Worst Game I ever saw Baby Play

[clover]

Sorry, but I just don't get some of this rationalization ... this is a bench player who is fourth in scoring, (behind only the Big Three), second in rebounding, and way ahead of anyone in the NBA at taking charges, but because his shooting percentage has been off in a couple of games, he's "hurting" the team?!?

I could find similarly bad games for every member of this team, and use that as rationalization for blame and dislike, (if I felt so motivated). I think this comes down to the fact that some people have decided they just plain don't like him, (for whatever reasons), and use bad games to validate that dislike.

Well, people are certainly entitled to that dislike, but this kid has easily been the best bench player this year overall, and has done much more to help this team than hurt it. Yes, he still makes immature decisions and mistakes at times, but he doesn't lead the list in that category either.

Roy, read here what Bahku wrote. He's better at this than I am. But I couldn't agree more with him. BBD has been awesome this season.

As I said, as a bench player, he's been very good.  As a starter, overall he has stunk.  Some are more willing to overlook flaws than others, due to various biases one way or the other.  However, I'm surprised that there isn't more common ground that BBD currently needs to improve his level of play, and that it will be a good thing when he's back in his bench role.

I think it's safe to say that Doc is with Roy on this one:


“Some of our shots they were taken when no one thought the shot was going to go up,’’ Rivers said. “Ray Allen had no shots in the fourth quarter, Paul Pierce had one. When that happens we really should not win the game.

“We gotta shorten Baby’s minutes, No. 1, and we got to get him to be more of a pick-setter. Right now he’s more of a shooter. He’s got to get back to setting picks. Over the last five or six games, I think Glen Davis is actually leading in shot attempts. I love him, but that should never happen.’’"

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2011/01/09/rivers_says_daviss_role_as_main_shooter_not_open_for_debate/

[KGs Knee]

Generally speaking, I tend to avoid threads about Davis.  For whatever reason, he seems to be a very polarizing player.  I am not about to single anyone out as a "hater" or "homer", because, quite honestly, I don't even keep track of who has said what in the past.  The fact remains though, I have read numerous pasts at time from people who do seem to hate on Davis.
I guess i should offer full disclosure though, and state that I really like Davis.

Last night though, Davis did play terribly.  There is no denying this.  He shot terribly, got burned on "D" numerous times, and can't seem to rebound on the defense end (I don't mention offensive rebounds, because I think for this team they are detrimental overall) for the life of him.

To say that Davis stinks is a bit of an overreaction though.  Have we all already forgot how well he played just TWO games ago against San Antonio?  The charge he took in the fourth quarter was huge.  He also made numerous baskets late in the game as well.

I recall a point last night, Davis got a charging call when it was obvious he should have been called for a blocking foul.  Davis is now getting charge calls based on reputation, this is pretty significant if you ask me.

So yes, Davis had a bad game last night, but lets not overreact and claim he stinks.  He has had, overall, a pretty good season so far.  Where would we be without him?

[xmuscularghandix]

Is major problem on nights like this is pretty simple. Glen Davis will pick and pop, Rondo won't think he has a good look, but Baby stands there staring at him for the ball, then the offense stalls, and either Glen or Rondo take a tough buzzer beating shot.

The worst part about this is that Ray and Paul are just standing there watching this.

[through the door]

It seems to me BBD is trying hard to be something he's not when he starts...that is, he wants to be mini-KG, taking the shots (15-18 foot jumpers) that KG is so well known for.  The problem as I see it is his lack of maturity as a player allows his shooting to affect the other parts of his game which seldom happen to KG.  It almost feels like he is using the old shooter's axiom of keepshooting  because they'll eventually start to fall; when in truth, he isn't really a primary shooter.  That's where you're geting these bloatedshot totals.  I'm very confident that when KG slips back into his customary role and BBD into his, we'll start seeing BBD's productivity begin to rise again.

[thirstyboots18]

It seems to me BBD is trying hard to be something he's not when he starts...that is, he wants to be mini-KG, taking the shots (15-18 foot jumpers) that KG is so well known for.  The problem as I see it is his lack of maturity as a player allows his shooting to affect the other parts of his game which seldom happen to KG.  It almost feels like he is using the old shooter's axiom of keepshooting  because they'll eventually start to fall; when in truth, he isn't really a primary shooter.  That's where you're geting these bloatedshot totals.  I'm very confident that when KG slips back into his customary role and BBD into his, we'll start seeing BBD's productivity begin to rise again.

I agree, and look forward to him leading the bench again.

[Fan from VT]

Doc should tell Davis he only gets one shot per rebound per game. So game starts...Davis can't shoot until he grabs a board. Gets his first rebound, shoots...hit or miss, can't shoot again until he grabs another board. However, he starts the game with 3-4 rebounds...he has a "bank" of 3 shots he's allowed to take in the flow of the offense.

[KungPoweChicken]

Since Davis has started, he has attempted 86 field goals (only one game has he shot better than 50%). Pierce and Allen have only shot 77 and 84 field goals respectively. In this stretch, it has really looked like Glen is "just trying to get his." When you add that to his inability to rebound and mediocre/poor defense, you're going to get a lot of upset fans.

