Can IQ and Experience Overcome Youth and Athleticism?

Are We Seeing the Old KG or Just Old KG?

Watch the first two minutes of game 7 against Cleveland (scroll ahead to the 8-minute marker), and you have your answer. It's not so much what he's doing on offense or defense. It's the way he's moving, the way he's bouncing. I watched this the other night on NBATV, thinking I'd watch the whole first quarter looking for differences. All I needed was two minutes.

This isn't necessarily the final word, however.

To quote Danny Ainge, when asked if KG had lost some of his athleticism, "sure, all of the big three have. But I'm not sure it's critical." I agree. The 1986 team was not particularly athletic, at least when compared to, say, the 1986 Houston Rockets, who made Team Green look very old and very slow at times. The question is whether these current, older Celtics can make the most of their remaining basketball skills (not related to youth and athleticism) to overcome the opposition in four playoff series.

That sounds like a lot to ask, doesn't it?