Sam Vecenie, who has been gracious enough to allow me to come on board here, posed a question to me right after the Team USA exhibition game against a veteran Brazilian team. Anthony Davis didnt dominate but showed flashes, with an absurd around the backboard tip-in and several blocks on Brazilian jump shots. Sam wondered about the maturation and development of Davis. Would he become a center who would function as a matchup nightmare on offense while filling out with enough muscle to use his skyscraper length to become similarly excellent on either end. Or would he become a Kevin Garnett type of player that posts up but also stretches the floor? Maybe a hyper-Serge Ibaka player that excelled on weakside help while doing more than the Thunder forward does offensively? Or, perhaps the most frightening scenario for opponents, something else entirely?
On offense, Anthony Davis is special, both now and in theory. For a man, or child, with his size and wingspan, he glides at a guards pace. Theres no weird gait akin to the Greg Odens and Yao Mings of the world. Its a weird thing to say but Davis functions like he was born to play basketball. That goes for both awareness and talent, two things that often arent portrayed as innate features.
First, lets watch how Davis gets his positioning, a learned ability for all big men.
