Big Shot Big Baby

By Brendan Hall
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Robert Horry, step aside please.

In case you were pre-occupied with Bruins and Red Sox television coverage, here's what happened in a nutshell in tonight's Celtics-Magic game four:

Baby. Went. Off.

More specifically, Mr. Glen Davis had 21 points tonight, including five of the Celtics' last six points, in a 95-94 thriller to even the series at 2-2. That includes one heck of a game-winner.

The play was perfectly executed, and Davis made it look surprisingly easy. One of those plays that makes the defense think "in hindsight, how did we not see this coming?" Understandable that, with Paul Pierce taking the inbound, they'd sag to Pierce's side for a double-team, leaving Davis wide open on the left wing -- I'd rather have the ball in Baby's hands than Pierce if I'm Orlando. But Davis made them pay, swishing an 18-footer to send Doc Rivers into a happy-fit.

It's clear after this series, win or lose, that the C's can defend as good as anyone in the league (why isn't Tom Thibodeau fielding more interest from teams with coaching vacancies? Kings anybody?) But from herein, don't expect the Magic to take Baby lightly. He is giving Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard a hard time, despite what their stats show; look for them to make some adjustments on him next time out.

Not going to make any Hall-of-Famer comparisons here (because I might be crazy, but I ain't stupid), but does Baby remind anyone else of Dave Cowens? Before you start laughing consider both players' makeup: undersized, goofy, throws in a flashy post move every now and then, out-hustles and frustrates the crap out of his opponents. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar always says that Cowens and Wilt were the only two players in his career that were a huge pain.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Cowens and I share the same nickname: "Big Red")

Not saying, but just saying...

A few other notes (please pardon the light-hearted tone, my mind is in fifth gear):

-- Came across this tremendous article yesterday in the New Yorker speculating about why more underdogs don't full-court press. Well-written, well-researched, and the only sports article I've come across that manages to intertwine mathematics, Rick Pitino, Lawrence of Arabia and a 12-year-old girls' basketball team so seamlessly. Required reading for any serious hoops fan.

On that note -- and I'm crossing my fingers here -- but I want to believe Doc Rivers is coming around to this whole concept of running. With Garnett out of the lineup, they're going to HAVE to run on at least 60 percent of their possessions to make up for the frontcourt mismatch. They did a tremendous job with this in Game 3, and were adequate in Game 4.

Hate to say it, but I think their problems in the run game come down to who's carrying the ball. When Rondo is manning things, it is -- in a word -- Poetry In Motion.

Marbury? Not exactly a dud, but there's a reason why Mike D'Antoni wanted him out of Phoenix and New York. Just because you went to Lincoln High doesn't mean you're the next Bo Kimble. Just ask Sebastian Telfair.

Boston's subs are going to have to learn to push better from herein.

-- We've already been entertained many times by "Gino" and that dancing kid, and we love getting "Rondo'd", but I would like to suggest another item to add to this generation's Celtics folklore. Ladies and gents, I bring you the Eddie House Face.

Just study that bio photo for a few minutes. What a great scowl for such a deadly shooter, no? Half smirk, half smile, all business. If this were a James Brown track, it'd most definitely be "Paid the cost to be the boss."

I can totally see this catching on with the college crowd. How it hasn't yet, and the Jon Scheyer Face has, troubles me.

-- The non-call on Antoine Wright last night was just garbage. Pure garbage. In French, "le garbage."

The easy, and instinctive, conclusion for how this happened is that the league hates the Mavericks, and especially Mark Cuban. But an even easier conclusion to make is that these referees have just lost their minds. I know it's arguably the toughest sport to officiate in this country, but I'll say it again: David Stern needs to sit down and take a hard look this offseason at how playoff officiating crews are merited.

-- Rockets in 7. There, I said it.