Big Baby is Legit!

[LarBrd33]

BBD has been good, not just recently, but really overall since KG went down.  However, candidly, I'm scared of how he's going to react once he gets paid.  I can easily see the kid going the Oliver Miller route.  I hope that fear is completely unfounded.

I'm still hung up on the fact that the guy lost a considerable amount of weight for the pre-draft camps... and then seemingly put most of it back on during the course of last year.  That and he seems to have an egotistical flamboyant personality that hasn't matched his production...   I'll admit I have not been a fan of Big Baby. 

But I gotta give him props for yesterday.   Homeless man's Antoine Walker.

Btw... I can't see him pricing himself out of Boston.   Let him go to another team.  I don't care.   He wouldn't be this productive on any other squad... unless you think he'd get 40 wide open jumpers and 10 wide open layups playing for the Thunder.

[cordobes]

There's a lot of love/hate directed towards Davis because of reasons that have nothing to do with his basketball skills, especially his perceived personality (which is highly connected to his body type). It's amusing.

I, for one, am happy he didn't lose weight. I think that he was much more useful for the C's with his current weight and body type. In the future, we'll have to see.

I think he'll be easy to keep at a controlled cost, it won't be a good off-season for free-agents like Davis to hit the market.

[RAcker]

BBD has been good, not just recently, but really overall since KG went down.  However, candidly, I'm scared of how he's going to react once he gets paid.  I can easily see the kid going the Oliver Miller route.  I hope that fear is completely unfounded.

I'm still hung up on the fact that the guy lost a considerable amount of weight for the pre-draft camps... and then seemingly put most of it back on during the course of last year.  That and he seems to have an egotistical flamboyant personality that hasn't matched his production...   I'll admit I have not been a fan of Big Baby. 

But I gotta give him props for yesterday.   Homeless man's Antoine Walker.

Btw... I can't see him pricing himself out of Boston.   Let him go to another team.  I don't care.   He wouldn't be this productive on any other squad... unless you think he'd get 40 wide open jumpers and 10 wide open layups playing for the Thunder.

Wow.

[kozlodoev]

Homeless man's Antoine Walker.

Davis shot .442 from the floor this season, and drew criticism for clanking too many shots. In the Antoine Walker Book of Records, .442 in a season would be a career-high.

Sure, there are lots of factors that affect this number, but in his second year with the pros Davis is already better than Walker in one very important factor: playing within his skillset. Or you forget why Walker was jettisoned out of Boston for the first time?

[Ed Teach]

I don't think that this is "man crush" stuff.  Big Baby took a lot of critism last year and the 1st half of this season.  Almost everyone thought that he was a liability on the court and should be replaced the moment another player was available through FA or trade.

He has shown that he can be an asset to this team, his play has converted me from a guy that thought trading BBD this offseason was a priority to a guy that would like to keep him as a Celtic as long as we can get him under a reasonable contract.

I don't think anyone is making him out to be the best shooting PF since Tim Duncan, but instead giving him credit for his contribution.  BBD development is like the cherry on top of a ice cream sunday, and I for one is very exicted about this off season.  Hopefully the C's can concentrate on finding some relief for PP on the wing.

[kozlodoev]

There's a lot of love/hate directed towards Davis because of reasons that have nothing to do with his basketball skills, especially his perceived personality (which is highly connected to his body type). It's amusing.

I, for one, am happy he didn't lose weight. I think that he was much more useful for the C's with his current weight and body type. In the future, we'll have to see.

I think he'll be easy to keep at a controlled cost, it won't be a good off-season for free-agents like Davis to hit the market.

I thought he lost a lot of baby fat between the end of last season and now. He seems much more explosive this season, and is able to rise up for an occasional block or a dunk.

Ainge said that he lost about 30 pounds during this period of time. The team listed him at 289 pounds last season, so if we assume that there are 10 pounds between understating the weight and overstating the loss, this means that he plays at ~270 right now, which is excellent for him.

In case you wondered, he has way more massive body structure than any other basketball player his size I've seen. You just need to compare his calves to, say, Leon's. Twice the size.

