Big Baby is the problem...More minutes for Williams

[Roy Hobbs]

I disagree. I think that with Quisy, we have a very strong second unit. It's our starting 5 that is the problem...

Agreed.  It's 4 of the starting 5 having regressed since the start of the season that is hurting the team.

This pretty much nails it.  The bench has been pretty inconsistent, but it's the starters who are playing worse and who are coughing up leads.

[pearljammer10]

I dont know what games you've all been watching but Baby has been far from good. His best effort was Sunday against the Magic. To say he played a good game is an overstatement. He tries to do too much isolation, once the ball is in his hands hes going to shoot it, no question...And 1 out of 4 times his shot is going to get blocked. On the defensive end he can body up his man, thats about it. We need a big athletic bench player downlow that can protect the rim...

Plus 10 - 12 with Big Baby! Oye... Sometimes it isn't the play on the court, you have to look at his actions off the court, and that might be the biggest factor.

[Roy Hobbs]

Plus 10 - 12 with Big Baby! Oye... Sometimes it isn't the play on the court, you have to look at his actions off the court, and that might be the biggest factor.

Doesn't this roughly coincide with the injuries to Pierce and KG?  I have a very hard time blaming Baby for our recent losses, which have been some combination of a lack of athleticism, focus, and energy.  Since we're usually losing leads in the third and late fourth quarters, I think the starters get a big chunk of the blame.

[connerhenry43]

I disagree.  I think the problem is Rasheed Wallace.  If you want to take away minutes take minutes away from Wallace.  He's been putrid offensively.  He has played solid defense, but I do think Williams could do just as well and would be a much better offensive rebounder and would make this team a lot tougher. 

i disagree. the problem is not BBD. it is sheldon williams and bill walker and kevin eastman. they are KILLING this team.

i have seen some questionable threads on here, but this one takes the cake. a guy getting 10 minutes a game is the reason we are in a free-fall? not pierce's injury, garnett's injury and decline, sheed coasting through his 20 minutes a night, no defense, ray's off shooting and scoring year, perk's foul trouble, rondo's ft shooting, house slumping (until friday).

BBD is THE problem? Please.

[Spilling Green Dye]

As much as I've disliked Glen's game and how overrated he is on the board, and factoring in that I genuinely don't want to see him play anymore, I would have to say that he is not THE problem like you've said.  To me, here are the problems in order:

1) Team chemistry (goals aligned, etc)
2) Health of KG, Pierce, etc.
3) Declining stars
4) Lousy bench w/o Daniels.  This is where I put in Davis.  He's subpar and I don't think he should be getting more than 5 minutes a game on a championship caliber team.  Nonetheless, he's not #4 on my ranking, the whole bench is.
5) Sheed not playing up to his potential.

[jdpapa3]

I understand if people turned on Davis after that off-court incident this summer, but people have been anti-Davis since his rookie year for some reason. I honestly don't get it. People judge this guy with a tainted eye. He's gotta have 50% of our offensive rebounds in the past 2 weeks.

[Bankshot]

I disagree.  I think the problem is Rasheed Wallace.  If you want to take away minutes take minutes away from Wallace.  He's been putrid offensively.  He has played solid defense, but I do think Williams could do just as well and would be a much better offensive rebounder and would make this team a lot tougher. 

i disagree. the problem is not BBD. it is sheldon williams and bill walker and kevin eastman. they are KILLING this team.

i have seen some questionable threads on here, but this one takes the cake. a guy getting 10 minutes a game is the reason we are in a free-fall? not pierce's injury, garnett's injury and decline, sheed coasting through his 20 minutes a night, no defense, ray's off shooting and scoring year, perk's foul trouble, rondo's ft shooting, house slumping (until friday).

BBD is THE problem? Please.

What's even funnier?  They think Shelden Williams is better and is the answer.

[Spilling Green Dye]

I understand if people turned on Davis after that off-court incident this summer, but people have been anti-Davis since his rookie year for some reason. I honestly don't get it. People judge this guy with a tainted eye. He's gotta have 50% of our offensive rebounds in the past 2 weeks.

