KG: Rejuvenated, but Slower

October 18, 2010

The rejuvenation of Celtics forward Kevin Garnett has been apparent since the beginning of training camp. He leaps with ease. He sprints down the floor and soars for rebounds with no fear about his surgically repaired right knee. The one thing missing was a breakout game in the exhibition season. Garnett had yet to wow fans with a vintage performance. But that changed Saturday night, when he had 20 points in 20 minutes during the Celtics' 97-84 victory over the Knicks in Hartford.



Garnett spearheaded a stifling third-quarter defensive effort that sparked a 14-0 run by Boston's first team. And his enthusiasm and aggressiveness around the ball was reminiscent of the 2007-08 season. Fans haven't seen that Garnett in nearly two years. One of the more important priorities for the Celtics in camp was to rebuild the confidence and increase the production of Garnett, who was healthy last season but still was favoring the knee.

"I slowed down a little bit, started to look for my offense," he said. "Playing with Shaq [Shaquille O'Neal] is an adjustment, but it's a good adjustment to have. But for the most part I've slowed down and let my offense just flow." Garnett's primary concern is always defense, but "[O'Neal] has been on my [rear] about relaxing and letting the offense come to me. I think the last couple of games, even the game I got thrown out of, I thought I had a pretty good flow."

O'Neal is bigger and less nimble than Kendrick Perkins, so some adjustment is necessary. Garnett said O'Neal's presence actually makes things easier defensively "It makes things more simple," he said. "Being out there with Shaq, everything's open. I'm used to counter moves and setting up things, and for the most part I've been able to attack and not have double teams, and when they do, I have a great option in dropping it off. So it's a good addition."

At this time last season, there were a plethora of contract issues affecting the Celtics. Rajon Rondo was wondering whether the club had enough confidence in his skills to offer an extension. Paul Pierce's opt-out clause was looming, and Ray Allen was entering the final year of the five-year contract he signed with the SuperSonics. The Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals, but not without Allen sweating out the trade deadline and Pierce opting out just a few weeks after the season. But he re-signed, and this season contracts are less of an issue. Only Perkins and Glen Davis are playing under the final years of their contracts, leaving the Big Three clear of those concerns.

"That's a nice thing," coach Doc Rivers said. "But that's just the NBA today. It's always going to be a couple of guys [up for a contract]." Rivers recalled during his playing days with the Knicks that coach/general manager Pat Riley offered every player an extension to eliminate the distraction. "I had two years left and he came to me and said, 'Do you want an extension?' and I was like, 'Yes that would be terrific,' " Rivers said. "His first speech was everyone's taken care of, now let's think about the team.

"Now you can't do that anymore; those days are gone. But it's nice having a lot of it out of the way. It helps because it's your job, too, and when you're preaching everything about the team, guys have to think about their life as well."

Knicks rookie Russian center Timofey Mozgov on O'Neal: "He's really big. On TV he looks big, in game he's really big, really strong." . . . From the bench, O'Neal yelled words such as "jambalaya" and "chimichanga" at Davis when he gathered the ball in the post Saturday night. "That means I want him to eat it up in the paint," O'Neal said . . . Rivers said he is glad the Celtics have just one preseason game left before the Oct. 26 opener against the Heat because it will allow more practice time to work on defense. The Celtics end the exhibition season Wednesday against the Nets at TD Garden. The Nets will arrive from China after a two-game series with the Rockets