Davis is Not a Backup Center

The title says it all. I don’t care how much space he takes up or whether or not he can face up bigger opponents, Glen Davis can not play center in the NBA. Period. But then, you have Danny Ainge saying stuff like this in the Boston Herald.

While Celtics director of basketball operations Danny Ainge thinks Glen Davis will be able to play some backup center this season because he can take up space and face-up on opponents, Doc Rivers doesn’t necessarily agree. “He’s got the girth, but he doesn’t have the length, so the bigger bigs will just shoot over him,” he said. “And I think he would struggle trying to score over a longer player.”

Who would have thought that Doc Rivers would be the voice of reason in any debate? I think it will be brutally obvious tonight that Davis can’t play center in the NBA when Greg Oden and Lamarcus Aldridge feast on him in the post. He’s too short and not athletic enough to deter anyone from taking him to the box. Other than just holding his spot in the post, he doesn’t give much else on the defensive end. I can almost guarantee that Delonte West (we miss you!) will block more shots than Glen Davis this season. I know the minutes may not match up, but I’m sure it would be very close, maybe even still in Delonte’s favor, if you extrapolated them out for 48 minutes each.