[nba is the worst]

Since Davis has started, he has attempted 86 field goals (only one game has he shot better than 50%). Pierce and Allen have only shot 77 and 84 field goals respectively. In this stretch, it has really looked like Glen is "just trying to get his." When you add that to his inability to rebound and mediocre/poor defense, you're going to get a lot of upset fans.

Most of his shots have been open (opponents seeing him as the weakest link), so it's hard to fault him for shooting.

I see his shooting problems as two-fold:

First, he's not good outside of 18 ft or so, so he needs to not take those unless in need due to the shot clock.

2nd, if the shots aren't falling, pass!

As for replacing KG (the team's leading rebounder) as a starter, he needs to understand that rebounding is all about effort, and put in more...

[Edgar]

He is what he is
and what it is is a limited good bench tweener player that have to find a role
AS usual in some teams hes just being asked to do things waaay above his capabilities, some nights he will pull them off some dont.
Nothing new.

[vinnie]

I don't want to argue about it anymore because there really is no point. Judging Baby as a 'failed' starter after 2 or 3 games is just silly. Which goes to my whole point. So I'm outta here, at least for now.

Hasn't he started like 7 or 8 games straight? He has not been good as a starter and he has not rebounded the ball all year.

[Donoghus]

BBD was unequivocally awful last night.  Not sure how people could take anything otherwise from last night's performance.

He continued to chuck it from the outside when it was apparent that his shot wasn't falling.  He was bringing nothing to the table from rebounding standpoint so he really wasn't making much of a contributatory nature.  The team didn't play well as a whole last night but BBD wasn't helping matters.

I remember some people were touting BBD as a potential superstar if he was ever given the starting role somewhere. Like the organization was holding him back or something.  I'm sorry, that's not happening.  When his game is on, he's a very solid benchplayer, 6th man type.  However, how much more growth is this kid gonna legitimately have?  To me, its clear that's he's already close to his ceiling.

I like the kid and appreciate his hustle out of the court.  He provides a spark off the bench and has a pretty decent repetoire for a big guy. I like having him on the Celtics.  I just understand he has limitations and it showed last night.  He's not a good starter for this team and I'm be glad when KG comes back.

[More Banners]

Have we seen enough of BBD as a starter to agree that he is not an NBA starting=quality PF?  Some of the past BBD threads have suggested he could be a starter and will get big-money offers in FA this summer.  If so, it won't be hard to let him go and replace him with a minimum contract player.

[Bahku]

bahku is sadly mistaken if he thinks that BBD is our second best rebounder. even without checking the stats (that guys like Clover and Roy did), i can see by watching that he's not been rebounding well.

mmbaby, understand that we're not saying that BBD sucks. i think the common notion around here, or at least in this thread, is that BBD has not been a very good starter and has made some pretty bad decisions. Lots of players make bad decisions, but BBD's bad decisions stick out a lot more, at least for me, because well... they're really bad! poor shot selection is annoying, especially when "scoring" isn't even BBD's main calling card, and BBD has been taking a lot of shots.

Again, i haven't had the time to check the stats but thankfully Roy has, and with a line of 40.7% (!) on 14.3 (!!) attempts while only averaging 3.8 (!!!) rebounds in 35.5 minutes as a big man starter... well, that's pretty bad if you ask me. Celtics have played 36 games so far, and so a 10-game trend is pretty sizeable.

i'm looking forward to him going back to the bench.

I didn't check the stats?!? His average for rebounding total is 5.40, which is second on the team, and his total number is 194, which is also second. You may disagree about Big Baby's worth, but please do not insinuate that I haven't checked the stats like "Clover and Roy did" ... I absolutely did, and I don't throw them out in conversation or discourse without checking them, (which is something you might want to do before assuming I didn't).

Clover and Roy are talking about "Per Minute" stats, which unfortunately, is a very poor stat to go on. If a player played a minute or two for the whole season and got a couple of rebounds during that time, he'd have the highest rebounding/minute stat in the NBA! But would that make him the best? Of course not!

Sorry, but his "RB Per Minute" stats mean very little when compared to guys who are playing many less minutes than he is. Listen, I'm not saying I like him as a starter, I'm saying he's done well, (overall, not the recent three or four games), in a role that is hard to fill, and he's getting way too much blame for the C's losses.

I would never want Glen starting in place of KG, (for obvious reasons), unless it's necessary due to injury, (like now), and I think he's at his best when coming off the bench. He's given us a huge contribution in that role, and would easily get my "Sixth Man" vote so far this year.  

[LB3533]

People are asking too much out of Davis.

Even Doc Rivers.

If you noticed last night against the Bulls we ran a number of offensive sets for the Davis pick and pop....during crunch time in the 4th quarter.

If it wasn't Davis taking a perimeter shot, it was Rondo taking a hesitant open jumper.

How about we blame Doc for the play calling down the stretch of last night's game?

[thirstyboots18]

OK.If you think that is the problem then I agree. Doc should not call those plays for Davis. The point is going to be moot soon, because KG will be back soon and he IS a starter, and he CAN complete those plays (or he can move the ball and keep the play going).