re losing in Derrick Favors?
Enter Ed Davis – the best center in the NBA that was coming off the bench last season. Davis provided the young, surging Brooklyn Nets with a leadership presence, durability and terrific production on both ends of the floor.
Davis was one of the best rebounders in the NBA again last season, corralling 17.3 rebounds including 5.4 offensive rebounds per 36 minutes, ranking him third in the NBA in rebound percentage behind only Andre Drummond and Hassan Whiteside. Rudy Gobert ranked fourth in this category.
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Davis led the Brooklyn Nets by considerable margins in both net rating and defensive rating. He was also second in player impact estimate, narrowly behind D’Angelo Russell. Overall, the Nets were a far better basketball team when Davis was on the floor. Brooklyn was a very competitive, 42-win team last season, but they wouldn’t have been without the efforts of Ed Davis.
In Utah, Davis walks into a defensive-minded team with a win-now mentality. He’ll be relied upon for around 15 minutes per game behind Rudy Gobert, and the Jazz can rest assured that the defensive intensity will be maintained with the Stifle Tower on the bench.
Offensively, Davis may not have the roll gravity of Derrick Favors. But he’s always been serviceable as a rim roller and excels at beating his opponent up the floor for dunks and layups. He also generates a lot of his own offense through offensive rebounds and putbacks.
So, although what Favors brought to the Jazz isn’t easily replaceable, Dennis Lindsey and the crew did a tremendous job with their budget to bring in Ed Davis, softening the blow of Favors’ departure.
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Statistics courtesy of Basketball Reference and NBA.com.