Dāvis Bertāns
Charlotte Hornets

Player Facts

Height: 6'10"
Weight: 225lbs.

Wingspan: 6'10"

Date of Birth: Nov. 6, 1992
College Experience: N/A

Selections

All Star: 0
All-NBA: 0
All-Defensive: 0

Player Grades

Speed/Explosiveness: 7
Physical Strength: 5
Positional Size: 10
Positional Wingspan: 8
Paint Scoring: 4
Midrange Scoring: 4
Three-Point Scoring: 10
Dribbling: 6
Passing: 5
Perimeter Defense: 3
Interior Defense: 5
Rebounding: 5

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JUMP TO SECTION

> Intro

> Lights-Out Shooting

> Silky Spot-Ups

> Getting a Cleaner Look

> Basketball IQ + Defensive Offerings

> Difficulties Against Athleticism

> Lackluster Paint Protection

> One-Dimensional Offense

> Rebounding Shortage

> Beacon Bacon

>Link to Player Contract & Salary Info

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*All statistical data courtesy of NBA Advanced Stats

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STRENGTHS

Intro

The 6'10" Davis Bertans is a deadeye shooter at power forward. Bertans' on-court value is built upon his contributions as a dynamic shooter. Calling him simply a stretch four understates his highly active-off ball movement and deadly perimeter accuracy.

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Lights-Out Shooting

He has a gorgeous, quick release on his jumpers. The tall and lanky (6-10 wingspan) Davis likes to use the hop on the catch as he rainbows in threes. Without the basketball, Bertans smartly keeps his hands up and his knees bent. His jump shot preparation fundamentals are generally impeccable.

He led the entire NBA in 2019-2020 with an average of 9.7 catch-and-shoot points per game. Bertans just edged out the sharpshooting Duncan Robinson in this category. He then finished runner-up in this category during 2020-2021, this time trailing Nikola Vucevic.

Bertans has great balance on his jumper for such a large player. He is also impressively gifted at decelerating into the catch as he flies off screens like a guard. Davis can go from a dead sprint to stopping, rising and squaring his shoulders to the rim as he's in the air.

His favorite shooting zone has to be above-the-break. He can stroll into triples as the trail man in semi-transition. In fact, he was remarkably in the 90th percentile for transition scoring in 2019-2020 thanks to his knockdown shooting. 2021-2022 had him in the 83rd fast break percentile as a Maverick. Alternatively, Bertans can slip the high ball screen to sharply dart into clean perimeter space.

He stood behind only James Harden and Damian Lillard with his average of 3.3 above-the-break threes per game in 2019-2020. Davis was the most accurate out of this bunch nailing 41.3% of these.

Bertans gets great elevation on his long-range bombs. These high hops combine with his 6'10" frame to produce a lofty release point. In 2019-2020 Davis drained 40.4% of his 2.6 triple attempts per game with a defender 2-4 feet away.

Silky Spot-Ups

Davis' insane range as a shooter provides bountiful floor spacing. He can comfortably catch and pull the trigger on super deep threes. Bertans has been north of 40% on catch-and-shoot threes from 2016-2017 to 2020-2021. He did drop below this in 2021-2022, however it profiles as a statistical aberration.

He keenly identifies opportunities to lift to the wing or drift to the corner after a teammate attracts help. Overall, his relentless off-ball movement and shooting stroke occupy the attention of defenders. In turn, this opens up opportunities for others as concerned defenders stay home on Bertans.

The pace and conviction with which Davis moves with as an off-ball player is exceptional. These rapidly run routes provide value all on their own as the defense scrambles to chase and switch.

He averaged a speed of 4.99 miles per hour on the offensive end in 2019-2020. For context, zippy marksmen Tyler Herro and Buddy Hield averaged 4.97 and 4.79 miles per hour respectively.

Bertans provided a sparkling 1.21 points per possession on spot-ups in 2019-2020. This equated to the 89th percentile that year. His 1.21 figure here bested snipers like Joe Harris, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Tobias Harris. He nudged up to the 90th percentile the following year.

The talented Bertans requires minimal air space to sink the triple. He rains in tons of difficult and well-contested threes. Bertans will adjust his shooting mechanics and shot release speed if need be. The Latvian Laser tallies four-point plays with relative ease.

Getting a Cleaner Look

Davis decidedly pump fakes to let eager defenders fly by. He doesn't look to force up the three. Rather, he'll pause for a beat or take a dribble to obtain a better look.

Bertans doesn't record exclusively assisted threes. In actuality, he uses some functional ball-handling skills to create separation one-on-one occasionally. Davis' pull-up three-point percentages remain high, knocking down 40% in 2019-2020.

Davis also exhibits the makings of a modest passing skillset. He willingly swings the ball and will thread the needle if two defenders run at him. The Latvian forward is also capable of feeding cutters sometimes as he operates on the perimeter. Bertans routinely showcases that he is a high IQ player.

Basketball IQ + Defensive Offerings

All in all, Bertans stays within himself as an offensive player. He is decisive and calculated with his movement, keeping turnovers low. Davis is a smart offensive player who doesn't wander outside of his role.

Defensively, Davis can be a serviceable man defender close to the basket. He can leverage his size in these slowed-down sequences that don't challenge him laterally. Bertans plays proper positional defensive during the bulk of these defensive possessions. In 2019-2020, he was in the 82nd percentile for his work defending post-ups.

He's a sound team defender. Bertans rotates well and for the most part knows where to be on the floor. He can use his foot speed as an off-ball helper to beat defenders to their spot.

WEAKNESSES

Difficulties Against Athleticism

Bertans has a high center of gravity and below average lateral quickness. This can get him in trouble defending in space. For instance, he can be too upright on his closeouts and consequently get sped by. He is a cerebral and alert defender, but his impact is curtailed by physical limitations.

He has significant trouble checking athletic roll men. He permitted 1.46 points per possession to rollers in 2019-2020, putting him in the 7th percentile. This puts a halt on his squad's ability to play him as a small-ball five as he'd be the sole big getting targeted repeatedly in pick-and-rolls.

Lackluster Paint Protection

Davis' defensive deficiencies continue on the inside. His uninspiring leaping ability and lighter build at 225 pounds doesn't help here.

He offered only 0.6 blocks a game in 2019-2020, followed by an abysmal 0.2/contest in 2020-2021. Furthermore, opponents shot only 0.7% below their average within six feet of the basket with Davis on the interior (2019-2020).

One-Dimensional Offense

Bertans has minimal roll gravity in spite of playing the four. He rarely looks to get downhill, content with just popping out for jumpers. He scored only 0.7 points per game as a roll man in 2019-2020. Digging deeper, he attempted only 1.3 restricted area shots a night that year on a weak 59.7% mark.

Davis lacks a developed midrange or post game. A more refined set of moves here would add a wrinkle to his offense and allow for the punishing of mismatches. Moreover, he is a good but infrequent cutter. In 2019-2020, he scored only 0.8 of his 15.4 points per game on cuts.

Rebounding Shortage

Lastly, he is a low-output rebounder on both ends. In 2019-2020, he collected merely 4.5 rebounds per night with nearly 30 minutes of average playtime. Zooming in, perimeter players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Gordon Hayward, and T.J. Warren all beat out Bertans' paltry 1.3 contested rebounds per game average.

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bacon
Beacon Bacon

Bertans' shooting prowess becomes infinitely more impressive knowing that he had lost a portion of his right ring finger earlier in life