By Casey Holdahl - The differences between Ed Davis’ first season in Portland and his second couldn’t be more stark.

After signing as a free agent prior to the 2015-16 season, the 6-10 center out of North Carolina became a fan favorite almost instantly. Between being the son of a former NBA player and having played for three teams in his first five seasons, Davis brought much needed toughness and veteran experience to a Trail Blazers locker room which was undergoing a mass exodus.

But Davis’ value went well beyond the locker room, as the former Tar Heel played a vital role as a backup big man who, by some accounts, was one of the most efficient scorers in the NBA. By time his first season with the Trail Blazers had come to a close, Davis had put up career-highs in games played (81) and field goal percentage (61 percent) while averaging 6.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists and just under 1.0 blocks in 20.8 minutes per game. Whatever personnel issues the Trail Blazers still had to figure out, with Davis on the roster, backup center was covered.

At least when healthy that is, something that Ed Davis rarely was this season. The player who looked like he could do nothing wrong the season prior suddenly struggled to get much of anything right, and nobody could seem to put their finger on what exactly the issue was. As the Trail Blazers stumbled out of the gate, “What is wrong with Ed Davis?” became one of the most frequently asked questions among fans. He was in no way the root of Portland’s issues, but his level of his play had dropped off precipitously from the season prior. The offensive rebounds and putback dunks that made Davis such an effective and efficient weapon the year before became a rarity.

Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts tinkered with starting Davis roughly a month into the regular season, but that didn’t seem to help either Davis or the team as a whole. By the end of December, Davis was no longer a regular part of the rotation, which was only exacerbated by a left wrist sprain that kept him sideline for five games at the end of January.

Davis’ return from that injury would be short-lived, as he appeared in just five more games before undergoing season-ending arthroscopic surgery to repair an injured labrum in his left shoulder.

“It’s my left arm and you know how left hand dominant I am, so it does effect me a lot,” said Davis. “But a lot of guys in the NBA are nicked up and things like that, but this is something that’s a little more serious just because it’s a torn labrum and it’s my left arm. It’s just a tough injury to play through.”

He noted he had been experiencing issues with his shoulder dating back to last season, which would seem to explain his struggles in 2016-17, though true to form, Davis refused to blame the injury for what goes down as a disappointing season.

“I’m not really a guy who is going to make excuses,” said Davis. “Individually, I didn’t have a great year, I’m not having a great year. It has bothered me just because my shoulder’s not the same every day. That’s not me to make a bunch of excuses, I don’t know, however you want to take it. That’s what it is, I ain’t going to make no excuses.”