By Jessica Camerato
CSNNE.com
BOSTON - Glen Davis estimates he drank four gallons of Pedialyte. His fever was running between 102 and 103 degrees (among other undesirable ailments), and he contemplated whether or not he would even play.
But he made the decision to take the court on Wednesday against the Denver Nuggets, and by the end of the game he wasnt giving himself any leeway for being under-the-weather.
Davis (16 points) held himself accountable for the performance of the second unit, which allowed the Nuggets to chip away at a nearly 20-point lead during the Cs 105-89 victory.
It wasnt too good to be true, he said of the Celtics 19-point edge in the first quarter. Were capable of doing that. But I didnt lead the second team good enough for us to keep that lead.
Doc Rivers praised his team for being an unselfish club and was happy with the way the starters shared the ball early on. But that changed when he turned to the bench.
To me, the second unit came in and they did the exact opposite, Rivers said. They miss a couple shots, the ball starts sticking, and then they start getting back at each other by not passing, and they forgot what we do. They stopped playing defense.
Boston Celtics
That doesnt sit well with Davis.
He views himself as the connection between the first unit and the second unit given the amount of minutes he plays with the starting five. Davis believes that he, Nate Robinson, and Marquis Daniels, are the biggest factors off the bench when the Celtics starters are out of the game.
And he takes his leadership role very seriously.
When I notice things like that, I need to adjust, I need to motivate, I need to do something out there because Im the guy that makes the second team go, he said. Im a mirror of the first team because I play a lot with the first team. So Ive got to somehow, some way, get the same momentum from the first team and use it to transfer to the second team.
Davis found himself playing with a little bit too much momentum on Wednesday when he got whistled for a double technical foul against Nene. The two got tangled up late in the fourth quarter and Davis was led away from the incident by Kevin Garnett.
Just two guys physically playing hard, explained Davis. He was playing a little out of control, hit me with an elbow, didnt like it, kind of got him off me, told me dont hit me with an elbow. No more.But thats it. Thats the nature of the game. Thats the way it is. Emotions, people play.
Davis understands what he has to do to play within the system and fuel the Celtics second unit. Now it is a matter of demonstrating it on the court.
Practice, good habits, paying attention to what the coaches want us to do, being a leader, he said of his methods. Making sure that I lead the second team, things like that. When things are going wrong, make sure that Im there to say, Hey guys, we need to play harder defense or Hey guys, we need to run this play.
With a bottle of orange Pedialyte in hand, Davis showed the maturity and accountability of someone eager to be a leader.
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