Bench is giving Celtics a boost

So much has been made of the Celtics star players, it is sometimes easy to forget what may actually be the largest strength of the 2010-2011 Boston Celtics.Through the first week of the new NBA season it has been the backup members of Gang Green that have made their mark. The fact is, most of the “backup” players for the Celtics would be starting on other NBA teams. Even more impressive, many of these same players gave up other opportunities for more money and a larger role elsewhere to have a chance to win right now with the Celtics.The player that has seemingly made the most strides is Glen Davis. “Big Baby Davis” is in the best physical shape of his life, and it is starting to show on the court, so much so that Baby has made himself an early favorite for the 6th Man of the Year award. As a matter of fact, it has been Davis finishing games in the fourth quarter alongside Kevin Garnett and not future Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal.”When you grow up and see yourself in the NBA, you dream of moments like that,” Davis said. “It feels good. I understand what I’m here for. I’m here to sacrifice myself. When you sacrifice yourself, great things happen at the end.”This is my fourth year,” he added. “It’s like I’m ready for graduation. You play the game. You learn the system. You have to get to a comfort zone. I’m working hard to get there.”While Davis has certainly made his impact felt this year, so have his other bench mates. The Celtics have also gotten dependable backup minutes from Nate Robinson and Marquis Daniels and are hoping for a similar contribution from the often injured Jermaine O’Neal and the suspended Delonte West.There is no getting around the fact that with the exception of Rajon Rondo, the Celtics’ starters are old and unable to play the sort of minutes that they once could. Former Celtic Kevin McHale once said that “older players can still do most of the things that they could do when they were younger, they just can’t do it for as long a period of time.” When assembling this edition of the Celtics, it seems that Danny Ainge must have had his former teammate’s words in mind, and with a bench this talented waiting in line to relieve those older players, the best is yet to come.