Throughout Glen "Big Baby" Davis' career in Boston he has often had to live in the shadows of guys like Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. This isn't a bad thing, and for the most part Glen has handled being in these guys shadows pretty well. When it comes down to it, Glen Davis has done whatever his team needs him to do during his entire career.
Remember in 2009 when Davis had to step up for an injured Kevin Garnett for the later part of the season and during the NBA Playoffs? I sure do.
During the 2009-2010 playoffs Glen averaged 15.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, helping the Celtics reach Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the eventual Eastern Conference Champions.
Following that star-like performance that included a game winning jumper in Game 4 of the series against Orlando, Davis earned some criticism when he injured his hand in an off-the-court incident before the start of last season. The incident sidelined him until Christmas day and gave Celtics fans the chance to forget about how hard (and well) this guy had played the previous season.
When Glen returned from his injury, some people even believed he had lost his roster spot to Shelden Williams. That was not the case. Big Baby bounced back stronger than ever and once again settled into the role of "The Ticket Stub", backing up Kevin Garnett off the bench.
Even with the return to his old role, many Celtics fans and NBA fans still underestimated Davis' talents. The way he scored baskets, the way he made defensive stops, and the way he made crucial hustle plays were, and are, overshadowed.
For example, let's look at tonight's game against the New Jersey Nets. Who are people (besides me) going to write about in their post-game thoughts?
Nate Robinson and Delonte West, who combined to bring the Celtics back in the second quarter with their sparky outside shooting? Marquis Daniels for his late game three that gave the Celtics the win? Semih Erden or Stephen Lasme for their continued preseason success?
I can gurantee you it will be one of those three, and that it won't be Glen "Big Baby" Davis, when it should be. Glen is a rare breed in the NBA and a guy that needs to be appreciated more.
Please people, stop taking Big Baby for granted.
Glen's rough, not-so-pretty, unorthadox baskets in the paint count just the same as a sweet Ray Allen jump shot from inside the arc. His dive for a loose ball that he ends up tipping to a guard counts just the same as a clean sweep from "Grand Theft Rondo". Appreciate it!
Glen Davis had twenty points during tonight's game and unless you look at the box score or saw it on the TV at some point tonight, you probably wouldn't have known that. Not only did he score twenty points, he did it within the flow of the game on 6-11 shooting. Not to mention, he also brought down a team high six rebounds.
So, as we move on in the preseason towards the regular season do me a favor and stop taking Big Baby for granted. This is a guy who COULD start on quite a few teams in the NBA but instead works hard for the team we live and die by, the Boston Celtics.
Written by:
