You Big Baby haters need to understand...

[mhectorgato]

He's so vital to our offense. Let these last two games serve as an example of what happens when we don;t have him. Our offense needs him.

37 turnovers in the last 2 games, in games when we out rebounded the other team by double digits and shot 50% from the field, barely losses.

The other teams have simply been getting up more shots than we have.

Toronto had 81 total shots versus our 70

Utah got up 83 shots to our 76 tonight.

In these plays that we have been squandering with turnovers, desperately trying to get up a shot, baby would just take it himself and get up a decent shot, and maybe shoot 43 percent. That's more effective than what we've been doing.

Baby proving ya'll wrong

Makes sense since BBD takes all of those early in the shot clock silly shots.

[drsd]

The guards seem discombobulated with Baby not being there.

Redick and Davis have developed as a good tandem-pair.

..

[SmiteaDwight]

This thread is more relevant than ever, right now.

[ChosenSavior]

This thread is more relevant than ever, right now.

Can't wait for his return although he may be two more weeks away before he suits back up for us.

[IGotDaMagicInMe]

We might be the worst team in the league without davis, or at least thats what the 9 straight losses say, 0-9 without him. It's really sad

[BadMofoPimp]

Sweet Justice. BBD Proved Ya'll Wrong!

[eyriq]

Baby is truly transformational. Our offense improved and our defense tanked. Basically, the best of both worlds would be for Baby to disappear on offense and anchor our defense.

[Optimus_Steel]

We might be the worst team in the league without davis, or at least thats what the 9 straight losses say, 0-9 without him. It's really sad

We have been in every single game and had late leads or tied except for that Toronto debacle. We are just in a funk right now in terms of closing these games. We are really missing Baby's hustle and toughness in defense right now. But it doesn't feel like we have been horrible because we haven't.

[Hon-essim]

It's not Big Baby or the Reddick tandem. It's the Celtic mentality...or the SVG mentality...or whatever the Spurs mentality is when the yet to be known underhyped scrubs are doing it.

BBD can stop putting up shots and focus entirely on D and it won't have a positive impact compared to when he's putting up poor shots and then bringing the intensity back to the D and then back to the O and then back to the D.

You need someone with a natural hatred towards bad plays the worse the team plays overall...but with the opposite impact of also willing the momentum towards the opposite end of the floor. Someone who can bring it to the court and back to the locker room and then back to the court and then back to the bench and then towards the next game and back again. All without relying on clutch scoring or pale performances.

The Tony Allen who had recently left the Celts had a similar impact and Kendrick Perkins organized an OKC meeting when times were tough.

The problem remains that these guys are not quite the ideal characters quite off the court so they don't have as much bench leadership. They are basically students of Garnett's leadership but Garnett can make an impact off the court because of the special way he had to grow into a sole superstar leader in a Minnesota team.

It's a long shot but if you can get Pau Gasol and he ends up being motivated but injured, you'll see what Fs with these mentality can really do to a bad team even when they're not on the floor which BBD does not have yet (or never will have). They tend to have a history of this mindset not just the superstars but superstars tend to have the most load to carry and of course, locker room respect is easy to get so long as everyone sees how good you are talent-wise.

Hakeem, Ewing, Gasol, Duncan and KG all showed these in spades and Duncan and KG were influenced by senior big men while the Knicks have the legacy of Willis Reed looming over them. Bird also turned around the Celts against Magic's Lakers with the same mental shift.

It's coachable but vague in how it impacts professionals. The Amare who first went to New York for example had BBD-level leadership but despite his superior talent he did not grow to be better. Then there are guys like Alston who can turn this in the playoffs if their shots are going in but then it fizzles out and sometimes causes these uncoached players to stray towards being cancers. Something both BBD and Alston and big hearted players like AI have been accused of in the past.

That's what the team is lacking without BBD on the court, not BBD specifically. Something inside the team chemistry that can make players play better not just harder when they are making mistakes after mistakes and someone who can get mad rather than act mad whenever the team loses even as the next game comes and the first play gets set.

[KingRobb02]

I can't wait for Big Baby to come back so we can stop blaming his absence for losses. This team simply isn't very good. As soon as he comes back we will be blaming him for taking too many shots and ruining the offense, and then then people will start saying he isn't the same after the injury.

