During his short tenure with the Boston Celtics, the play of Kevin Garnett has repeatedly brought me off the seat of my chair, with primal screams and fists-a-pumpin’.
Perhaps the main reason has been the fact that KG puts the “power” back in the power forward position for the men in GREEN.
KG can drive to the basket and finish with a flurry of moves, not the least of which are thunderous dunks (contrast that with the last All-Star Celtic power forward who was renown for his troubles finishing uncontested fast-break layups).
KG can post up, fade away, and turn around. Regardless where or how he gets his shot off, the important thing to note is that he does in fact get his shot off. Of course I care whether the ball drops. But for the moment, I am pausing to fully absorb the satisfaction I derive from watching him shoot without having the ball being immediately redirected to a variety of locations (out of bounds, in the shooter’s face, towards the Celtics basket), none of which might be called Celtic-friendly.
I swear, with God as my witness, that I’ve seen KG successfully shoot jumpers over the likes of Chris Bosh, Kenyon Martin, Marcus Camby, Jermaine O’Neal, Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning, and Dwight Howard. These jumpers are effortless, and defenders are rendered helpless in their wake, often failing even to leave the ground because such efforts would be futile.
Why?
Because at 6'13", and with a reach beyond the Milky Way, there is no one in the league other than maybe Yao Ming who stands a prayer of getting their hand on a KG jumper.
What does this mean?
No finger wagging, in your face, get-that-stuff-outta-here intimidation that was the hallmark of defenders who guarded the last power forward to start on a Celtic playoff team. Antoine Walker’s inability to play down low and get his shot off against taller, more physical, and athletic 4s instilled opponents with a certain level of confidence and swagger. They knew that when push came to shove, opponents would be doing the pushing and the shoving and Antoine would be running out to the arc attempting to get his shot off from there, because that was his only chance to score against players who owned him down low.
My point here is not to bash the player formerly known as employee #8, so much as it is to observe the transformation of psychology KG brings to the court.
Not only are defenders helpless in the face of a KG jumper, but opponents know what waits for them on offense should they direct their energies toward the paint. Like Russell, KG plays defense in a way that gets in opponents’ heads. In Russell’s day, players admitted flinching and ducking and altering their shots even when #6 was not in the game, because when he was in the game he had a way of swooping in from nowhere to block shots.
So let me summarize.
Heading into a game, opposing defenses are helpless and opposing offenses are scared.
This is what the power forward position is all about.
Perhaps the main reason has been the fact that KG puts the “power” back in the power forward position for the men in GREEN.
KG can drive to the basket and finish with a flurry of moves, not the least of which are thunderous dunks (contrast that with the last All-Star Celtic power forward who was renown for his troubles finishing uncontested fast-break layups).
KG can post up, fade away, and turn around. Regardless where or how he gets his shot off, the important thing to note is that he does in fact get his shot off. Of course I care whether the ball drops. But for the moment, I am pausing to fully absorb the satisfaction I derive from watching him shoot without having the ball being immediately redirected to a variety of locations (out of bounds, in the shooter’s face, towards the Celtics basket), none of which might be called Celtic-friendly.
I swear, with God as my witness, that I’ve seen KG successfully shoot jumpers over the likes of Chris Bosh, Kenyon Martin, Marcus Camby, Jermaine O’Neal, Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning, and Dwight Howard. These jumpers are effortless, and defenders are rendered helpless in their wake, often failing even to leave the ground because such efforts would be futile.
Why?
Because at 6'13", and with a reach beyond the Milky Way, there is no one in the league other than maybe Yao Ming who stands a prayer of getting their hand on a KG jumper.
What does this mean?
No finger wagging, in your face, get-that-stuff-outta-here intimidation that was the hallmark of defenders who guarded the last power forward to start on a Celtic playoff team. Antoine Walker’s inability to play down low and get his shot off against taller, more physical, and athletic 4s instilled opponents with a certain level of confidence and swagger. They knew that when push came to shove, opponents would be doing the pushing and the shoving and Antoine would be running out to the arc attempting to get his shot off from there, because that was his only chance to score against players who owned him down low.
My point here is not to bash the player formerly known as employee #8, so much as it is to observe the transformation of psychology KG brings to the court.
Not only are defenders helpless in the face of a KG jumper, but opponents know what waits for them on offense should they direct their energies toward the paint. Like Russell, KG plays defense in a way that gets in opponents’ heads. In Russell’s day, players admitted flinching and ducking and altering their shots even when #6 was not in the game, because when he was in the game he had a way of swooping in from nowhere to block shots.
So let me summarize.
Heading into a game, opposing defenses are helpless and opposing offenses are scared.
This is what the power forward position is all about.
No comments:
Post a Comment