What is Wrong with BBD?!

[Bankshot]

I may be in the minority, but I think Baby is playing well, with the exception of his offense of course (Gorman agrees with me on this ).  He's playing excellent defense, hustling his butt off and getting a lot of deflections and blocking out so his teammates can get the rebound.  I think Powe is way superior offensively, but I think Baby is better defensively.  I like the both little big men.  I like to think of them as "Hustle and Powe"

[KevinGamble]

I think him getting swatted that often has more to do with his height and lack of fakes.

I don't know if I can say he isn't committed to losing weight (or getting in shape) when he was just about the only one that stayed the whole summer in Waltham working out.

He got careless towards the end of last season, but I just can't at the moment say that his current weight problem is because of a lack of effort. I do see him in much better shape than the end of last season... sadly it isn't enough.

1.) I'm afraid I have to say he isn't committed.  Not going home prevented a huge weight gain, he told us, but there is really NO EXCUSE for a professional athlete coming back the same as he was before.  This is a real pet peeve of mine, like why Scal signed our FA contract and showed up in the worst shape of his life.  You would never see that in other pro sports (is golf a sport?  pitchers? ... o.k. never mind.)  Shame on the team for not dealing with this properly. 

I really do like BBD's game.  I think he is a more inventive and cunning offensive player than Powe, but he is too clumsy to pull it off.  Powe is more simple and effective mixing power right/ left with a fade away.  This is not good that I am on my second comparison to Scalabrine, but I remember Donny sympathizing with Scal, saying that sometimes his mind wants to do things his body won't allow.  That is probably due to fat and lack of athleticism.  BBD is short, and overweight.  He never pulled his whole offensive game together last year, so why on earth didn't he show up to camp at a trim playing weight that could have made a difference in his game, when his game needed a change?

2. Shooting mechanics.  I know most players probably come to the NBA thinking "if it ain't broke, don't fix it.*"  BBD and TA have some pretty fugly shooting mechanics.  So did RR, but his release looks cleaner over the last couple years, doesn't it?  Please fix it. 

Sorry to harsh, but these 2 things are really wrong in my book.  I would be happy to fill in a lot more on a topic of "What's right with BBD, because the Pampoose has a lot of awesome, too.

*In fact it's more common to hear players calling intentional fouling "cowardly" then it is to see them change their mechanics.  Why?  Why can't players get that kind of fundamental coaching in an off-season?

[moiso]

This isn't really offense or defense- but Baby is a horrible defensive rebounder.  Horrible for his position.

[hwangjini_1]

big baby needs to play more disciplined basketball and keep within his strengths and abilities rather than just hustling in an undiscipled and erratic way.

he has hustle, but without a clear role and set of objectives as to what he is supposed to do and not do...
he winds up plowing  into other players, knocking everyone over, and frequently getting a foul called on himself.

doc and the coaches need to tell him that when he is on the floor his should have a very clear role and to work within that role. and if they have already told him this, they need to make him follow the role.

harness the energy, play to his strengths (blocking out, holding position, etc.) he should only look for offense in specific contexts. once he develops THAT set of skills, then let him expand his game more.

this is a bit of what powe did last season i think, and that helped him.

[Brickowski]

BBD does not yet know how to use his bulk to create space and get shots off in the paint. He has the offensive skills of a small forward, but they do not hold him in good stead in the trenches.

He should watch old Paul Silas tapes.

[billysan]

He has the offensive skills of a small forward, but they do not hold him in good stead in the trenches.

This is because he does not have the lift of a small forward. Ryan Gomes can out jump him easily. Davis is actually used to creating space and not jumping in the paint. This is not a bad thing when clearing out for Leon Powe in the lane, but is worthless when trying to get his own shot. Many times Davis should be dunking the ball down low and instead is trying to lay it in off the glass. With his width of shoulders and strength, he should be able to take the ball up and dunk with a SF or PF hanging on him.

[JBcat]

I think we need a little more patience with BBD.  He is in his second year and at this time last year Powe in his second year was not even in the rotation. 

