RealGM

Its funny how Doc talks about a commitment to defense but plays the offensive minded but defensively awful Glen Davis over the taller and longer Sheldon Williams. I had kind of lightened up on Glen and thought of the postives he brings while he was out..

But honestly just watching the guy infuriates me. I HATE how he gets passes in GREAT position then can't finish like a normal NBA PF. If that wasn't enough its even more annoying how tall PF shoot right over him like he wasn't even there. And to top it off - his jovial grin in the face of poor play just reminds me of how we don't have KG.

Come on am I the only guy that wouldn't rather have a legit tough guy out there like Powe instead of the happy go lucky flashy but no defense goofball we got in big "baby' Davis. His nickname pretty much says it all..

If there is ONE mistake Danny made this offseason I really think its in not keeping Powe. Pretty soon Cleveland will have an infusion of toughness, athleticism and low post scoring.. And we got Tommy Boy here instead..I swear he looks as fat as ever..

I have never liked the guy. I simply hate the way he plays. He is just a soft, overweight, undersized player who hurts the team much more than he helps it.

Davis has potential ... but he needs to finish better at the rim.

I think there's room for Davis on this team offensively to contribute, but yes, definitely need a tougher and bigger player in that PF position that can defend better and rebound better. Is Williams that bad that he can't see any time anymore? I thought he produced well when he got consistent time.

I like the guy. I root for him. I'd love to see him get better. For now, he is what he is, a decent 4th big in the rotation.

Glen is not a building block but IF he can get in shape and get his timing back he can still help us. Unfortunately he allowed himself to get out of shape. He's never been a leaper but what he can do is chew up space on the inside. He has to start finishing though otherwise he's worthless out there. His outside shot is non-existent right now and he's not scoring on the inside with any consistency so at the moment he's not a very productive player

Davis is rebounding and defending as well as Shelden Williams and gives you an offensive threat in the lineup. He is second on this team in Reb% and almost double everyone else in OReb% this usually what he gets killed for. I am sure it won't last but it would seem that we probably have a lot of other things to complain about at the moment.

Pete, you make a good point about Doc's hypocritical stance on this team's defensive 'identity'. He gives lip service to playing defense, and then plays horrible defenders like House for big minutes because they 'spread the floor'. If we really were a defensive-minded team, we'd give spot minutes to guys like House, give TA 30 minutes a night, and try to hold teams below 80 points. But we're not that team...

As for the topic at hand, Baby's as good a defender as Sheldon. And he's also a much much better offensive player. Sheldon played over his head for the first 3 weeks of the season and now he's fallen back to his normal career rates--rates which make him a 12th man at best. I think you could make a case for Sheldon vis a vis Scal--both career 12th men, both strictly power forwards. But Baby's versatility on the offensive end (outside and in), his ability to play 4 and 5, while scoring at a decent clip....make a Williams/Davis comparison very lopsided.

Baby's struggling with conditioning issues (precipitated by the ankle injury), and shooting issues (precipitated by the thumb injury). Last year he was a pick-and-pop player, this year he's lost all touch on his jumper. Add in the rustiness factor, the recent ankle injury which has impacted some of his athleticism, the move closer to the basket (because of Sheed's presence on the perimeter) and you what you get is what you see. He'll be much, much better and more consistent in 2-4 weeks. I'm not concerned at all.

ryaningf wrote:Last year he was a pick-and-pop player, this year he's lost all touch on his jumper. Add in the rustiness factor, the recent ankle injury which has impacted some of his athleticism, the move closer to the basket (because of Sheed's presence on the perimeter) and you what you get is what you see. He'll be much, much better and more consistent in 2-4 weeks. I'm not concerned at all.

Exactly.

Glen Davis is one of the best back up PF's in the league. Everyone forgets his 20 point games in the playoffs and the game winning, buzzer beating shot against the Magic. He can guard Shaq and Dwight in the post, so he is tough. He makes this team better. It's not his fault Doc brain dead Rivers likes to play Scalabrine over him.

Let's get real. Going into the Mavs game, who did you guys think was going to be able to guard Dirk? Dirk is one of the top 5 offensive players in this league. Rasheed has no lateral quickness to stay with him outside on 10 feet. Davis is too short to bother his shoot. And Scalabrine is just off this year.

We need a Posey type player that can defend and hit the 3. Danny Ainge has had about 2 seasons to find a Posey replacement and he still hasn't.

everyone sees thew opposite with this guy.

I like Sheldon more.

sully00 wrote:Davis is rebounding and defending as well as Shelden Williams and gives you an offensive threat in the lineup. He is second on this team in Reb% and almost double everyone else in OReb% this usually what he gets killed for. I am sure it won't last but it would seem that we probably have a lot of other things to complain about at the moment.

Anyone's an offensive threat compared to Shelden. But Baby's been pretty poor as an offensive player for his entire NBA career. He's at about 45eFG% this year, the 3rd worst mark on the team, ahead of only Scal and Giddens. He's also been mediocre to bad defensively (though Shelden has been worse).

He's good at generating or presenting himself for what look like makeable shots, he's just not very good at converting.

He's good at generating or presenting himself for what look like makeable shots, he's just not very good at converting.

Exactly. My rant was more related to the emotional impact of watching this guy play. This stuff KILLS me - its like the whole offense worked to give him this nice opportunity - he gets it and fails. Its like an emotional lynchpin for the opposition who seem to really thrive off his mistakes. They see that happen and think OMG we cannnot lose!

By the playoffs last year he had played himself into shape and became passable out there. But with Glen we are back to his awful infuriating regular season play again..He is about the only guy who can make you long for Drew Gooden. The guy is unprofessional and immature. its a shame Danny dumped a true pro and kept him.

With the non-existent PT that Giddens and Walker are receiving, it's getting difficult to defend the team not re-signing Leon Powe, along with Big Baby. Baby is and likely will always be an opportunist offensive player. Whereas you could allow Powe to work one on one on the box. When the team is struggling to score, you can really appreciate the difference.