Davis Bertans in Januray

[Nolan]

New year new Davis! This kid has been on fire as of late!

So far in January he's averaging 14 PPG, 4 RPG, 2 APG, and 1 BPG all while shooting 53% from the field and 47% from three. And not only have his numbers looked good he's been looking like the player we see flashes of last year. He's moving so well on the offensive end and seems to know exactly what he wants to do with the ball. His passing game is extremely underrated and he can actually do some good things off the dribble when he gets ran off the line.

Defensively he still needs some work. But his positioning has gotten infinitely better and he does come up with an awesome block every once in a while.

What do yous people think about Davis's recent play?

[G R E Y]

It was an eye opening game versus the Kings, but consistency is key. The commentators mentioned during the Kings game something about you give him 15 minutes, he gives you double figures, but it was more an observation of the moment rather than an actual stat, otherwise it would be a shame not to involve him more.

His usage versus the Kings was 22.5% (a bit above his average) in 31:13, but it would be more accurate to compare usage to similar minutes (30% usage in 5 minutes obviously isn't as impactful). Something to look in to, but in the meantime, what I appreciated about Davis's game was the variety of shots that he put up and continues to when given the chance. He's got beautiful textbook form on the 3, but versus the Kings he not only showed that, he also faked shots to dribble and spot up Js, and drove with authority for layups.

I also like that he was active on the boards in terms of punching the ball out to maintain team possession (in other games, he aggressively grabbed and held on to the ball), moved his feet on D, did really well to intercept passes with busy hands, and had good rhythm on blocks. Just smart all around basketball.

What he can't do (it's not his game) is create shots for himself, so when he got but two opportunities tonight, what was he to do? On the one hand, he does raise his level of play with more minutes, on the other, he just has to be ready when he's called, be it for five or twenty minutes. Three turnovers didn't help his case tonight.

A lot of the young players on the Spurs have a couple of things they do well, and they've been expanding their games from there with excellent work ethic. You can't be terrible on D, that will never get you Spurs court time (or a contract for that matter), and Bertans has shown additions beyond the 3. He just happened to show many other aspects to his game so well versus the Kings, and raised eyebrows and hopes.

I don't expect that output each night, but given his January numbers, I do hope he gets more opportunities game in, game out.

[imagump1313]

I like that he is starting to come around but I still dont trust him. He has gotten better with defensive rotations and like Nolan says, he gets some awesome blocks at times. Offensively he still passes up way too many easy shots which destroys our offensive flow. (I used to moan about Anderson doing the same thing for years, Danny Green still does it occasionally)

He also has to learn to do other things that effect the game if he wants more minutes. (Defense, rebounds, blocks) Right now, if he isnt scoring there is no other reason to have him on the floor.
Green and Anderson do things that effect the game positively for us if they aren't scoring which is why they stay on the floor.

[G R E Y]

Perhaps we jinxed him with all the praise. So, a reversal for better results:

Bertans sucks, eh?

[Nolan]

Perhaps we jinxed him with all the praise. So, a reversal for better results:

Bertans sucks, eh?

Hahaha soo terrible.

He had a solid game against the Cav's. Shot wasn't falling early on but damn did his form look good.

[TheGr81]

Bertans is a very good player and pretty underrated since Pop still under-uses him. He is a main weapon with Porzingis in the Latvian NT, which has never been more interesting than now. He can really light it up.