Glen “Big Baby” Davis speaks to the media following the Celtics game one loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles. To check out more Celtics video from game one visit the Celtics video page.

Big Papi is also a big Celtics fan. When he isn’t working in the batter’s box, David Ortiz enjoys watching the C’s work toward another championship.

“I’m all the way with the Celtics,” he said.

Ortiz believe the Celtics have what it takes to win it all against the Lakers. He offered up his NBA finals analysis, including why he thinks Paul Pierce is the key to the Celtics success, how Kevin Garnett pumps him up, and what makes the C’s a “team.”

Ortiz on…

Kevin Garnett: “KG is a monster down there. KG, he puts everybody in the mood. When he’s [trash talking] people out there and getting mad, that pumps me up. That even gets me ready to play baseball. I love it. I love it. I’m telling you, when I see KG doing that, I want to jump on the court and [kick butt] with him. It’s not a secret that his game is something else.”

Paul Pierce: “I believe that Pierce has got to keep his game up the way he’s been doing it [for the Celtics to win]. … I want Pierce to stay where he’s at, scoring those 25, 30 points.”

Rajon Rondo: “Rondo’s fine in his game. I’m not worried about Rondo.”

Kendrick Perkins: “My man the center, Perkins, keep on [kicking butt]. Clean it out down there (in the paint). Don’t let anybody get in there.”

Ray Allen: “I don’t worry about Allen. He’s shooting the [heck] out of the ball. That’s a game that you know is going to be there because he’s been hot as hell. I don’t know how he does it. He’s been shooting some balls with everybody on top of him.”

Glen Davis: “Big Boy, I’m watching his game all the time. … He’s just awesome. I love watching him down there hustling and doing his thing.”

The bench: “The bench is unbelievable, too. When those guys (the starters) take a break, it’s like they’re still in because those guys on the bench, they come out and get it done. That’s a team, that’s a team. That’s what I call a team. So I’m cheering for them big time.”

Key to victory: “They’ve got everything. First of all, everybody’s healthy to begin with. The games have been unbelievable. They just have to increase the defense just a little bit more, just a little tiny bit. Not anything crazy because their defense has been great too, just a little more and that’s about it, it’s an easy win.”

The first time David Ortiz saw Glen Davis, he thought he was looking at a football player.

But the more Big Papi got to know Big Baby, the more he saw himself.

“When I’ve watched him playing for the past few years, he kind of gave me goosebumps because he’s just a guy that told me straight up who he wanted to be,” said Ortiz.

When Ortiz met Davis at Josh Beckett’s charity bowling event during Davis’ rookie year, he was surprised to learn the “humongous dude” was actually one of the newest members of the Celtics. The two shared a brief conversation, one that has stood out in Ortiz’s mind for years.

“He said, ‘I’m trying to work hard because I want to be one of them. I want people to remember me in this city as a great player, and I’m working hard to get to it,’” Ortiz recalled. “So I said, ‘Keep on doing what you’re doing and you’re going to be just fine.’”

Davis’ ambition reminded Ortiz of his own. As Ortiz listened to the young athlete, he was taken back to the time when he was an eager ballplayer who had just joined the Red Sox from the Minnesota Twins.

He remembered how anxious he was to put his stamp on Boston, the same sense of excitement Davis exuded.

“That’s the reason exactly why he caught my attention a lot,” Ortiz said. “I remember when I first got here with the Red Sox coming from Minnesota and there’s nothing but history and great players around. I remember my agent telling me, ‘If you go to this city and play well and help the team to win a World Series, they’re going to remember you forever.’ And I busted my tail off just to do that because it was my goal. Now watching him doing the same thing, it brings me highlights and memories back.”

Now Ortiz enjoys the highlights created by Davis on the court.

“Big Boy, I’m watching his game all the time,” he said. Ortiz applauds Davis’ energy, cheers for his intensity, and thinks he is simply “awesome.”

“Just watching him playing and watching him doing his thing out there hustling, he wanted to show the world that he was there, that he is the one guy they could count on,” said Ortiz.

Davis is hard at work making sure the Celtics, Ortiz, and the city of Boston can do just that.

Doc Rivers celebrates the Celtics' Eastern Conference championship Friday. (AP)

Celtics coach Doc Rivers joined the Dennis & Callahan show Monday morning to talk about the NBA finals against the Lakers. Rivers said his players do not view themselves as underdogs. “We don’t think that way,” he said. “We don’t care what others think. We believed going into the playoff rounds that we could get here and win it. We thought we needed to be healthy, and we did get healthy. I don’t know how healthy we are now, but we’re getting closer again. That was key for us. We just believe that the 23-5 team was the real team, at the beginning of the season. The 27-27 the rest of the way was due to different circumstances that had nothing to do with basketball. And we believe that as a group.”

Rivers talked about the respect he has for the Celtics-Lakers rivalry. “It means a lot,” he said. “I know the history. I love the history of the game. To be part of it is huge for me, personally. But you feel a responsibility. You don’t want them to beat you. And that’s just the bottom line. Let’s say you were playing Phoenix. You still would want to win the world championship, obviously. But you’re playing the Lakers, and it’s like you’re thinking more about you want to beat them and less about wanting to win the title. And that’s probably good.”

Following is a transcript. To hear the interview, click on the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page.

What is your schedule?

The schedule is we’re practicing at 11 o’clock. And then right after practice we’re jumping on a plane and flying out a day early — just with the time change and stuff. Then we’ll practice at UCLA tomorrow. Then we’ll have that league-mandated practice on Wednesday that I love so much.

Was that Nate Robinson’s 15 minutes of fame, or are we going to see more of Nate Robinson?

