Glen Davis Ceiling?

[Change]

Celtics fan,

This is only his second year. Lets say in 3-4 years, how good can he become? Can he be a 15/8 or 20/9 guy and a legit starter? Fill me in on your expectations for Glenn BB Davis.

[indeedproceed]

My expectations are that his skill sets, and energy and remarkably crafty style of play around the basket and on defense will allow him to be a big contributor off the bench of a very good playoff team. As a second year player this is a huge complement. Sean Marks will never get this complement. Most NBA bigs, and more undersized NBA bigs never even get close to this. Its a pretty big deal.

However, I will also say that his body will stop him from ever being a premuim starter on an elite team. He could start for a bad team but youd see him average 18 and 8 the bad way...that is 25 pts one nice, 8 pts another. He's just prone to streaky performances because of his style of play.

[wiley]

I got excited about Glen when he started hitting his jumpshot alot and even his misses looked good.  I was mad at Baby for turning down jumpers in Game 4 (due to missing some early).  He should keep shooting them when he's open.

If his jump shot turns out to be excellent, then he'll be a starter at some point (other than now )

[guachi]

I dont think he can become that good, maybe a 12 and 5. The thing is he hasn't been able to put good numbers in a regular basis, as a guy coming of the bench is great.

[ScoobyDoo]

It depends on one thing and one thing only...If he decides to put himself on the Garnett/Perkins program of fitness, training and diet, there is no telling where his game could go. Why?

The guy is already very nimble, very fast and very athletic for a big man. He's 290-300 right now. If he loses about 20-25 pounds, which he could do without losing any strength ( he might even be stronger having lost more weight ), his celing could sky rocket.

You;d now be talking about a guy at 270-280 who would be faster, quicker and with more lift but the same strength.

Combine that with someon who likes the lights...his outside jumper and mobility, enthusiasm for the game....

20-25+ and 10-15 boards a night. He'as already putting up games of 26 and 9, 14. 9, 6 & 6, 19 point, 22 points, 24 points....etc...it's his second year.

If his body stays the same, I agree he 's a good role player but not enough to be a solid starter on a great team.

he loses the weight though, which will also help him defensively around the basket having more lift...now it's an open question.

He's got the heart.

I say, he gets cut like Perkins ( remember it took Perk about 3-4 years ), we've got a potential all star. Very few people will be able to handle him down there.

And unlike the kid on Minny. "Smith" who is a brute like Baby, Baby has a lot more skill and agility. 

[BrickJames]

I think we are seeing his ceiling right now, and that's no knock on him.  He is playing out of his mind lately, and he'll have a long, solid career.

But remember that although it is his second year, he was a 4 year college player with Final Four experience.  He will never be another more than a role player - and the role he is in with the teammates he has is perfect for him.

[wiley]

It depends on one thing and one thing only...If he decides to put himself on the Garnett/Perkins program of fitness, training and diet, there is no telling where his game could go. Why?

The guy is already very nimble, very fast and very athletic for a big man. He's 290-300 right now. If he loses about 20-25 pounds, which he could do without losing any strength ( he might even be stronger having lost more weight ), his celing could sky rocket.

You;d now be talking about a guy at 270-280 who would be faster, quicker and with more lift but the same strength.

Combine that with someon who likes the lights...his outside jumper and mobility, enthusiasm for the game....

20-25+ and 10-15 boards a night. He'as already putting up games of 26 and 9, 14. 9, 6 & 6, 19 point, 22 points, 24 points....etc...it's his second year.

If his body stays the same, I agree he 's a good role player but not enough to be a solid starter on a great team.

he loses the weight though, which will also help him defensively around the basket having more lift...now it's an open question.

He's got the heart.

I say, he gets cut like Perkins ( remember it took Perk about 3-4 years ), we've got a potential all star. Very few people will be able to handle him down there.

And unlike the kid on Minny. "Smith" who is a brute like Baby, Baby has a lot more skill and agility. 

Excellent post.  Agree completely though don't know about all-star.  Definitely a starter though if he could get cut like Perkins.  Another thing he could do if he converts fat to muscle, as he's already shown flashes of it, is drive to the basket off of shot fakes and dunk the ball or at least finish well.  G.D. can be a driver one day (not from the perimeter but from closer in).

[LarBrd33]

Celtics fan,

This is only his second year. Lets say in 3-4 years, how good can he become? Can he be a 15/8 or 20/9 guy and a legit starter? Fill me in on your expectations for Glenn BB Davis.

