Always Be Ready -- Glen Davis Hits the Game Winner

It's why as coaches we tell players all the time, always be ready -- be ready to step up and make the play we need. It might be a defensive stop, a rebound, a pass, a screen, or even the game winning shot.

In watching the game tonight between the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics, I felt the Magic defended this last play extremely well. At the post-game news conference, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said that his players carried out the last play defensively exactly how he had designed, taking the ball out of the hands of Pierce and Ray Allen(notes), and put the responsibility for his team’s failures on himself.

The primary option to take the last shot was supposed to be Ray Allen according to Celtics head coach Doc Rivers. But Hedo Turkoglu was all over him. Rashard Lewis was screened by Big Baby Glen Davis, and with the clock winding down, both Lewis and Dwight Howard jump to Paul Pierce. And then, Pierce passes the ball off to Davis who takes the game winning 21-foot jump shot to win the game.



Always be ready.

The Magic were taking away both Allen and Pierce defensively in the 4th quarter, which left Davis more or less open. In fact, Davis stepped up and scored 7 of the Celtics 16 4th quarter points.

I remember watching Glen Davis in college and his rookie year. He's a guy who has had some ups and downs but he's definitely worked on his game. In his post-game interview with David Aldridge, he talked about how he's worked on his shot all year.

Always be ready.

If you're a big Celtics fan and a coach, then you should check out Kevin Eastman's DVDs on Skill Development. Be sure to check out the X's and O's Basketball forum to discuss your favorite coaching topics.