Second is it just me or does it seem like he is paired much more with Powe out on the court than last year?  When BBD was the first big off the bench last year I think KG would slide over to the 5 and BBD would play the 4 spot.  It doesn't seem like he is not out there at all with KG which helps his game or Perk for that matter and as a result he is playing much more of the 5 spot.  As a result he is going to be eaten up much more than if he were playing his natural PF position.  Does anyone else see this?  It's only 2 games so we'll see if he improves.

[Fan from VT]

BBD does not yet know how to use his bulk to create space and get shots off in the paint. He has the offensive skills of a small forward, but they do not hold him in good stead in the trenches.

He should watch old Paul Silas tapes.

I have to say, I haven't seen anything resembling the skill set of a small forward. I think this is an apologetic argument to excuse the fact that Davis is a PF/C who doesn't yet have the skill set of a PF or C. I like the guy, I hope he develops those skills, but he does not yet have them.

When I think "skill set of a small forward," I imagine someone who would have no problem taking an opposing PF/C off the dribble, someone who can utilize upfakes and jab steps and has respected shooting touch out to the 3 point line. Davis has none of those yet. As of now, he's just an ok backup PF. I'm cheering for him, and I hope he gets better, but he needs some drastic change, either shooting or conditioning, to make a major improvement to his game.

[EJPLAYA]

Definitely it is only 2 games, but the biggest problems have nothing to do with that.

1- The guy has a worse vertical than almost any NBA player I have ever seen which does not allow him to finish around the rim. He can barely dunk a basketball flat footed it seems, and never with someone on him. That isn't going to change much unless he loses 30+ lbs of fat.

2- He has shown he isn't that interested in coming back to the team in the kind of shape he needs to be able to add much value out there. That will get harder and harder as the season goes on. The time to do it was in the offseason.

I said in my original comment that I admire the guys hustle and intensity out there. He just doesn't have the athletic ability to finish around the rim, the jumper to be able to score from the outside, or the physical fitness to not commit silly fouls. (5 fouls in 15 min last night...) He had a great chance knowing that we would have 2 big guys leaving the team after last year to come back in and solidify himself in the rotation. Instead he decided to eat the chicken wings...

[billysan]

Definitely it is only 2 games, but the biggest problems have nothing to do with that.

1- The guy has a worse vertical than almost any NBA player I have ever seen which does not allow him to finish around the rim. He can barely dunk a basketball flat footed it seems, and never with someone on him. That isn't going to change much unless he loses 30+ lbs of fat.

2- He has shown he isn't that interested in coming back to the team in the kind of shape he needs to be able to add much value out there. That will get harder and harder as the season goes on. The time to do it was in the offseason.

I said in my original comment that I admire the guys hustle and intensity out there. He just doesn't have the athletic ability to finish around the rim, the jumper to be able to score from the outside, or the physical fitness to not commit silly fouls. (5 fouls in 15 min last night...) He had a great chance knowing that we would have 2 big guys leaving the team after last year to come back in and solidify himself in the rotation. Instead he decided to eat the chicken wings...

In fairness, I think he could have lost 30 lbs of excess cargo during the summer and it wouldnt be all that noticeable. I agree he has no vertical and have been saying that was one of his biggest weaknesses. Probably the thing that helped drop him into the second round.

I do admire his hustle and aggressive play just like you EJ. I think this is his real value to the roster at this stage. He definitely makes things happen out there and gives maximum effort with or without mistakes. He is a big who isnt afraid of floor burn and I think that makes him look out of control at times.

He is probably best paired with Leon Powe on the second unit until he gets a little more under control. I think he helps give Leon room to operate and sets some mean picks for Eddie and Tony.

He's like a mad bull buffalo charging around out there who is (gratefully) on our side.

[EJPLAYA]

In all fairness BBD didn't look quite as spastic out on the floor tonight. He didn't really do anything other than a couple rebounds and some bailout fouls by the Pacers. If only they had the scouting report they would have let him shoot! He just doesn't seem to be adding much to the second unit though, but POB isn't ready to step in.

[BigAlTheFuture]

Big Baby has been disappointing so far. I was expecting him to really improve his game. He showed nothing so far. He's not that bad, he's doing alright. But I expected much more out of him. Before the season I thought Powe and Davis would battle for the backup power forward minutes but now it's clear that Powe deserves the minutes.