“Uh-oh, here he comes…”
Those words have likely been uttered many times in vain this past weekend. For Alex McKechnie, it was probably said when Norman Powell entered the training room with what has now been assessed as a broken fourth metacarpal on his left hand. For 49ers fans, that sentiment was surely shared when Patrick Mahomes trotted onto the field during the fourth quarter to inevitably lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a Super Bowl victory. And, as is the case in most Raptors games, the referees undoubtedly whispered it to one another the moment Kyle Lowry made his way towards them to debate a foul call on Sunday afternoon.
Yet when Terence Davis voiced those four words during the post-game interview he had a toothy grin adorned on his face as he noticed Pascal Siakam jogging in his direction with a Gatorade cup in hand. The team’s franchise star is used to being the one conducting said interviews on the court, but in this instance Siakam seemed ecstatic to be assuming the role of interview-crasher. He dumped the cup on Davis’ head in what I presume was an attempt to cool off the rookie after a scintillating 31-point effort, the few splashes a much less dramatic result than the full-on water cooler dousing that accompanies Super Bowl Sunday.
Ironically, Davis has made more than just a small splash during his rookie campaign in Toronto.
You knew it was coming, @TerenceDavisJr 😂 pic.twitter.com/wLeMElPJeD
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) February 2, 2020
It is fitting that on a day that is known for two things —football and gambling — that a former grid-iron star who bet on himself with long shot odds to succeed emerged as the victor. Davis kept Toronto close during the first half as the Bulls were surprisingly enterprising to open the game. Then, as Chicago crashed back to reality in the third quarter, Davis did not, blowing the game wide open for what ended as a comfortable victory.
“It’s a great organization, I couldn’t be in a better position. I’m just blessed,” smiled Davis, water dripping off his headband.
Davis’ position on the team has been an interesting subplot for much of the regular season. He showed some spunk in a smattering of minutes early in the season, but in a ‘he’ll be a fun dude in garbage time’ kind of way. Then the avalanche of injuries commenced and since that point Davis has had to be called upon frequently. In his first ever start as an NBA player, Davis put up 23 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists against the Charlotte Hornets. During the brief moments that Toronto regained a modicum of health, Davis battled Patrick McCaw for the fourth guard role in the rotation, a heated talking point of Raptors Twitter. Nick Nurse has had a short leash for the Ole Miss product, something that is not uncommon for rookies, but Davis’ continual improvement is becoming impossible to ignore.
“The games I play him about six minutes, I’m wondering ‘what the hell am I doing?’. That’s first thing that I think when he plays like that. I don’t really know what to say,” said Nurse.
It is not usual for a rookie to earn frequent minutes for a playoff team, let alone an undrafted one cracking the rotation for the defending champions. Davis’ meteoric rise is a surprise to outsiders, but inside the organization they quickly recognized his potential to contribute immediately.
“We saw what kind of player he was going to be early on, and he kept getting better and better throughout the year. He puts the work in, so it’s cool for all of us as teammates to see him have a big night,” said Fred VanVleet.
“He’s hit a couple walls… he’s kind of all or nothing sometimes. But that’s normal, he’s a young player, he’s gonna bump his head. The good thing is that he has a great spirit and that he competes, whether he messes up or makes mistakes, he just keeps playing and competing. I think for a while there he was a little unsure of himself after not having good games.”
While uncertainty may have crept in for Davis after a few middling performances, there is a surefire way to relight his competitive spark. Put that chip firmly back on his shoulder. Davis’ underdog mentality, fueled by making over-lookers believe, could easily have dwindled after wildly out-performing expectations. Thankfully, the NBA’s assistant coaches decided that Eric Paschall’s 13.5 points per game on the league’s worst team warranted a nod in the ‘Rising Stars’ rookie-sophomore game during All-Star weekend over Davis’ meaningful contributions. It’d be foolish to presume that this news wouldn’t be more fodder for Davis to prove naysayers wrong.
This isn’t my first time not being selected for something but I guess it’s easy going undrafted to playing quality mins on a championship team huh #MakeEmBelieve https://t.co/zdHIpoKOZy
— 🅾️ (@TerenceDavisJr) January 31, 2020
“It definitely was in the back of my mind, for sure,” Davis said of his snub. “Throughout the course of this season it will be in the back of my mind.”
Davis’ differing contributions on Sunday were also a sign of his growth and future fit on this team as the playoffs loom. First, and most obviously, was his outside shooting going 6-for-7 from deep, a pre-requisite for modern basketball. Second, was his chameleon-like ability to shift roles depending on the lineup surrounding him. Davis was a willing floor-spacer when with the starting unit, and then seamlessly moved into large usage roles with the bench. He took on some ball-handling duties, pushed the ball hard in transition, and ran through sets designed to specifically get him open looks. It was a role and subsequent performance that felt eerily similar to Norman Powell.
“With Norm being out, he [Davis] is going to have an opportunity. He’s got to take advantage of it,” said Kyle Lowry.
Amidst the fawning over Davis, it would behoove me to mention that the Raptors have now equaled their franchise-best eleventh consecutive victory. Albeit, there has been a dip in the quality of opposition, but nonetheless Toronto is surging. Even veteran leaders like Lowry are acknowledging that Davis will need to be prominent if they want to maintain this momentum.