A rich man's Brandon Hunter.  8 points and 5 rebounds a game off the bench.  A journeyman who stays in the league for more than a couple years and mildly succeeds as long as he's playing for a team that gets him wide open layup and jump shot attempts.

[ScoobyDoo]

Yeah, I agree re the driving. This is something he's now starting to do better. As he  is shorter he obviously has trouble getting over people. However, with his strength and size all he needs to do is be at or a little over the rim when he drives. Anyone in the way is there at their own peril.

What I'm saying is, this year he has come to understand that becasue he's short when he goes in for close shot, he needs to go for the rim. Most times he's gonna get fouled. He's been doing it more this season and it's working. He still gets blocked like everyone else now and then, but more than not, it's working.

I think you just can't tell how good he can be until we see if he has the discipline to get cut like Perk. A good sign though is that you can see a big difference in his face from last year to this...much thinner and leaner in year two.

Think of Perk in year two to the Perk we see now.

And I agree that the enxt stage of his developement offensively now that he's got a great jumper going, is learning to use the pump fake, drive and dish or finish. he has great baketball IQ and is a decent passer. I expect him to use it and continue to grow.
   

[Thruthelookingglass]

My expectations are that his skill sets, and energy and remarkably crafty style of play around the basket and on defense will allow him to be a big contributor off the bench of a very good playoff team. As a second year player this is a huge complement. Sean Marks will never get this complement. Most NBA bigs, and more undersized NBA bigs never even get close to this. Its a pretty big deal.

However, I will also say that his body will stop him from ever being a premuim starter on an elite team. He could start for a bad team but youd see him average 18 and 8 the bad way...that is 25 pts one nice, 8 pts another. He's just prone to streaky performances because of his style of play.

That's a good analysis.  BBD's success from game to game depends a lot on who he is playing against.  He's deceptively quick for a big man, but he's not flat out fast.  He's strong and big, but long players are an issue for him.  He's smart, which helps him minimize his disadvantages. 

While I do believe he's got potential to become even better, especially on defense and picking his shots around the basket, I think that we have to understand that right now the League hasn't figured out a really good way to neutralize BBD.  People will begin to work on figuring out how to stop him (which opens up others, but that's another story).

[Thruthelookingglass]

It depends on one thing and one thing only...If he decides to put himself on the Garnett/Perkins program of fitness, training and diet, there is no telling where his game could go. Why?

The guy is already very nimble, very fast and very athletic for a big man. He's 290-300 right now. If he loses about 20-25 pounds, which he could do without losing any strength ( he might even be stronger having lost more weight ), his celing could sky rocket.

I don't disagree necessarily, but BBD has shed a ton of the weight he carried in college and I wonder how much more he can keep off that frame.

[ScoobyDoo]

Yep, that's the million dollar question, how much can he lose? How much Baby fat can he trim? Perk was able to do a 100% turnaround, going forma dough boy to cut. Can Baby?

You see when he shoots foul shots, he's got a lot of lose weight in there moving around still.

If he can drop 20-25 and get cut, I say his game will go to another whole level. Probably one Baby won't even recognize.

Weird thing is, sometimes this season he's guarded Yao Ming and Dwight Howard and done well, other times he's guarded Nick Young and basically stayed with him up and down the floor. He got beat a few tims by Nick but mostly he did ok. That is crazy!

Imagine the guy 25 pounds lighter but just as strong...a little more speed, a littel more quickness, a little more lift...a littel more strength...

It will be very interesting to see how it goes. I think with diet, and regimented training along the lines of Perk and KG he can get there. All that athleticism he exhibits for his size comes from somewhere under all that excess he's still carrying.
 

[Who]

I think we're pretty close to his ceiling right now.

If he loses the weight, I'd be more optimistic about his potential.

[Mr October]

I think we're pretty close to his ceiling right now.

If he loses the weight, I'd be more optimistic about his potential.

TP. I agree 100%. This is about as good as I expected. He can be a below average starter, or a nice 8th man.

He's a short, jump shooting big, weak on the defensive glass, quick feet for his size, good handle, and good understanding of the game. He plays hard. I love him as a role player.

[QuinielaBox]

It depends if he develops an inside game. He went 4-16 in Game 4 and missed at least 4 bunnies. Other than that, this is probably as good as it gets for Davis.