Baby Eyes New Role

August 17, 2010

SALEM - Somehow, when the music stopped and the hectic dance that is NBA free agency wound down, Glen Davis went from a young Celtics reserve to a veteran on the team that will count on him as much as anyone next season. Davis is still only 24. But he's been on the Celtics' bench longer than anyone there now. He was there in 2008 when an all-hands-on-deck effort (see Eddie House, Sam Cassell, and P.J. Brown) helped win a title. He was even more of a presence in 2009 when the Celtics made a playoff run without Kevin Garnett. He was there last year, when the team came within minutes of another title. Maturity and consistency have been challenges for Davis during that time, and he knows that this season he'll have to show how far he's come on both fronts.



"This is the year of finally hitting that line of maturity, of finally becoming that player that I knew I could be," Davis said yesterday. "Throughout my career, my three years being here, it's been up and down. When I play, you've seen glimpses, like, 'Wow, this guy could start. Or come off the bench.' Glimpses up and down. But this is the year of Glen becoming that whole player that 10 years down the road, eight years down the road, will hopefully be an All-Star."

Davis was at The Plummer Home in Salem as the Celtics and RE/MAX gave the group home's basketball court a renovation. Having lived in a group home from age 8 to 10, Davis could relate.

"My past, I went through a lot of ups and downs," he said. "I had to do things that I didn't want to do as a young kid. Being in a place like this kind of really helped me, making sure that I used the opportunity of these people helping me and people giving their all for me. I just wanted to make them proud."

Time and again this offseason, team president Danny Ainge has emphasized how important Davis will be. Davis said even though he'll be playing out the final season of a two-year, $6.5 million deal, he won't let it distract him.

"When you think about contract, that's when you really don't focus on what you need to focus on," he said. "I'm just trying to focus on helping my team get back to the Finals and winning it."

When Tony Allen chose to leave for Memphis as a free agent, Davis became the longest-tenured bench player. After six seasons in Boston, Allen decided he wanted to get out of the shadow of Ray Allen, Garnett, and Paul Pierce. Davis has spent his entire career playing behind the Big Three, basking in the limelight when it does come (as in Game 4 of the Finals in June), but he said he will remain patient.

"I just try to look at the fact that Kevin Garnett is in front of me, and he's going to be a Hall of Famer one day," Davis said. "[Learn] from him, because I'm young. I have a lot of years to play. But I'm going to get my opportunity.

"Things happen, people go down, but at the same time my opportunity will come, and when my opportunity comes, people will know that I can play the game at a high level. I'm not worried about who I'm playing behind, I'm just trying to learn as much as I can so when my opportunity comes to lead a team to the Finals, I'll be ready."

The shadow Davis is playing in just grew by another 7 feet with the addition of Shaquille O'Neal. Davis said that as a boy, O'Neal and Garnett were his favorite players, and that O'Neal was the first professional player he met in person (both went to LSU).

"He's going to mesh well," said Davis. "He's a veteran, he understands, and he wants to win. That's what it's all about. Any guy that wants to win, you can play on our team. Shaq, believe it or not, he's still a force. He's still somebody you have to pay attention to."

Last year, Davis's locker was next to Rasheed Wallace's, and the jokes flew between them. Wallace retired in the offseason. But now Shaq will be around. "Good things keep happening to me. Shaq, KG, the addition of Rasheed [last season] . . . I'm just looking forward to becoming a better player."