Baron Davis Vs. B-Diddy

Baron Davis is the player, and B-Diddy is the alter ego.

Baron is the player who signs the contract worth 65 million dollars with the Clippers, the one who helps the NBA make those "The NBA Cares" commercials. Baron is the one who worries about his budding film empire and his corporate ties. He is the one who dresses up in Kanye-like fashion and struts around, giving polite interviews to the media and wears glasses that he doesn't need on a well groomed beard. The bow-tie is Baron. This is the one who has spent more time worrying about having fun in the offseason than training, about making money more than playing the game. The side that shows up to training camp overweight and unmotivated after signing a big deal, the one who convinces himself to put in effort only in contract years so he can strike that payday. Baron left the perfect basketball situation for himself in the Bay area, with an amazing fan base and atmosphere, in a run and gun system with athletes, to bolt for a team we all knew would never fit him. Baron convinced himself to take the money just to play for Mike Dunleavy, who couldn't coach worth a damn, and whom we all knew would be soon caging up his creativity. Baron is the guy who is lazy - he shuts it down when things aren't going his way. During games, Baron shows up sometimes to casually slip in a random 3 pointer in transition and bickers with his coach, openly flouting his instructions, however useless, to go on basketball tangents whenever he pleases. Baron is the one who has the 1 for 8 shooting nights with 2 assists and 5 turnovers, and takes the losses well because he really is only concerned with getting through the day. Baron is the one who gets ripped on by the analysts who say he's a loose cannon and Baron is the reason he got traded from New Orleans to Golden State for what amounted to basically a packet of Skittles. Baron jacks up outside jumpers because he doesn't really care all that much. Baron isn't an All-Star; in fact, he is basically a mediocre starter on any team in the league.

But B-Diddy, he's a whole other animal. B-Diddy is the alter ego - he is the player who plays with maybe the most heart and passion in the league. In 2007, B-Diddy showed up in the first round of the playoffs and absolutely destroyed the Mavericks, the team with the best record in the league, almost singlehandedly. Armed with only a couple good other good players in Jason Richardson, Stephen Jackson and Monta Ellis, B-Diddy willed his team and united a city that had tasted postseason berth only a couple times in the last few decades. He punished players who tried to guard him, with a snarl and a chest pump and a feral scream, more genuine than anything Kobe Bryant has mustered. He epitomized street basketball - only the good things though, like desire and will and scrappiness and raw emotion. In that series, he hit clutch baskets, played every possession like it was worth something, and showed that burning passion to succeed. B-Diddy wins games, hits buzzer beaters, and talks trash. He is the one who brought the 8^th seed past a 67-win team and the league MVP, and got into scuffles with Dirk, intimidating the hell out of him. He won the series for the Warriors in spite of a huge disadvantage in height and size. He is the one who is fearless every time he drives to the rim. And he carried that momentum to the 2^nd round, where Diddy again ruled - though without the same team success, B-Diddy left one memory etched into our minds. The dunk over Kirilenko, that, without Stephen Jackson there to complete the image by dusting off his shoulders and Diddy there to just stare at the crowd silently, wouldn't have been so powerful. But it was. B-Diddy had shown up before, with New Orleans, before things went to hell. For a while, he was a leading MVP candidate in 2004. When B-Diddy is on, no one pushes him around. He can guard any player in the league, no matter how big. I've seen Diddy take care of Kobe like he was a 12^th man, not a league MVP. He could be All-NBA Defense if he wanted to, but only is around for a couple of possessions before disappearing back into Baron. B-Diddy was tailor made for the Warriors because he loves to run and get out on the fast break. And once he gets on the break with two players filling in the wings on the sides and only 2 helpless defenders back, it's over - he might throw the best dime you had ever seen in your life. He is the one who is a triple double threat every night, who throws in a few steals for good measure. He may be a little chubby, but is nonetheless one of the quickest and most athletic players in the league, not to mention one of the best point guards, top 5 no doubt. And with amazing dribbling and vision, Diddy gets into the seams of the defense whenever he wants and finishes at the rim in the most acrobatic ways, or just throws the no-look pass to a player out of nowhere that you forgot was on the court. He is one of the best passers because of his creativity and charismatic flare. B-Diddy is amazing; he could be a Hall-of-Famer and NBA champ easily.

I've watched Baron Davis for much of his career, and only seen Baron for lots of it. Baron shows up for most of the games, and only once in a while does Diddy appear, but he's only fleeting, transient. But B-Diddy is too good to pass up, so I watch all those games so that I have a chance to maybe get a glimpse of the beast that is the alter ego. But don't be mistaken - he is a totally different type of player than someone like Lamar Odom. Though it seems like neither can ever live up to their potential, Lamar is frustrating because he just isn't all that smart and doesn't have much basketball IQ. Lamar tries at times, but mostly is at fault because of his inherent mental lapses in judgment. With Lamar, there is nothing to waste and no tragedy in his failure - he is doing the best he can, but his best just includes some major flaws. But with Baron, it seems all too much like he can control who comes out onto the court - Baron or Diddy. And that makes him seem so much more like a tragic figure; someone who can flip the switch when he wants to, but does so only enough to tempt the gods and tease us with his brilliance. Only enough to throw up some 25 point/12 assist games that include 5 or 6 must-see replays, and follow it up with a 3 point outing. He could be so much more.

I wish B-Diddy was the player, and Baron was the alter ego.