Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
“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.’’
Lofty goals, my man… lofty goals.
But that's good. It's good to aim high. Although I could swear I've heard him say this before. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how Baby's game evolves and fits into this system. Because I think the game that he needs to achieves these goals may be different than than the game he needs to help the Celtics win.
UNLESS this is another transformation year for him. Because with the O'Neal boys in town, Baby can play more of the 4… and more like he did when Kevin Garnett was hurt. He'll probably face up a lot more and take a lot more jumpers. And we saw that when he's taking them consistently, he can start finding the range and hit them.
But if the C's ask him to play like he did last year… crash the boards and be the energy guy and keep just doing all that stuff… he'll be stuck in a little bit of a personal rut. It's a great quality to have… but other teams will be asking "yeah… but what else you got?"
So keep an eye on how the C's use Big Baby… and how he reacts to it. It's a contract year for him… and even though he swears he's not thinking about it….
“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.’’
… but contract years do funny things to people. So just keep an eye out. I'm not doubting you, Glen. I'm sure you honestly believe you'll not think about it. But what's going to happen when you just KNOW you can average more than what you're averaging… and those numbers could cost you a few million bucks? It's just human nature.
The rest of the links:
WEEI: Pierce calls Pacquiao "Greatest athlete ever to live" | CBS: Doc gave Shaq the hard truth before signing him | Herald: Attorney: Haslem will be vindicated | Globe: Davis kids around at Plummer House | CSNNE: Davis shows troubled kids how far he's come… and where he's going | Souza/MWDN: Dream duo for Davis
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
