OUT OF THE CRIB

The “Big Baby” is finally out of his crib to become the man. Yes, the Boston Celtics were rescued from the deadly fangs of defeat by nipping the Orlando Magic, 95-94 yesterday to tie up their Eastern Conference semis duel at two games apiece. And the celebrated hero of the game? Nope it’s not anyone of the “Big 3” but it was no other than sophomore power forward Glenn “Big Baby” Davis. The 6-9 Baton Rouge, Louisiana native scored the last four points of the Celtics including a buzzer-beating short jumper to broke the back of the Magic.

Davis has been the revelation for the Celtics in the ongoing playoffs. In the absence of main man Kevin Garnett, he had been helping out starting pivotman Kendrick Perkins in manning the frontline for the Beantown outfit. Davis has scored in double figures in all seven games against the Chicago Bulls in the opening round and in three of the four games against Orlando. In addition to his endgame heroics in game four, Davis scored 21 big points and hauled down 6 caroms in 33 minutes of action. He was likewise a key man in defense as he hounded Magic hotshot Rashard Lewis all night long.

Davis had dramatically improved this season based on his per game averages in points, rebounds and assists as compare to his rookie year last season. In 76 games, Davis posted norms of 7.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 0.9 apg in 21 minutes of nightly duty as against last season’s 4.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg and 0.4 apg in 69 outings.

The victory is very important for the defending champions as they escape from the deep hole of being down 3-1 in the series and also took away the homecourt advantage in the series.

And from all indications, we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg as the transformation in Davis game is still far from being complete. That for sure is not good news for all Celtics oppositions.

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So what’s next for Chris Mullin? It’s a pity to see Mullin go after five years at the helm of the Bay City outfit as Executive Vice President for Basketball Operations. The Golden State Warriors had officially announced that there will not be a renewal upon the expiration of his contract on June 30. In short, the former St. John’s hotshot was fired from his post.

It was not too long ago when the Warriors were the toast of the league after making the playoffs in 2007 after 15 years of absence. They even made noise in the post season play after scoring an upset over the then top seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first round. Mullin was hailed for that achievement as it was through his off-court maneuverings that brought in coach Don Nelson, Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington and Monta Ellis. But everything went sour for Mullin as Davis left the Warriors before the start of the 2008-09 campaign and along the way had some brushes with Nelson.

Mullin, a member of the original US dream team in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, is a popular figure in the bay area. He spent 13 years of his 16 year NBA playing career with Golden State. With his exit from the Warriors, most pundits are speculating of his imminent transfer to the New York Knicks front office. He is a native of the Gotham City by the way.

We wish you all the luck on your next destination, Chris!