[magicmamma]

There are no Davis haters here. There will be none until the first game he is back and they will reappear the first time he misses a bad shot. Then you can scold the "haters," unless you have become one.

[BadMofoPimp]

There are no Davis haters here. There will be none until the first game he is back and they will reappear the first time he misses a bad shot. Then you can scold the "haters," unless you have become one.

I find it ironic that Afflalo, Reddick and Meer or any other player on the team doesn't get the same flack for taking just as many bad shots every game. I just think people like hating on Glen Davis. Because, I see other players doing worse out there. And, BBD has to prove doubters wrong about every game.

[Hon-essim]

Nothing ironic about it.

BBD at his worst does not just take up bad shots but he is a ball stopper like Kobe. That's forgivable for a guard but for a short stocky PF who relies on a jumper and who alienated Magic as well as Celtic fans with other bone headed reasons besides that, you better be a consistent performer and BBD just isn't. His best games are still when he was still with the Celtics and his body shape and lack of hustle (for a PF of his caliber) does him no favors.

On the other hand, the Magic must be extremely hurting if they don't even use this time out to develop BBD's mental sparks. The guy has proven to have a mental IQ higher than Howard. The team can still have a Memphis Grizzlies-like speed of rebuilding even if you don't trade BBD if you continue to develop and pay attention to what he brings to the table.

Saying BBD won't make the Magic good when he comes back is like saying Gerald Wallace did not make the Bobcats good when he was on the court. Add the fact that BBD hasn't shown his best games and the team make up have poor slashers who plays very well with someone who can camp out and spread the floor (one of the reasons why I consider Bargnani to be a shoe-in key contributor in the Dwight/SVG era) and it's nuts to think the Magic who were getting better won't be better when BBD comes back. This is still the type of player who gets better game to game and the bad team make up of this team will guarantee that he will show more and more of his impact (and was showing more and more of his impact before the injury) until you start wondering again how this team can be good and even upset some great teams. (and it's not the haters that will return but the please tank Magic fans that will come back in droves)

Also, I'm a BBD hater and I don't get why anyone would say there are no haters posting. The only time I have praised BBD is when the fans are acting stupid and insulting when a bad player is doing a good thing.

[BadMofoPimp]

As if Dwight or Afflalo are not "Ball Stoppers" but you don't hate on them while they played for the Magic. People just have selective reception. They just remember the bad plays and forget the good plays. Regardless, just about every player on this team shoots about half their shots which are bad shots they should not have taken. People just like to blame players that are Leaders or have character. That is fine, but his offense is needed and at least the coaches and his teammates trust him. So, I reckon fans opinions don't matter at that point.

For me, I would rather have a player who can play without fear of making mistakes with good self confidence and loyalty. BBD has been an underdog his whole life and has had to fight thru every obstacle to get to this point. I am surprised he has haters but I reckon people want superstars, not underdogs on their team.

[Hon-essim]

Actually there are plenty of haters for Dwight. Especially back when Dwight was just starting to be compared to Shaq.

Many questioned his passing, TOs and being a ball stopper. More so than there are critics for BBD now because there were more posters.

At no point at the peak of the Dwight-mania on this board was there no Dwight hater.

Afflalo I could give you that but that's because Afflalo's a different kind of ball stopper. There are ball stoppers who stop the ball because they could not pass and then force a shot and then there are those who demand the ball like BBD and Dwight.

2nd, BBD has not been an underdog his whole life. He was gifted with a championship Cs team and then later on was gifted with shining when KG was injured and then later on was gifted to be in an Orlando Magic team that had Dwight play-injuring which led to his shining moment in the playoffs despite still playing less than when he was with the Celts prior to the seasons that convinced people to trade him.

Find any role player at BBD's level who can be considered a hustle and heart player while playing with less hustle and heart than his full potential and be praised and you have to go back to role players who make clutch scores. Just in terms of opportunities to shine and be recognized in the spotlight, BBD has gotten more with less than Aldridge, Dejuan Blair and Biyombo.

All BBD has to do is be active a bit more in the rebounding category and he is similar to the Dallas Brandon Bass where fans of their team act like he is playing above their capacity not below it. The BBD is an underdog story long set sail after his performances during the KG-injury era. Not even BBD believes that I hope. The way he acted like he was not an underdog was what convinced many Cs to get rid of him and view him as a team cancer.