Baby Complaining

[gar]

The fact that BBD got blocked so many times was in part due to his playing Center while Rasheed jacked up threes. He was making excuses for last year. He also struggled with rebounding against other centers in the league. If we don't have to play him at center he should be more effective (like when he subbed for KG). So his role will be different; but it is not a natural PF or a natural center - he is BBD (one of a kind). I hope he is right and that he will be more effective; but he should be thankful they brought in JO not whining. I think he is really worried that Harangody will steal minutes at PF.

[Jevi]

Great example because this includes what I call the Baby effect. Let's see what Rasheed was like prior to an injured Baby joining the team.

Rasheed Wallace the Key for Celtics' Impressive Start
by Liam Martin on Nov 4, 2009

    Through five games, this guy has arguably been the difference between a Boston team that struggled down the stretch in 2008-09 and the one that has shellacked its opponents by an average of 22 points a game so far this go-round.

The clearest example of that impact came Tuesday night in Philadelphia. Showing off for his hometown crowd, Wallace torched the 76ers, hitting six of eight 3-pointers while posting 20 points, six boards, two steals and a block. Throw in a vintage-Sheed technical foul for mouthing off to the refs, and the C's were on their way to a 31-point victory. Wallace's plus-minus? Plus-30.

Perhaps the most promising aspect of that performance was Kevin Garnett's absence. He went a miserable 1-for-7 from the floor (and 1-of-4 from the charity stripe) and committed five turnovers in 23 minutes of play. Not to worry -- Sheed picked up the pieces.

And it wasn't just Tuesday. Wallace's plus-minus marks in Boston's first four games are impressive, to say the least:

Cleveland: plus-10
Charlotte: plus-1 (not that the starters needed much help in this one)
Chicago: plus-11
New Orleans: plus-4

All told, the Celtics are averaging a differential of plus-11.2 points with the newcomer on the floor.

How?

1. Spreading the defense
Wallace is averaging three treys per game through the first five at a clip of 45.5 percent. That ability to score both inside and out allows the Celtics to pick and roll their opponents to death. And they're taking advantage, using open looks to mount a ridiculous field-goal percentage of 51.4, second in the NBA to Phoenix.

2. Defense
Sheed played five seasons for the bad-boy Pistons. He understands and appreciates Doc Rivers' emphasis on becoming "the greatest defense ever." It's why, per 36 minutes of play, the 6-foot-11 power forward is averaging a block, a steal and 7.5 boards.

As Rivers said Tuesday night, "We're going to win because of our defense, no matter how good our offense is."
 
3. Rest for KG
Garnett, coming off knee surgery, is playing just 28 minutes a contest to this point, almost 10 off his career average. The reason? Boston's not losing any ground with Wallace on the floor. A 35-year-old and an Eastern Conference veteran, Wallace has picked up the offense and defense quickly. What's even better is that a decrease in playing time for Garnett generally means he's more efficient when he's in.

4. Stats sheet
The bottom line is that Sheed makes an impact. Per 36 minutes of play, the four-time All-Star is posting 20 points on 46 percent shooting. Sure, Boston was upset to lose Glen Davis for a couple of months, but the fact is that Davis simply isn't good enough yet to bank that kind of change..

What it does add up to, though, is a team -- with the return of KG and addition of Wallace and Marquis Daniels -- vastly improved over the club that bowed out to the Magic in the 2009 playoffs.

Sound familiar, of course not, fans would rather remember the Sheed that played with Baby. I dare any of you to search Sheed's stats before Baby joined. The record start and all. It was how I remembered Sheed til his strong playoff performance.

[Atzar]

Great example because this includes what I call the Baby effect. Let's see what Rasheed was like prior to an injured Baby joining the team.

Rasheed Wallace the Key for Celtics' Impressive Start
by Liam Martin on Nov 4, 2009

    Through five games, this guy has arguably been the difference between a Boston team that struggled down the stretch in 2008-09 and the one that has shellacked its opponents by an average of 22 points a game so far this go-round.

The clearest example of that impact came Tuesday night in Philadelphia. Showing off for his hometown crowd, Wallace torched the 76ers, hitting six of eight 3-pointers while posting 20 points, six boards, two steals and a block. Throw in a vintage-Sheed technical foul for mouthing off to the refs, and the C's were on their way to a 31-point victory. Wallace's plus-minus? Plus-30.

Perhaps the most promising aspect of that performance was Kevin Garnett's absence. He went a miserable 1-for-7 from the floor (and 1-of-4 from the charity stripe) and committed five turnovers in 23 minutes of play. Not to worry -- Sheed picked up the pieces.

And it wasn't just Tuesday. Wallace's plus-minus marks in Boston's first four games are impressive, to say the least:

Cleveland: plus-10
Charlotte: plus-1 (not that the starters needed much help in this one)
Chicago: plus-11
New Orleans: plus-4

All told, the Celtics are averaging a differential of plus-11.2 points with the newcomer on the floor.

How?

1. Spreading the defense
Wallace is averaging three treys per game through the first five at a clip of 45.5 percent. That ability to score both inside and out allows the Celtics to pick and roll their opponents to death. And they're taking advantage, using open looks to mount a ridiculous field-goal percentage of 51.4, second in the NBA to Phoenix.

2. Defense
Sheed played five seasons for the bad-boy Pistons. He understands and appreciates Doc Rivers' emphasis on becoming "the greatest defense ever." It's why, per 36 minutes of play, the 6-foot-11 power forward is averaging a block, a steal and 7.5 boards.

