C's Know Ticket to Success

January 9, 2012

Kevin Garnett feels nagged and prodded.

The Celtics forward recently held his hands apart by roughly the length of a knee-high boot and said, "Doc's got this much foot in my (butt) right now because I'm not shooting the ball."

This isn't exactly news. Coach Doc Rivers spent most of last spring's Eastern Conference semifinals against the Miami Heat begging Garnett to shoot more.

Most coaches want to see more scoring from their aging stars, especially their aging big men. Like Garnett, Tim Duncan is approaching the end of a Hall of Fame career, and his offensive numbers are declining. Jason Kidd's triple-double days are long gone. Even Celtics teammates Paul Pierce and Ray Allen don't consistently carry the same offensive load.

But has Garnett's approach actually changed all that much with age? Every NBA coach he's had has begged him to score more, especially in the post, starting with his first, Flip Saunders of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Though Garnett's scoring is indeed off to a slow start (12.9 points per game) through eight games this season, those who know him best don't detect any difference in his approach.

Garnett certainly doesn't believe something is different. Asked about adjustments in his own game, Garnett was slightly irritated. He dislikes talking about himself almost as much as forcing a shot.

"I do a number of things," Garnett said. "Ray shoots 3's, Paul's our leader and scores the basketball, and I'm an X factor who, if you need me to score I can score, if you need me to play defense then I can play defense. I'm like the glue here. If you need the extra pass, then that's what it is. But I consider myself the X factor. Whatever you need me to do, that's what I try to go out and do. I feel as strong (as ever), or I wouldn't be here."

Garnett's self-assessment jibes with the opinion of those looking in from the outside.

"I don't think he's made any adjustments," said Saunders, who as Washington Wizards coach has seen Garnett and the C's twice this season. "Whatever it takes, whatever a coach asks him to do, he'll do. If they ask him to score more he'll score more. He's going to always make the right play when he's on the floor. If there's an adjustment he's made, when Kevin came into the league he was a 7-footer but never wanted to be called a 7-footer, so I called him 6-foot-13. He came in the league as a 3-man, he became an All-Star and an all-pro as a 4, and he'll finish his career as a 5-man. That's where his effectiveness is."

True to that comment, Rivers has decided to play Garnett more in the paint this season. Part of that decision stems from necessity. Jermaine O'Neal, the starting center, needs his minutes managed as much as Garnett does. Though rookie Greg Stiemsma has been a pleasant surprise, his presence won't keep Garnett from playing the most center of his Celtics career.

But asking him to become a more consistent paint presence on offense has been Rivers' eternal challenge.

"Just shoot the ball more," Rivers said. "That's it. I jokingly told him, 'Act like a star, all the time.' He is. He does so many things. He's a tough one because when he does pass the ball, it's usually a good decision. We just want him to be more aggressive offensively, and he's getting there slowly. You can see it. He's so skilled, it's unbelievable, but he's also so unselfish that it's unbelievable."

And that, thankfully for the Celtics, isn't changing.

"He's playing less minutes each and every year to preserve his body, but I don't think he's changed too much," Pierce said. "His minutes have gone down to preserve him for later in the year and playoff battles, but the things he does for us has pretty much stayed the same."

So change is the wrong word, although Garnett's work in the name of self-preservation has to be different now, right?

"The only thing about KG is that he's always taken care of himself, starting when he was young," Saunders said. "He was brought up the right way, he's always lifted weights. He's been able to always go. Sometimes on back-to-backs he might not have the same lift, but nobody does. Kobe (Bryant) doesn't, either.

"It's just the amount of minutes you put on your body. They know to stay away from certain things and keep out of trouble. KG has been one of the most cerebral players we've ever had. We'd go through scouting reports, and he'll say five years ago we were guarding the pick-and-roll this way against this particular guy. He has a phenomenal memory of how to guard and play people. His game preparation is one reason why he can have success as he gets older."