Shouldn’t Davis get more burn?

[Muizha]

Hi, first of all, let me get out of the way that I am from Latvia and therefore biased towards Latvian players, but hopefully this doesn’t affect my judgement too much

What I am slightly concerned about this season is the minutes and opportunities that Davis Bertans is getting. Davis’ own expectation before the season, at least according to some interviews, was that he would play around 20 MINs per game. His current season MIN average however is 15.6 (slightly up from last year) and his FGA has slightly dropped from 4.8 to 4.3, if compared to last year.

I get that Davis is quite one dimensional, but looking at stats it seems that he is doing that one thing very very well, as he has the:
- 10th highest 3p% in the League at 45.8, and
- 9th highest TS% in the League at 67.1

So the question in the title arises here – shouldn’t he get more burn in terms of minutes (and field goal attempts)?

[G R E Y]

Hi, first of all, let me get out of the way that I am from Latvia and therefore biased towards Latvian players, but hopefully this doesn’t affect my judgement too much

What I am slightly concerned about this season is the minutes and opportunities that Davis Bertans is getting. Davis’ own expectation before the season, at least according to some interviews, was that he would play around 20 MINs per game. His current season MIN average however is 15.6 (slightly up from last year) and his FGA has slightly dropped from 4.8 to 4.3, if compared to last year.

I get that Davis is quite one dimensional, but looking at stats it seems that he is doing that one thing very very well, as he has the:
- 10th highest 3p% in the League at 45.8, and
- 9th highest TS% in the League at 67.1

So the question in the title arises here – shouldn’t he get more burn in terms of minutes (and field goal attempts)?

Simply put, when Davis plays well, he gets more minutes. I think he's actually showing more dimensions to his game; in addition to the deadly 3-shot, he has crafty drives, he is assertive on the boards, can really take a beating despite his slight frame, and has very quick feet on D to do well in staying in front of his man. It's just a matter of putting it all together, so that's a factor, as is the movable rotations as we continue to explore who fits and has chemistry with whom (though that can change on a given night).

That we gave Davis that contract speaks to PATFO's faith in what he brings. This is the season in which he is really expected to step up more, and if last night is any indication, he'll make it difficult to keep him limited to fewer minutes. But it's still all within the context of the team dynamics settling in. I think he has a more consistent role this season, and it will grow in time, but he does have to keep earning it.