I think you’ll see more of him. It’s funny what you learn in losses. Nate Robinson didn’t play because we needed him in Game 6. Nate Robinson played because he played so well in Game 5, the game that Orlando beat us. It wasn’t the offensive end, it was the defensive end. He was doing all the things that we needed him to do, that we worked with him on. You could see that he had bought in. I remember turning to our bench early on and saying, “Hey, Nate’s going to help us.” I didn’t know he was going to do that, obviously, offensively or anything like that. If he can continue to do that, then yeah, he has a chance to help us. Read the rest of this entry »

Glen Davis said prior to Game 6 that he will play tonight after suffering a concussion in Game 5. “I’m feeling good,” he said. “[The headaches] are all gone.”

Davis was hit by Magic center Dwight Howard with an elbow and staggered to half court before collapsing. “He caught me off guard,” Davis said. “That was the big thing. I didn’t see it coming.”

Davis also said that he didn’t lose a tooth, but he have a brace in his mouth knocked out. Asked if he thought the play was dirty, Davis said, “I don’t know what to think. It’s not the only time he’s thrown elbows.”

Davis held court with reporters for about five minutes before Rajon Rondo told him it was time to stop and focus on the game.

The good news for the Celtics is that Glen Davis has shown improvement after suffering a concussion in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals. The news is not so promising on Marquis Daniels, who also had a concussion. Rasheed Wallace, meanwhile is still struggling with back spasms.

First, the positive news for the Celtics. Doc Rivers said on a conference call with reporters that Davis was looking better and that he was undergoing tests this evening with the team doctors.

“He didn’t have any headaches today,” Rivers said. “He had some last night, he didn’t have any today, which is a big step. All of it will be a game-time decision, so we’ll have to wait and see.”

Daniels, meanwhile, is not so fortunate and it’s looking doubtful that he will be ready for Game 6 Friday.

“Marquis is not doing as well as Baby,” Rivers said. “I would actually say right now that he won’t be ready.

Then there’s Wallace who had his back tighten up during the game. Rivers sounded cautiously optimistic about Wallace’s availability, although he did have a rough morning.

“Rasheed is doing better,” Rivers said. “It was not going well at all today. We watched some film before we got on the plane and he couldn’t sit down, but he’s doing better [now].”

All three are said to be game-time decisions. Brian Scalabrine is the one player on the roster with NBA experience who has been mostly inactive during the playoffs. Scalabrine was activated for Game 2 of the series with the Magic after Shelden Williams had a back spasm.

Oliver Lafayette and Tony Gaffney, who were signed at the very end of the season, are the other two options in a worst-case scenario.

Even the most optimistic Celtics fan that thought the Green could take Game 3 and go up, 3-0, didn’t expect what happened Saturday night.

The Celtics blew out the Magic, 94-71, in a game not that close to come within one win of a return trip to the NBA Finals.

And certainly no one expect Glen Davis to be dancing all over the Orlando Magic with a game-high 17 points.

But dance Big Baby did when he connected on a lay-up with eight minutes to go in the second quarter and stomped around the baseline as he was also fouled in the process. He might as well have been stomping on the heart and soul of the listless Magic.

“It’s not surprising as far as how well we are playing because we know we are capable of doing that,” Davis said. “We are capable of putting together some good games, its just our turn, I think this year we have had some ups and downs, didn’t close out games like we were supposed to, didn’t finish games like we were supposed to. Now it’s just turning around for us, we are staying focused and we are making sure we are doing our job, everybody has a job and everyone is doing their job, we are just making sure that we do our job.”

For the record, Davis drilled the free throw as well, giving Boston its first 20-point lead of the game at 39-19.

Davis not only finished with 17 points but six rebounds in 27 minutes off the Celtics bench.

“I think the thing that I figured out being a young player, being on a team that is so loaded, you have to find your role and play your role to the max,” Davis said. “I just bought into what Doc was saying, bought into what the team was saying, and just making sure that I am there for my teammates. That’s all that is.

“My role is just being an energy guy, making sure that I play defense, get rebounds, Doc lets me offensively do what I want to do, hit the open jump shot, play in the post, he lets me do that. But at the same time he makes me still remember my role and what I am capable of doing. I am capable of setting a great pick, you realize if you set a great pick, you are going to be open because your man is going to guard the man that you are guarding and that’s your shot. So just playing to my role, doing what I need to do and realizing what I am capable of doing.”

Davis, sounding confident if not cocky, also said he’s been able to find his rhythm the last three years in the playoffs.

“It’s just the rising of the occasion, that’s all it is,” he added. “I just love to play, you realize when I get my opportunity to play, I play. That’s all I do, is just play the games, and big games are my specialty for some reason.”

Davis said the Celtics will not let the Game 3 blowout affect their approach in Game 4, with fans already chanting ‘Beat LA, Beat LA.’ But as Bruins fans will tell you, it takes four wins to close out a series. And Davis is more than aware of this.

“I understand the fans with the ‘Beat LA,’” said Davis. “We have one more game to win and this team is highly capable of winning three in a row, we have been playing great but at the same time we need to realize it is not finished until we win the next game.

“Just staying focused in our game plan, making sure we do what we have to do to win the ballgame. We know what it takes to win, we’ve seen it, and we’ve done it. Now we just have to keep on doing it, consistency, and that’s what we are doing, just trying to play at a high level of consistency throughout the whole year. It wasn’t working like that at first, we have ups and downs, come out third quarter not playing well, but we are putting it together at the right time at the right moment and that’s what its all about.”

And winning four games to win a series is all the Celtics care about on Monday night.