Glen Davis Blames Poor Postseason on Lack of Mental Preparation, Turning Focus to ‘Being Glen Davis’

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Jun 20, 2011

Glen Davis Blames Poor Postseason on Lack of Mental Preparation, Turning Focus to 'Being Glen Davis' Glen Davis put up arguably the best numbers of his career in the 2010-11 season. He finished fourth in Sixth Man of the Year voting while posting career bests in points per game (11.7) and rebounds per game (5.4). He even led the league in charges drawn, which is possibly his most impressive and also most overlooked statistic.

Considering how well he has played in past postseasons for the Celtics, especially in the 2009 playoffs while filling in Kevin Garnett's shoes quite admirably, everyone expected his production to continue when the C's returned to the playoffs in April.

Not quite.

Davis averaged just under five points and 3.6 rebounds per game in a very unimpressive postseason performance in which the Celtics were eliminated by the Miami Heat, who would go on to the NBA Finals. According to ESPN.com, Davis said Monday that his playoff struggles are a cause of him not being mentally prepared for the postseason.

"[The postseason struggles] weighed on me a lot," Davis told ESPN.com on Monday. "I pride myself on playing good basketball, especially when you need it. Every postseason I've played tremendously good, to the point where it was like, 'Wow.' But this summer it didn't happen, because I felt, mentally, I wasn't ready and prepared enough for what was in front of me. I didn't prepare for it well, mentally, and it affected the way I played. That's what I've been doing this offseason, concentrating on making sure that postseason won't happen again.

"I feel I know what's most important to me and that's Glen being Glen. I can't perform the way I need to perform if I'm not Glen Davis. I need to be in situation where I'm going to be Glen Davis. If it's here with the Celtics or with somebody else. I just want to make sure I'm Glen Davis, whatever I do, wherever I'm at. That's all I'm really concentrating on, being Glen Davis, and being a complete player."

The future of Davis, who will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 pending the potential lockout, in Boston is uncertain, especially after comments made by Doc Rivers after the season. Rivers showed some frustration toward the way Davis played in the playoffs and implied that the forward's impending free agency could have affected his performance.

Davis' response Monday did anything but end speculation of a rift between him and Rivers, saying "I don't try to pay attention. I know Doc talks a lot. I don't pay attention to that. That's what he does. That's Doc, he loves to talk."

It is pretty clear that Davis will want a big raise this offseason, along with a bigger (possibly even a starting) role wherever he ends up. With Doc's comments and the uncertainty of the labor situation, Davis' future in Boston has to be very much up in the air. But we'll just have to wait until a new CBA is agreed to before we find out, whenever that may be.

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