Johnny Davis has struggled mightily early in his rookie season. Everyone knows that. But I still believe that Davis will eventually find his footing in the NBA. When Davis was drafted, ESPN mentioned two strengths of his game. Those strengths are toughness and scoring versatility. Two strengths that always translate well to the NBA. Toughness will help Davis overcome any hurdles during his rookie season. The scoring versatility is perfect for the modern NBA.
These rough stretch of games is something that Davis can overcome. All it takes is one good game for things to swing back in the right direction. With Delon Wright and Corey Kispert missing time due to injury, Davis will get his chances.
However…
I think Davis is going to struggle for a little bit longer before things turn around. He seems overwhelmed by the speed of the NBA game. That is going to take a little bit of time to overcome.
When Johnny Davis checked into the game against the Pacers, I was confident. I thought this was the game where things will go well for him. I even tweeted about it on our WizardsXTRA Twitter handle.
Davis did score his first NBA points, but it was a tough night for him. On defense, he struggled mightily against everyone he matched up against. In 7 minutes of playing time, Davis picked up two fouls. When Davis had the ball on offense, he wasn’t looking at the basket most of the time. Which is concerning, since Davis was known as a scorer coming out of college.
Give Davis some time
Not every rookie can get off to a great start like Rui Hachimura. Or even a decent start like Deni Avdija. For some players, they need to struggle for a bit before things turn around. Last season, it took Corey Kispert some time to get used to the NBA. Even Bradley Beal struggled during the first month of his rookie season.
Give Davis some time to make the adjustments necessary to contribute in the NBA. It has only been 5 games. The regular season is a marathon, not a sprint.
