I liked Glen Davis’ contributions last night. Loved them, even. Getting away from his “take the first open shot regardless of when it comes” mentality, Davis returned to efficient offense. 15 points on ten shots, two blocks, and — even if his rebounding work was (as usual) few and far between — I’ll subscribe to what Davis offered last night.

One of Davis’ first plays revealed the more mature mentality he displayed last night. He caught the ball underneath the hoop, and it would have been easy to force a tough, contested shot in the paint. The Davis we’ve seen for the last few weeks probably would have done just that. But instead he dished to a teammate. When Davis gives up the ball, just like Doc Rivers had said after the Charlotte game, he usually gets it back in better scoring position. He sprinted to the corner, and Rondo (or at least I think it was Rondo) found Davis open. Davis stepped into an in-rhythm jumper, and scored two points. Give it up to get it back.

But as much as I appreciated his play, Davis should shut his mouth when the subject is Dwight Howard. What follows is the transcript of a conversation Davis had with Bill Doyle from the Worcester Telegram. (Boston Globe)

GD: “Make [Howard] shoot over the top, put my body into him, contest. Just make him a finesse player.”

Reporter: “Is that the biggest challenge for you to guard anybody out of anybody around?”

GD: “No.”

Reporter: “He’s one of the best around. He’s like the top center in the league.”

GD: “He is? Oh. He’s a great player, you know, but he’s not the hardest to guard. I think it’s easy to guard him.”

Reporter: “Really? How so?”

GD: “Because he doesn’t — you know, he’s a finesse guy. It would be different if you didn’t know which way he was going. But if he’s just going one way or making one move, you know, it’s hard to power over big dudes who are just as strong as him.”

Rule number one: Stop your opponent from scoring 33 points. Rule number two: If you fail to stop an opponent from scoring 33 points, don’t talk shit about said opponent after the game. Even if the aforementioned opponent failed to score during the final 5:22 seconds of game time, or — in other words — from the time Davis re-entered the game during the fourth quarter.

Is Dwight Howard less difficult to defend as someone like Andrew Bogut? Maybe. Perk has called Bogut the toughest cover in the league, and Milwaukee’s Aussie certainly has more intriguing post moves than Howard. But even if you think that, Glen, just keep your mouth shut. Howard just scored 33 points against your team, Glen, as well as 13 rebounds. To give you a frame of reference, Glen, both those totals would be your career highs. Yes, your career highs.

To recap, Dwight Howard just produced what would have been (by far) the best game of Glen Davis’ career, and a fair share of those points and rebounds came against Davis himself. After the game, despite Howard’s individual brilliance, Davis said, “He’s not the hardest to guard. I think it’s easy to guard him.”

Anyone else confused?