Originally Posted by
Bricklayer
It's more than just height though, or can be.
As someone noted above, Davis is at least as tall as Cousins, and maybe an inch taller. And he's certainly got verticality over him. But what he obviously doesn't have is the physicality and toughness in there. Just not him. He prefers to operate in space, on both ends. That doesn't mean he CAN'T play center, but it does mean its suboptimal usage for him, and you're not going to get the interior domination out of the position you might be aiming for. If he's got to go body to body with the big centers around the league he'll lose some of those battles, and its likely to wear him down and make him more passive. He's just not a grrr player. Get him out into space, away from the bodies and the banging, and that's where you can get the big unicorn games.
Now with the roster the way it is, with Mirotic here and the need to stabilize, well, you might have your best chance with A.D. at C right now. But it's not a great chance and not one he's had much success with thus far in his career.
BTW, A.D. has a huge load on him right now, but I think the real bellweather may be Jrue. He went from terrible at the start of the season, to singing as the Towers offense ramped it up the last few months, to completely disappearing now that that isn't there anymore. In the 6 games since Cousins went down the team is a -59 with Jrue on the floor. Nearly 10 points worse than their opponents every game. He seems like such a delicate player mentally that the changes could easily have thrown him back into a funk. Ironically the same thing happened last year after the trade that CREATED the Towers -- Jrue struggled to find his footing the remainder of that season as well. Now the script is switched...and it becomes more obvious its a Jrue head problem rather than anything particular about having the Towers or not having them. Pels are in danger now with the Clips and Jazz playing with heart, but maybe the All Star break can provide some much needed mental relief and allow Jrue to get his head around things for the stretch run.