Ball or Nuthin' » Glen Davis

James Jones Becomes “That Guy”

T Lamont — Mon, 02 May 2011 01:35:16 +0000

So far, the Heat are making me look like I know what I’m talking about.

With Boston’s trading of Kendrick Perkins and blowout loss to Miami late in the season, it seemed that the confidence that the Heat needed to topple the Celtics had finally taken shape.

Miami’s 99-90 opening game win in the Eastern Conference Semifinals was notable for several distinct reasons:

1. Dwyane Wade proved that the poor shooting bug that hampered him in many of their earlier battles was a thing of the past. Wade attacked early and often, and helped the Heat soar to a sizable advantage. When Boston trimmed the deficit – as we all expected that they would – D-Wade returned to enable Miami hold on to their cushion and close the game. His dominance in this game was particularly important because it sends a strong message to Doc Rivers and his coaching staff – that LeBron James is not the only player on which your defensive gameplan should be concentrated.

Boston needs to get more production than six points out of K.G.

2. Chris Bosh (7 pts., 12 rebs., 1 blk.) and Kevin Garnett (6 pts., 8 rebs., 3 asts.) basically played to a stalemate. This is clearly a matchup that the Celtics desperately need to win. So, in Game 1, this was easily won by Miami. If the Celtics think that Bosh is a bit on the soft side (as most of the NBA-watching public does), Boston needs to exploit that to try and own the paint. With Perkins in OKC, Shaq keeping the media on edge with his health status and Jermaine O’Neal not an intimidating factor, K.G. is vital to the Celtics’ success in this series. Add to that the fact that their most productive frontcourt player is Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis – who wishes his listed height of 6’9″ was really true – and it becomes clear that protecting the rim could be a problem for them. And by the way, Davis had the worst plus-minus of any player that took the floor today (-21).

3. The Celtics can’t lose their cool. The one thing that Boston has always seemed to have in its pocket has been the ability to keep its composure. Whether the fourth quarter calls were correct or not, they were questionable enough that Paul Pierce had to maintain his focus if the Green Guys were to stand any chance at pulling off a late stunner in American Airlines Arena. Instead, Pierce picked up two techs. He was gone, and so were the Celtics chances of stealing Game One because…

4. Did Rajon Rondo even suit up today? The point guard position is the one spot that Boston should have an undisputed edge. Rondo is a guard with game-changing speed and quickness, understated intelligence and clutch abilities. His performance failed to represent what he is capable of, and that is certainly unacceptable in critical postseason games like this one. Granted, he is handicapped by his inconsistent shooting range (3-10 FGs), but he committed almost as many turnovers as assists (5 to 7) and only managed to get to the line twice. Rivers has to get more aggression out of him in Game Two.

Jones was spot-on for Miami in Game One.

5. The Miami Heat found that guy. Throughout the season, analysts agreed that on a roster with two of the game’s best slasher, someone would ultimately be required to knock down shots from the perimeter. Miami tried their hand with several options – Mike Miller, Eddie House, Mike Bibby – hoping that catching and shooting would be easy enough for them. However, it was James Jones, a little known swingman with great range, who made his presence felt the most – peaking with him winning this year’s Three Point Shootout. Jones stepped up today in a huge way. He scored 25 points, was 5-7 from the field (all triples) and, perhaps even more importantly, found a way to take ten free throws…making them all. Jones was easily the difference-maker in the series opener.

For Game Two, as Rivers indicated in his post-game interview, his team has to take care of the ball. Boston committed 14 turnovers (5 from Rondo, as mentioned earlier), which was actually two less than Miami. However, the Heat were aggressive with its chances and the Celtics are not equipped to contain them on the break.

In the same breath, Boston must realize that it cannot get behind. While Miami has been noted for giving up big leads, this Celtic team is one that cannot count on its defense in the same manner that it has in the past. Rivers has to encourage his team to counterpunch the Heat. Specifically, Boston needs to take advantage of break-out opportunities – including the creation of early offensive scores from Rondo.

The initial game plans for each team will remain the same, but somehow Game Two will hold the potential for even more fireworks.

With Loss to Magic, Pressure Falls Back on the Celtics

T Lamont — Thu, 27 May 2010 04:10:41 +0000

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What a difference a couple of days can make.

After Orlando eeked out an overtime victory in Game 4 to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Boston Celtics, surely the veteran-laden squad was going to come out an take care of business tonight.

But the Magic rode their hot-shooting start to an impressive 113-92 win in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. With this win, there are some new developments in the series:

- With two consecutive wins, the Magic have now become the team with the momentum. Most of their players have begun to play with the confidence that they displayed throughout the regular season, and in their first two playoff series.

- The Magic played their game, and they played it well. Orlando was able to get some good three-point looks and they knocked them down – hitting 13-25 (52%) from downtown. They were able to spread the wealth, with Jameer Nelson, Matt Barnes, Mickael Pietrus and J.J. Redick converting multiple treys.

- Dwight Howard controlled the paint on both ends of the floor. With 21 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocked shots, Howard put together his first set of good back-to-back performances in this series.

- Yes, there was a Rashard Lewis sighting. He showed some aggression late in tonight’s game. Lewis started swishing mid range jumpers in the fourth quarter, and ended with 14 points.

- While Jameer Nelson and Dwight Howard controlled the game’s tempo, the Magic received big contributions from J.J. Redick (14 points), Matt Barnes (three triples), Rashard Lewis (14 points). Getting their teammates involved was critical, and was what they needed to do to stand a chance at winning the next game in the TD Garden.

Jameer Nelson and Dwight Howard have stood tall in the face of possible playoff elimination.