[EJPLAYA]

I don't think that this is "man crush" stuff.  Big Baby took a lot of critism last year and the 1st half of this season.  Almost everyone thought that he was a liability on the court and should be replaced the moment another player was available through FA or trade.

He has shown that he can be an asset to this team, his play has converted me from a guy that thought trading BBD this offseason was a priority to a guy that would like to keep him as a Celtic as long as we can get him under a reasonable contract.

I don't think anyone is making him out to be the best shooting PF since Tim Duncan, but instead giving him credit for his contribution.  BBD development is like the cherry on top of a ice cream sunday, and I for one is very exicted about this off season.  Hopefully the C's can concentrate on finding some relief for PP on the wing.

If it isn't a man crush, then why all the love with his huge deficiencies. Those negatives he has are pretty big issues for a team needing strength at the big man spots. Do you really think GM's sit around and say that they are out looking for an undersized big who can't rebound that well, can't block shots, can't score around the rim, and is at best a decent outside shooter?! Step back from the green kool-aid and think about that for a minute.

I am impressed that a guy with those deficiencies can even be in the discussion for contributing out there, but let's be realistic about how valuable he really is.

[LarBrd33]

Homeless man's Antoine Walker.

Davis shot .442 from the floor this season, and drew criticism for clanking too many shots. In the Antoine Walker Book of Records, .442 in a season would be a career-high.

Sure, there are lots of factors that affect this number, but in his second year with the pros Davis is already better than Walker in one very important factor: playing within his skillset. Or you forget why Walker was jettisoned out of Boston for the first time?

Oh I know...   Toine was an average player who had way too much freedom.  If 'Toine had joined a team with 3 superstars and a championship mentality... maybe he would have played within his abilities.    Meanwhile... if Davis had joined a 20 win team and was told "hey... just do whatever you want... here's 40 minutes a night... start jacking up threes"... he'd probably go the same way.   Walker had more talent and skill, though (despite his unorthadox approach)... thus... Big Baby is starting to look more and more like a homeless man's Antoine Walker to me.

And as for comments about his personality... Davis just comes across as a bigmouth who is full of himself.   I'm glad he has fit into this team and been playing his role...  It's nice to see him knock down roughly half of his wide open jumpers and pull down 6 rebounds every 40 minutes, but I think concerns about giving him money are legit.  He deserves a pat on the back, but I still question his work ethic, his dedication and his brain type.  Definitely question his brain type.  lol.  Not but seriously... I don't see him as a guy like Rondo (or even Perk) who will bust their hump to get better.  I see Baby as a funloving clown who we are getting the most out of. 

[Bankshot]

Looks like the Davis haters are ticked off that he's making them look foolish. LOL

[cordobes]

There's a lot of love/hate directed towards Davis because of reasons that have nothing to do with his basketball skills, especially his perceived personality (which is highly connected to his body type). It's amusing.

I, for one, am happy he didn't lose weight. I think that he was much more useful for the C's with his current weight and body type. In the future, we'll have to see.

I think he'll be easy to keep at a controlled cost, it won't be a good off-season for free-agents like Davis to hit the market.

I thought he lost a lot of baby fat between the end of last season and now. He seems much more explosive this season, and is able to rise up for an occasional block or a dunk.

Ainge said that he lost about 30 pounds during this period of time. The team listed him at 289 pounds last season, so if we assume that there are 10 pounds between understating the weight and overstating the loss, this means that he plays at ~270 right now, which is excellent for him.

In case you wondered, he has way more massive body structure than any other basketball player his size I've seen. You just need to compare his calves to, say, Leon's. Twice the size.

Oh, I agree. Many people believe he's "fat" though. And while I don't think he's excessive weight for an athlete, he could change his body type, losing some more weight and becoming more slim and defined. Personally, I don't see that as a good thing for the Celtics, at least in the short term. 

[LarBrd33]

you guys are probably right that his weight helps build the perception of his personality.

But check him out pre-draft (starting around the 1:15 mark):  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqVB0OMb65M

Am I wrong or does it look like he was in a lot better shape before getting drafted?