As Rivers said Tuesday night, "We're going to win because of our defense, no matter how good our offense is."
 
3. Rest for KG
Garnett, coming off knee surgery, is playing just 28 minutes a contest to this point, almost 10 off his career average. The reason? Boston's not losing any ground with Wallace on the floor. A 35-year-old and an Eastern Conference veteran, Wallace has picked up the offense and defense quickly. What's even better is that a decrease in playing time for Garnett generally means he's more efficient when he's in.

4. Stats sheet
The bottom line is that Sheed makes an impact. Per 36 minutes of play, the four-time All-Star is posting 20 points on 46 percent shooting. Sure, Boston was upset to lose Glen Davis for a couple of months, but the fact is that Davis simply isn't good enough yet to bank that kind of change.

Does all that add up to 72 wins? Probably not. No team other than the Bulls has even reached 70, and Doc is too patient to push his club for a regular-season record only to run out of steam in the postseason.

What it does add up to, though, is a team -- with the return of KG and addition of Wallace and Marquis Daniels -- vastly improved over the club that bowed out to the Magic in the 2009 playoffs.

Sound familiar, of course not, fans would rather remember the Sheed that played with Baby. I dare any of you to search Sheed's stats before Baby joined. The record start and all. It was how I remembered Sheed til his playoff perfomance.

Sheed got off to a hot start because he was shooting out of his mind from beyond the arc.

But you're right; Glen Davis was clearly the reason that he regressed as the year went on.   

[Jevi]

Right because Rasheed playing with starting the 4, away from Baby, just didn't work out at all. Especially in game 7, Baby with the starting 4 worked so much better.

[GreenFaith1819]

So Jevi - you believe that Glen Davis is the sole reason for us not winning Banner 18 last June, right?

Only him?

[Atzar]

Right because Rasheed playing with starting the 4, away from Baby, just didn't work out at all. Especially in game 7, Baby with the starting 4 worked so much better.

What the...

Yeah, okay, think what you want to think.  Because Glen Davis is not KG or Sheed, he cannot help this team.

By the way, he's also the mastermind behind Hurricane Katrina, the oil spill in the gulf and possibly the bubonic plague. 

You're logic just makes no sense to me.  The Celtics didn't lose in the 2009 playoffs because BBD started, they lost because their HOF, defense-anchoring PF didn't.  They didn't lose in 2010 to the Lakers in Game 7 because Baby was ineffective, they lost because the team as a whole ran out of gas in the second half. 

[Jevi]

I accuse BBD of being bigger than his game. I accuse Big Baby of disrupting Celtic offenses, causing more missed shots, allowing him more offensive rebounds that he hardly converts into points. I accuse Baby of being center of collapses and comebacks. I accuse Baby of boxing out his own teammates more than his opponents. I accuse Baby....look,I can do this all day. You get my overdrawn, consistent point. Who doesn't by now?

PS I did accuse Baby of the BP Oil Spill, lucky for him I didn't have video footage to support my accusation.

[xmuscularghandix]

To be fair, I understand most complaints on BBD, but at a certain point this season he realized something. Glen Davis finally figured out that his teammates will be open from the perimeter after an Offensive Rebound. If Big Mammary Glands Davis can grow on this startling discovery.... his game will grow as well.

[Jevi]

Anybody see this clip of the calm before the game 7?
http://www.twitvid.com/MTUCW

1st off, The Lakers hallway is amazing. 2nd, Can a Baby backer please translate what this fool is saying for the love of all things sane. So what, was he suppose to "twangle & glitter".

[LilRip]

BBD can say whatever he wants to in front of the media, in the same way we can voice our displeasure at his actions on this board. BBD has a role: Provide energy, take charges, set screens and get rebounds. If he needs to do more than that, then we're in trouble.

I find the argument that "BBD comes up big when we need him" weak. Mainly because i think that a ton of other guys, if given the chance, could also "come up big". like Nate Robinson. or Sam Cassell. or James Posey. or Eddie House. or PJ Brown. or Robert Horry. or Gary Payton. or George Hill. or Jared Dudley. or Leon Powe. or Kareem Rush. or Jerome James. and the list could go on. these are guys i just came up with off the top of my head who have turned in some big performances when they were role players. if we're able to trade BBD, it's highly likely that we'll get someone back who can win a game or two for us.



- LilRip

[GreenFaith1819]

Just a few questions, seriously:

Who could we get for Glen? And who would back up KG? What other Big is out there that we could realistically acquire that can provide us what Glen does for KG? And with the experience?

And for the price that Glen has?

And would they be ready to contribute immediately? Would they upset chemistry?

[GreenEnvy]

Provided Perk comes back strong and every other big is also healthy, I wouldn't be opposed to trading BBD at the deadline for a backup 3/4.

I'm a little too tired right now to start thinking about who that person could be, but it would preferably be a tall SF who can play spot minutes at the 4 if we are short a man.

[GreenFaith1819]

Well, I suppose that Glen Davis looked good tonight.....that's two in a row? Showing some consistency......

[Jevi]

He did look good the last two nights. I hope teams and scouts were watching!

[moiso]

He has played well, but he seems to be ballhogging just a little bit.  His shot attempts have been pretty high, and drawing 10 free throw attempts is great, but he is not going to get the same results against good regular season defense. 

I hope he doesn't get too cocky by putting up big numbers, then get mad when the results and playing time aren't quite the same when the season starts.