Le Basketbawl

The Late Great “Yankees Clipper” Joe DiMaggio late in his Hall Of Fame MLB career was really playing in constant Frickin pain. They say that he was so heavily taped before a game he looked like a Frickin Mummy, but you would never know it by his play on the field. One day after a game one of his teammates knowing how much he was hurting asked why DiMaggio dived for a ball in the outfield in a play that really did not matter all that much. Joe told his teammate that the reason was there might be one fan in that ball park that would be seeing DiMaggio play for the only time in their life. Joe said he never wanted that fan to feel cheated so he played every game balls to the wall.

Consistency is the key to success in everything in life. If you read one great article at “The House That New York Vinnie Built” Le Basketbawl but four more that are Frickin lousy you will not come around too often will you? The “Boston Globe” wrote Saturday that Boston Celtics big man Glen”Big Baby” Davis this season is focused on consistency as far as his weight during the NBA season. There are a lot of reasons why but one of the biggest is Davis has a lot of cash riding on his keeping his weight at a certain level.

“Big Baby” signed a two year contract extension with Boston earlier this Summer and it has a clause that will give him a bonus if his weight is low enough when he has his scheduled weigh ins. According to reports Davis looks in great shape as training camp got under way. When a reporter asked him his current weight the Celtics reserve responded “I really don’t know. I’ve lost and I’ve leaned out a lot. I’ve lost, I’ve just been working hard. But I can lose as much weight as possible and if I don’t maintain it throughout the season, if I gain 20 pounds by the playoffs, it doesn’t matter. I just want to be consistent, and that’s what I’ve been learning to do; be a professional and be consistent, every day.”

Davis stressed that he has to be diligent about maintaining his conditioning. The big man said “I have to weigh a certain weight at a certain time,’’ he said. “I have to find out what time and what the weight is. I just look at my body; you know when you get fat. You have to know who you are and you’ve got to know your body.”

Celtics coach Doc River is very impressed that his third year player came to camp with the mind-set he has. Rivers said “He’s in the best shape he’s been in in training camp. I don’t know if he’s more motivated. He’s more mature. All the young guys grow up, and I think they understand what you have to be to start camp and what you have to do to have a good season. Each year, guys learn stuff, and Baby each year has gotten better and better and more mature.’”

“Big Baby” told reporters that last year in the NBA Playoffs with his time increased due to the injury of Kevin Garnett was a big turning point for him. Davis said “In the playoffs I showed I’ve grown and I have a lot of confidence in my game. There’s nothing to prove. When I came in my rookie year, you have to do something to prove. And, if you don’t play as much as you wanted, you come back the next year with something to prove. But, now, I just play the game like it’s supposed to be played and make sure I’m helping the team. Remember, last year a lot of things happened that altered our team. It’s a long season and you never know what’s going to happen or when it’s going to happen. You have to be ready and my main focus is being ready when my time is called. Last year, I felt like I didn’t come prepared and it took a while to get in the flow of things. This year, I wanted to come in and get in the flow and the tempo, and let the coaches know that I’m serious, and all the tough discipline they gave me in the past paid off.”

Sounds to New York Vinnie that the “Big Baby” did a lot of growing over the last 12 months. If that is the case that will end up paying big dividends this upcoming season for the Celtics and their fans. Just remember My Man consistency is the key.