The Celtics lost some key players in the midst of their loss. Glen “Big Baby” Davis got caught by an inadvertent Dwight Howard elbow, and suffered a concussion. Davis staying on the floor for a while – and when he attempted to get up and run up the court, he was stumbling and had to be held by referee Joe Crawford (to prevent him from falling). If Crawford wouldn’t have executed his timely save, Florida would have probably experienced its first earthquake ever.

Reserve guard/forward Marquis Daniels entered the game briefly. On a drive to the basket, he banged into a defender and also suffered a concussion. He exited the game immediately after the play. He plays so infrequently that he got hurt the first time he had the ball in his hands. Just plain sad.

Rasheed Wallace, who played great for Boston with 21 points, looked to tweak his back late in the contest.

But Boston’s biggest loss was that of center Kendrick Perkins. Perkins, the Celtics’ best defender of Dwight Howard, was hit with two questionable technical fouls – which caused him to be ejected from the game. The first technical was called when play continued after a stoppage, and Perkins gave an unintentional elbow to Marcin Gortat. The second, and most talked-about, technical foul was given as Perkins expressed disapproval of a foul called against him – and was walking away from the official. Also, since Perkins has accumulated seven technicals in the postseason, the league has the option of suspending him for a game. The nature of the fouls almost assuredly ensures that they will be reviewed and may be rescinded. If not, his loss will place Boston at a huge disadvantage in Game 6.

So, given the newfound effectiveness of Orlando’s offense, Doc Rivers and his staff have some work to do.

Most importantly, Boston’s trainers will have to earn their paychecks if the Celtics expect to appear in their second NBA Finals in three years.

That, or have everyone in the TD Garden complaining of the neverending smell of Ben Gay.

Orlando Looking Scared of Boston

T Lamont — Sun, 23 May 2010 03:35:24 +0000

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The Celtic defense continued to make the Magic look like a college team.

Boston once again showed us what a team committed to playing together can do.

Kevin Garnett scored 10, Paul Pierce 15, Rajon Rondo 11, Ray Allen 14, Glen Davis 17, Rasheed Wallace 10. And, oh yeah, the Celtics won 94-71 to push their seemingly insurmountable lead up to 3-0.

There was evidence early in the contest that the Magic didn’t bring it. On one possession, Ray Allen blew past Dwight Howard, who was covering him on the perimeter. No Orlando players rotated back to help in the paint, and Allen – after starting his penetration from outside the three-point arc – sailed in for an uncontested dunk.

Dwight Howard didn't have much to smile about with only 7 points and 7 rebounds tonight.

But if there was one play that was symbolic of the pulse of this game, it happened with 8:38 remaining in the second quarter. Rondo and Jason Williams were both chasing a loose ball in the Magic backcourt – a chase in which Williams looked to win. But Rondo abruptly dove to the floor, somehow recovered the ball and flipped a running floater off the glass that went in. At the time of ‘the dive’, his Celtics were leading 34-17.

What does this tell us?

Letting a team that is dominating the series outhustle you means that you have thrown in the towel. Not only were the Magic getting dominated by losing the first two games, but they were also blitzed early in this game. The 23-point loss should be very embarrassing for a team who was down 0-2 entering the contest.

What an enigma the Orlando Magic are. This team played the game its way in the first two rounds. Howard controlled the paint. He commanded double-teams. Open shooters knocked down shots. They played great team defense.

They’re doing none of that now.

The Magic are flat out scared of the Celtics.

Andrew Bogut Dunks on a Baby

T Lamont — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:47:36 +0000

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Well…physically, he’s about as far from a baby as one can get. And it’s definitely not often that you see a 6’9″, 290 lb. (I don’t believe it, but it’s what he’s listed as) man get knocked to the floor on his backside.

But that’s exactly what happened last night when the Boston Celtics visited the Milwaukee Bucks. Not only did Andrew Bogut embarrass Glen “Big Baby” Davis (as you are about to witness below), but the Bucks also had the last laugh in winning the game 86-84.

Big win for the Bucks. And a big poster for Bogut.

Celtics Favorites Due to Ugly Frontcourt

T Lamont — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 02:14:50 +0000

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In the 2009 NBA Playoffs, the Boston Celtics were probably one injury away from competing for the NBA championship.

The lack of depth in the Green Guys’ frontcourt ultimately led to their demise. The biggest loss being the super-versatile Kevin Garnett. But the C’s also missed out on significant production when Leon Powe went down (he was recently signed by the Cavs).

In the past few weeks, Boston has taken some steps to keep them from coming up short on big guys. I now present to you…the ugliest frontcourt in the NBA:

Rasheed Wallace – Now, Wallace is not truly an ugly guy. But he’s not easy to look at either. And that patch in his head…what’s the story on that? Nobody really seems to know. I think ‘Sheed should have a press conference just to let the world know.

OK...I'll admit...I'm scared...

Kendrick Perkins – Big. Black. Tough. And ugly. He picks up fouls simply because his face looks foul.

Glen “Big Baby” Davis – The only reason – that I can think of – for him having a nickname of “Big Baby” is this incident. He’s probably the best lookin’ one in this group – that is if you don’t count his “cryin’ face”.

Shelden Williams – In an attempt to keep women and children away from their games, the 2007-2008 NBA champs signed him on. I don’t know how a guy so aesthetically challenged gets so many breaks. (In case you hadn’t heard, he’s married to Candace Parker – a mismatch of epic proportions)

Brian Scalabrine- What he lacks in face ugliness, he makes up for with his unathletic build. He looks like a mix between the Pillsbury Dough Boy and Carrot Top.

Well, there you have it. With a healthy squad on the floor, the Celtics are once again right up at the top of the list of contenders. But even if this team is unsuccessful in its quest this year, we all have to agree on one thing – - it can’t possibly get any uglier than this.