A lot has happened on the Boston sports scene since the last time Glen Davis was struttin’ on the Garden parquet.
Let’s see: Mike Lowell was traded to the Texas Rangers . . . until the Rangers got a look at an X-ray of the third baseman’s thumb. Richard Seymour [stats] went to the Raiders. Phil Kessel [stats] went to the Maple Leafs. The Bruins [team stats] went to Fenway Park [map].
Celtics [team stats] co-owner Steve Pagliuca ran for the Senate.
But while it’s been a long time since the Artist Formerly Known as Big Baby last played at the Garden, we can all agree that, based on his performance in the depleted Celtics’ 103-96 victory over the Toronto Raptors last night, it was well worth the wait.
And, worth the weight: Though Davis is probably no lighter than he was at the end of last season, it’s clear that some of what he’s got has picked up stakes and moved from the belly to the chest. As for the thumb injury that had kept him on the sidelines until he was slowly integrated into the lineup during the Celtics’ recent road trip, it’s not so banged up anymore. Davis is back.
He logged just under 20 minutes last night, scoring 15 points. He did take a couple of shots from the outside as soon as he touched the ball, but, as Doc Rivers said later, “That’s not what he does. He goes out and he sets picks and he pops. Those are his shots. I thought after that he was absolutely fantastic.
“He did hit the wall a couple of times, but that’s fine. We don’t know what the minutes will be for him. We’ve just got to gauge fatigue, and sometimes that’s tough to see.”
Considering all the controversy over what landed him on the injured list in the first place, Davis has made a very quiet return to the Celtics. Remember all the calamity when he was first injured? He was, what, duking it out with a buddy? Inside a car? And hurt his thumb? When it happened, it sounded like something from The Three Stooges.
Yet to hear Davis talk, it’s as though that all happened three years ago, not three months ago.
“I’m glad to finally get out there and have a chance to play,” he said. “It’s been a while, and I felt kind of rusty. Real rusty.
“I’m glad I got a chance to play some on the road before this game,” he said. “It helped me pick up some rhythm and flow.
“Just to get out there and have a chance to run up and down again felt great. I’m trying to get my wind back. I feel stronger than I did a year ago, but I’m going to have to work to keep my cardio up.”
Does he still have that nice jump shot he picked up last year?
“I still have it,” he said, “but when you break your hand you have to re-train it. You have to re-invent it, just get that feeling back. You know, I’ve got tape on it. I just have to mentally get back in that mode.
“But right now, I don’t have to shoot from outside. I just have to keep working on it to develop it.”
Because of the goofy nature of the injury, coupled with all the lost time, Davis is more or less exactly where he was when he was first drafted by the Celtics: a work in progress.
Yes, it’s his third season. Yes, he has already played on a championship team. But, again, he’s starting over. That’s just the way it is: When you get into a fight with your buddy, and hurt your thumb doing so, and fall out of the car as the police arrive, you have to start over.
When he stepped onto the court last night, a lot of fans were yelling, “Welcome back, Big Baby.” But it was Celtics [team stats] co-owner Wyc Grousbeck who said that maybe it’s time we stopped addressing Davis as “Big Baby,” and that’s not an unreasonable request.
Big Baby can be an entertaining, fun-loving guy. But what the Celtics need is Glen Davis. And for most of his 19-plus minutes last night, that was Glen Davis on the court.
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