How do you go to a team with Kevin Garnett and manage to gain weight?



I wonder how much bigger he'll get once he gets a guaranteed contract.  

But props to him for playing well.  Maybe he's a changed man.

[Birdbrain]

BBD has been good, not just recently, but really overall since KG went down.  However, candidly, I'm scared of how he's going to react once he gets paid.  I can easily see the kid going the Oliver Miller route.  I hope that fear is completely unfounded.

I'm still hung up on the fact that the guy lost a considerable amount of weight for the pre-draft camps... and then seemingly put most of it back on during the course of last year.  That and he seems to have an egotistical flamboyant personality that hasn't matched his production...   I'll admit I have not been a fan of Big Baby. 

But I gotta give him props for yesterday.   Homeless man's Antoine Walker.

Btw... I can't see him pricing himself out of Boston.   Let him go to another team.  I don't care.   He wouldn't be this productive on any other squad... unless you think he'd get 40 wide open jumpers and 10 wide open layups playing for the Thunder.

Thank the heavens you don't have vote in the process.

And he never lost weight because he didn't need to lose weight.  This place is stuck in neutral.  BBD FTW

[fairweatherfan]

It's pretty odd to me that it's one day after Baby almost dropped a 5x5 in the playoffs, and four days after he scored 26 in a very close game, and there's still people talking about him like he's a scrub.  You guys sound like ESPN "experts" who are still stuck on December's narrative in April.

BBD certainly has his flaws, and he's not going to play like this every night, but if you don't think he's demonstrated his value to this team over the last few months, you're nuts or very stubborn about letting go of a losing argument.

[mkogav]

It's pretty odd to me that it's one day after Baby almost dropped a 5x5 in the playoffs, and four days after he scored 26 in a very close game, and there's still people talking about him like he's a scrub.  You guys sound like ESPN "experts" who are still stuck on December's narrative in April.

BBD certainly has his flaws, and he's not going to play like this every night, but if you don't think he's demonstrated his value to this team over the last few months, you're nuts or very stubborn about letting go of a losing argument.

Agreed.

Not to mention, once again HUGE props to Danny to land Baby is the second round.

Mk

[CeltiCpRide79]

These are some great points for and against our newly beloved Big Baby. I don't think much has been missed. The great hustle that shows in his nimble feet and soft hands will eventually translate to steadier defensive rebounding with time, but there is little chance of him averaging a double-double or something in three years. He still has so much to work on offensively, but you all did miss one thing. The guy sets perfect picks for Ray. I think the Carlos Boozer range is a really high hope for Glen Davis, but I agree that his ceiling has a mirror with the under-sized Dukie's game filling the glass. The Booze-cruise should have no earthly right hauling in 22 rebounds against Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, but like Davis, Boozer has a giant hustling heart.

After considering what y'all have offered, I conclude that with Perkins, Rondo and Bill Walker, Davis is part of the core of the team to keep for five years down the road. What I got interested in posting though was somehting I was surprised nobody has mentioned given the circumstances.

How many watched us hold off the Blazers back in December? Everyone remembers the footage of Davis wiping tears away on the sideline after KG ripped into him and the reserves for letting a lead slide. While Garnett went on to do one of the coolest things I've ever seen, his maligned crawl in the back court at rookie point guard Jerryd Bayless, he may have given the Celts a chance without him in this first round too with that lecture of Davis. Glen has not been the same capricious player since, and has harnessed his energy towards better production on a bell curve since then.

Other people call me crazy for not thinking that Garnett is some kind of condescending punk for that worm he pulled with a slap of the hands on the parquet. I happen to think it's war out there, and any psychological attacks by the guys in green are fair game. But I think KG was showing Davis something after yelling the tears out of him. The Ticket Stub has learned intensity to go with hustle. Keep him wearing the shamrock Danny. The kid is growing into a true Celtic. WIth his unique size, his use as a screener and developing jump-shooter is just a small part of why he belongs in Boston. Garnett passed him some fire. His newly effective help defense and interior passing are just the beginnings of what that flame can forge out of Davis.