With yesterday's 4-5 effort from the field, Glen "Big Baby" Davis is shooting .500 from the field. The 500 Marker in the NBA is not only a sign of quality, but also a sign of consistency, not bad for a rookie whose only played in 11 of the Boston Celtics 16games, and is averaging less than 10 minutes per game when he is asked to contribute.
In his first 12 games, Baby racked up 4 DNPCDs. In 5 other games he played less than 5 minutes, basically closing out games in garbage time. In the other three games he played 17 minutes, 9 minutes, and 9 minutes again, going 2-5, 0-3, and 1-3 from the field. In only one of his first 12 games did BBD grab more than 3 rebounds.
In his last four games, however, BBD played 63 minutes, going 3-3, 4-6, and 4-5 from the floor. The fourth game was a DNPCD. In addition, Davis grabbed thirteen rebounds, including several key offensive rebounds, blocked two shots, took several charges, and in general provided what Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett call a much needed spark off the bench.
Despite this solid stretch of play, there are two things to keep in mind.
First, BBD is still probably the 9th man in the rotation, coming off the bench behind Posey, House, and Scalabrine, and sometimes even Pollard. Players this deep in the rotation can still play a key role for championship teams. Just ask Rick Carlisle and David Thirdkill. Both played key roles coming off the Celtics bench in 1985-86, including signficiant roles in key games down the stretch against the Sixers and Lakers (check out this youtube video of Thirdkill's dunk against the Sixers)
Second, BBD is a rookie, and thus subject to the proverbial "wall." If Davis is going to be a player, Doc will need him more in March and April and into the playoffs than he does now. So I expect BBD's opportunities to remain situational and irregular. At the same time, I am not a firm believer in the "wait-and-see" approach with NBA youth (this approach didn't seem to get us anywhere with Kedrick Brown, Joe Forte, or Gerald Green). Instead, I am inclined to believe that good evaluators of talent know almost immediately whether a particular player is going to be an impact player. If BBD is one of those players, Doc may rely on him more and more. In this vein, we've already seen Scalabrine's minutes decrease to make room for BBD.
In his first 12 games, Baby racked up 4 DNPCDs. In 5 other games he played less than 5 minutes, basically closing out games in garbage time. In the other three games he played 17 minutes, 9 minutes, and 9 minutes again, going 2-5, 0-3, and 1-3 from the field. In only one of his first 12 games did BBD grab more than 3 rebounds.
In his last four games, however, BBD played 63 minutes, going 3-3, 4-6, and 4-5 from the floor. The fourth game was a DNPCD. In addition, Davis grabbed thirteen rebounds, including several key offensive rebounds, blocked two shots, took several charges, and in general provided what Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett call a much needed spark off the bench.
Despite this solid stretch of play, there are two things to keep in mind.
First, BBD is still probably the 9th man in the rotation, coming off the bench behind Posey, House, and Scalabrine, and sometimes even Pollard. Players this deep in the rotation can still play a key role for championship teams. Just ask Rick Carlisle and David Thirdkill. Both played key roles coming off the Celtics bench in 1985-86, including signficiant roles in key games down the stretch against the Sixers and Lakers (check out this youtube video of Thirdkill's dunk against the Sixers)
Second, BBD is a rookie, and thus subject to the proverbial "wall." If Davis is going to be a player, Doc will need him more in March and April and into the playoffs than he does now. So I expect BBD's opportunities to remain situational and irregular. At the same time, I am not a firm believer in the "wait-and-see" approach with NBA youth (this approach didn't seem to get us anywhere with Kedrick Brown, Joe Forte, or Gerald Green). Instead, I am inclined to believe that good evaluators of talent know almost immediately whether a particular player is going to be an impact player. If BBD is one of those players, Doc may rely on him more and more. In this vein, we've already seen Scalabrine's minutes decrease to make room for BBD.
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