I think many Rockets fans were happy when the Rockets decided to convert JD Davison’s two-way contract to a regular NBA contract. As much as I enjoy Aaron Holiday and his minutes, it was time for Davison to get a standard NBA contract.
Davison saw relatively limited action during his first season with Houston. He averaged 2.5 points, 1.3 assists, and 1.2 rebounds in 28 regular-season games, playing an average of 7.8 minutes per game. These stats, however, aren’t Davison’s fault, as he was on a two-way
contract until April 7. For context, NBA two-way players are only able to play a maximum of 50 regular NBA games and are ineligible for the playoffs. Davison also had a 8-point and 4-assist game versus the Thunder on February 7.
Davison’s influence was even more obvious in the G League, as he continued to exhibit his scoring and playmaking prowess. He put up good numbers in limited opportunities, helping to reinforce the idea that he may develop into a reliable NBA contributor with more opportunities.
However, what worries me the most with Davison is his three-point shot. Davison shot just above 30% from three in college before shooting 29% in his rookie year, 40% in his sophomore year, 33% his third year, and just 27.3% this past year. Houston already has so many players who can’t shoot from three (Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun, etc). Thankfully, with Reed Sheppard’s emergence, Davison should only be needed in spot minutes, and since he is still younger, he has time to develop a three-point shot.
All in all, it was hard to evaluate Davison’s Rockets season since he did not play much real NBA basketball due to being on a two-way, and also due to Ime Udoka favoring Aaron Holiday, but hopefully next season we will get to see him get more opprotunites and continue to grow. We will be doing player season reviews all month long here at The Dream Shake, so make sure to check back every day for new season reviews.
