Picking an MVP for Each NBA Playoff Team Using Analytics

Ed Davis, Portland Trail Blazers

nERD: 2.0

Damian Lillard? C.J. McCollum? No, the MVP of the Portland Trail Blazers so far this postseason has been Ed Davis.

Hear us out.

Lillard (-1.3 nERD) and McCollum (-3.9 nERD) have been scoring in bunches (23.4 and 19.0 points per game, respectively, through eight games), but they haven't been doing so very efficiently.

Lillard is shooting a mere 36.6% from the field and 39.7% from long range for an Effective Field Goal Percentage (eFG%) of 45.0%, while McCollum is hitting 42.1% and 30.8% for an eFG% of 46.6%. Also, neither has been very strong on the defensive end, as Lillard has a Defensive Rating of 109 and McCollum 111 (the two worst marks of any Blazer starters this postseason).

In the meantime, Boss Davis is averaging a subtle 4.9 points and 6.8 rebounds in only 17.0 minutes per game off the bench, and shooting 51.7% from the field. He has an Offensive Rating of 118 and a Defensive Rating of 106, and that resulting Net Rating of 12 is the best of anyone on the team who has played more than seven minutes.

Davis has not been an MVP in the traditional sense of the word, but his contributions on both ends of the floor have been solid enough to lead in our metric because efficiency has dragged down the numbers of Portland's stars in Lillard and McCollum.