In Kevin Garnett's first five games as a Boston Celtic, he was averaging 22.6 points, 15.8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 blocks. After 22 games, those numbers have dropped to 18.8, 10.3, 3.7, and 1.5. For his career, Garnett is averaging 20.5, 11.3, 4.5, and 1.7. His numbers haven't been as low as they are this year since the 1997-98 season, his third year in the league.
So it might be reasonable to ask, what the heck is going on?
Several NBA observers have KG pegged as their leading candidate for MVP thus far.
How can this be if his numbers are on the decline?
Let's look back in history and see what we can learn.
The early stages of the 1976-77 NBA season didn't seem much different from the previous two for the Portland Trailblazers, other than the fact that their alleged franchise player, Bill Walton, was finally healthy. Despite his star billing, Walton was not singularly dominating games the way he did at UCLA.
He appeared to be deferring to Maurice Lucas on the boards. He seemed reluctant to shoot, passing up easy shots in favor of getting the ball to Dave Twardzik, Lionel Hollins, and Bobby Gross. All in all, very few people saw much similarity between the player wearing number 32 in black and red and the player who wore number 32 at UCLA.
Very few people, that is, except for his coach Jack Ramsey.
The Bill Walton from UCLA is largely remembered for two things, his instrumental role in engineering the Bruins 88-game winning streak, and going 21-22 from the field in a national championship game that his team won.
What happened to that Bill Walton, the Oregon press wanted to know.
“He’s right here, doing what he’s always done to give his team a shot at a championship,” Ramsay said.
Every time Bill Walton passes to an open teammate, he’s keeping that player involved in the offense, involved in the game. He’s keeping his skills sharp for the next time Walton’s double teamed. We’re gonna need that come playoff time. Every game Maurice Lucas leads the team in rebounding makes it more probable that opposing teams will focus part of their game plan on him.
Bill is also directing traffic at both ends of the floor. He’s essentially a middle linebacker on defense and a quarterback on offense. Is there anyone in the NFL that plays those two positions? Bill Walton is earning his paycheck. Trust me.
Dr. Jack was right, of course. The Blazers went on to win their first World Championship in franchise history that year.
If you’ve been reading about the 2007-08 Boston Celtics and watching their games, you've see that KG is also playing dual roles of quarterback and middle linebacker. On defense in the low post, he’s alerting his teammates what’s going on behind them, to their right, and to their left. In general, he's been making their lives easier, making them play more coherently and more intelligently. On offense, he's hitting the open jumper when the defense gives it to him, and rotating the ball backwards when the defense over extends. Even when his pass doesn’t leads to an assist for him, a subsequent pass in the reverse rotation often does.
After 22 games, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, Eddie House, James Posey, and Glen Davis are firmly embedded into the Celtics offensive and defensive sets. They know their roles, and they play them with great passion. Rondo and Perkins are playing with increasing confidence, and have credited The Ticket in this regard.
Despite 10-year lows for points, rebounds, blocks, and assists, then, KG is is more than earning his paycheck, and the best evidence is the team's won-loss record
So it might be reasonable to ask, what the heck is going on?
Several NBA observers have KG pegged as their leading candidate for MVP thus far.
How can this be if his numbers are on the decline?
Let's look back in history and see what we can learn.
The early stages of the 1976-77 NBA season didn't seem much different from the previous two for the Portland Trailblazers, other than the fact that their alleged franchise player, Bill Walton, was finally healthy. Despite his star billing, Walton was not singularly dominating games the way he did at UCLA.
He appeared to be deferring to Maurice Lucas on the boards. He seemed reluctant to shoot, passing up easy shots in favor of getting the ball to Dave Twardzik, Lionel Hollins, and Bobby Gross. All in all, very few people saw much similarity between the player wearing number 32 in black and red and the player who wore number 32 at UCLA.
Very few people, that is, except for his coach Jack Ramsey.
The Bill Walton from UCLA is largely remembered for two things, his instrumental role in engineering the Bruins 88-game winning streak, and going 21-22 from the field in a national championship game that his team won.
What happened to that Bill Walton, the Oregon press wanted to know.
“He’s right here, doing what he’s always done to give his team a shot at a championship,” Ramsay said.
Every time Bill Walton passes to an open teammate, he’s keeping that player involved in the offense, involved in the game. He’s keeping his skills sharp for the next time Walton’s double teamed. We’re gonna need that come playoff time. Every game Maurice Lucas leads the team in rebounding makes it more probable that opposing teams will focus part of their game plan on him.
Bill is also directing traffic at both ends of the floor. He’s essentially a middle linebacker on defense and a quarterback on offense. Is there anyone in the NFL that plays those two positions? Bill Walton is earning his paycheck. Trust me.
Dr. Jack was right, of course. The Blazers went on to win their first World Championship in franchise history that year.
If you’ve been reading about the 2007-08 Boston Celtics and watching their games, you've see that KG is also playing dual roles of quarterback and middle linebacker. On defense in the low post, he’s alerting his teammates what’s going on behind them, to their right, and to their left. In general, he's been making their lives easier, making them play more coherently and more intelligently. On offense, he's hitting the open jumper when the defense gives it to him, and rotating the ball backwards when the defense over extends. Even when his pass doesn’t leads to an assist for him, a subsequent pass in the reverse rotation often does.
After 22 games, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, Eddie House, James Posey, and Glen Davis are firmly embedded into the Celtics offensive and defensive sets. They know their roles, and they play them with great passion. Rondo and Perkins are playing with increasing confidence, and have credited The Ticket in this regard.
Despite 10-year lows for points, rebounds, blocks, and assists, then, KG is is more than earning his paycheck, and the best evidence is the team's won-loss record
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