Anez Sez: We Need You, Big Baby  

Glen Davis is expected to be back in the Magic lineup this week.

Last week, Big Baby was suspended by the Magic for ‘conduct detrimental to the team’.

Baby got into a dustup with Coach Stan during the team’s morning shootaround on Friday.

Oh sure, my inbox was filled with the obligatory ‘Fire Otis!’ emails over the weekend. That’s become a given. The Magic G-M has become the personal whipping boy of some in True Blue Nation.  They say that Otis missed another one by allowing Brandon Bass to get away for damaged goods in Big Baby.

I am not buying it.  I still think Baby has much to offer this team.

Otis and the entire Magic organization knew what they were getting when they traded for Davis a few months ago. 

Look, Baby is an emotionally volatile guy.  We knew that.  He had his run-ins with Doc Rivers in Boston. If a player has issues with a ‘players coach’ like Doc, just imagine what the learning curve is gonna be under a guy like Stan Van Gundy.

Already this season, we’ve seen Davis get into a little shouting match with a couple of fans out in Portland.

We’ve seen Baby get so exasperated with a foul call at Amway Center that he pulled down his shorts for the whole world to see.

And now this….Baby challenged Stan’s authority in practice.

I think it’s ironic that the thing that constantly gets Baby into trouble---his temperament---is one of the reasons why Otis went out and struck the deal for him.

He plays the game with emotion--something that this Magic team has craved for years.  This team is loaded with players who, while they are gamers, are even keel guys who don’t show their hand on the court. 

Oh, Baby will show you his hand, and judging by the dropping trow incident last month, he’ll be happy to display some of his other body parts.

Point is this….

Change is never easy.  For Baby, he came to Orlando expecting to start alongside his buddy, Dwight Howard.  But because of Ryan Anderson’s tremendous early season play, Baby’s been relegated to coming off the bench and backing up Ryan along with Dwight.

After 22 games, I am far from declaring Boston a winner on that Baby deal, especially considering the promise that Von Wafer is showing right now as our ‘Microwave’ guy off the bench.

Sure, Brandon has played well for the Celtics.  Baby has been so-so in Orlando.

But, I still think Glen Davis can come up big here by using his temperament to his advantage--instead of his detriment.