For much of the second half of last season, Anthony Davis began seeing several unconventional defensive tactics thrown at him, including a few teams who matched up with small forwards. Those wing players, such as Houston’s Trevor Ariza and Sacramento’s Rudy Gay, gave up length to Davis, but tried to make up for it by neutralizing the All-NBA power forward’s quickness and athleticism. Early in 2015-16, opponents are still mixing up their defensive coverages vs. Davis, but there’s also one consistent strategy that should never again surprise anyone, according to New Orleans first-year head coach Alvin Gentry.
“You’ve got to understand that as long as he’s out there, if we throw him the ball in the post, (the defense is) going to double him,” Gentry said.