I give him great credit for improving his already good offensive rebounding rate.  But, I think people have been Anti-Davis for a few reasons:

-He's undersized and not what we need at his position
-He has not improved his lift around the hoop and is a liability there.
-Some people really liked what Powe brought (including maturity), and so they pushed for more Powe minutes, which inherently meant less Davis.  
-He does not rotate well on defense and is not a shot blocker.  Our 2nd unit would really benefit from having a shot blocker so unfortunately the blame is partially on Davis (though it's not fair to blame him).

Ultimately once you realize that he's a $2 to $3 million bench guy who can get some offensive rebounds, then you'll see that this team has way more issues than anything Davis brings.  But, he is a polarizing figure and so people feel the need to be on one side or the other.

[jdpapa3]

-He's undersized and not what we need at his position
-He has not improved his lift around the hoop and is a liability there.
-Some people really liked what Powe brought (including maturity), and so they pushed for more Powe minutes, which inherently meant less Davis.  
-He does not rotate well on defense and is not a shot blocker.  Our 2nd unit would really benefit from having a shot blocker so unfortunately the blame is partially on Davis (though it's not fair to blame him).

I flat out disagree with a few points here.

"he does not rotate well on defense" is just a fallacy. This might be the best part of his game. He is extremely quick laterally and gets to spots very, very well. With KG limping around, baby may be our best rotating big man.

"undersized and not what he need at his position" : He is our 4th big and produces very, very well. There are very few better 4th bigs in the league. What he lacks in height, he makes up for in bulk that he knows how to use, intelligence, and great lateral quickness.

[Who]

I'm not a fan of Shelden Williams' game at all ... but I'd like to see him get a short run in the rotation and see if he can spark that second unit. They had some nice chemistry going earlier on in the season.

[Chris]

Glen Davis played significantly better basketball than KG last night, and was arguably their best big man.  He played similar to the end of last season, but with better defense.  I really hope it was not a "flash", but is just a sign that his timing and conditioning are back (relatively speaking with the conditioning of course).

[MBz]

I disagree.  I think the problem is Rasheed Wallace.  If you want to take away minutes take minutes away from Wallace.  He's been putrid offensively.  He has played solid defense, but I do think Williams could do just as well and would be a much better offensive rebounder and would make this team a lot tougher. 

i disagree. the problem is not BBD. it is sheldon williams and bill walker and kevin eastman. they are KILLING this team.

i have seen some questionable threads on here, but this one takes the cake. a guy getting 10 minutes a game is the reason we are in a free-fall? not pierce's injury, garnett's injury and decline, sheed coasting through his 20 minutes a night, no defense, ray's off shooting and scoring year, perk's foul trouble, rondo's ft shooting, house slumping (until friday).

BBD is THE problem? Please.

So what did you disagree with?  Haha.  I said Rasheed was the problem?

[moiso]

Glen Davis played significantly better basketball than KG last night, and was arguably their best big man.  He played similar to the end of last season, but with better defense.  I really hope it was not a "flash", but is just a sign that his timing and conditioning are back (relatively speaking with the conditioning of course).

I agree.  I was very pleased with Baby yesterday.  I had almost forgotten that he could play on that level.

[vinnie]

I think the fact that 24% of Glen Davis' shots have been blocked this year might be coloring people's opinions here. Baby is hustling and rebounding, but his inability to finish at the rim is infuriating. I have never seen a player get more shots blocked. ToO me, this detracts immensely from his value and play. Great that he gets the rebounds, but what good is it if he never puts them back for two?

[Chris]

I think the fact that 24% of Glen Davis' shots have been blocked this year might be coloring people's opinions here. Baby is hustling and rebounding, but his inability to finish at the rim is infuriating. I have never seen a player get more shots blocked. ToO me, this detracts immensely from his value and play. Great that he gets the rebounds, but what good is it if he never puts them back for two?

Which is worse, Baby getting his layup blocked (and possibly picking up a foul), or Wallace launching a three with 16 seconds left on the 24 second shot? 

I agree that his inability to finish in traffic is frustrating, but given the overall lack of toughness on this team lately, I will take his hustle, offensive rebounding, and correct defensive rotations every time.