Ed Davis will miss the rest of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery, the team announced on Wednesday. According to the team, the cause is a further deterioration of an injury to his labrum suffered last season.
Davis had appeared in 46 games for the Blazers this season, starting 12 of them. In his limited minutes, he averaged 4.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while often providing the only means of rim protection on the roster.
Davis has bounced around the league in his seven-year career. The Blazers are his fourth team in that span.
Davis’ injury is a big blow to a team whose defense is already lacking and a team that had playoff aspirations before the season. While playing only 17.2 minutes per game, Davis impacted the game on both ends of the floor.
The silver lining of the injury is that it clears up more playing time for the Blazers’ assortment of young bigs. Noah Vonleh and, more importantly, the recently acquired center Jusuf Nurkic should eat up most of the playing time at the four and five positions.
The Blazers do not seem likely to reach the postseason so any development time they can get for their younger players is crucial.
We wish Ed Davis a speedy recovery from his surgery, scheduled for next Tuesday in Los Angeles.
