The Ming Vase of NBA Knees

Ming Vase

--An ancient and rare Chinese vase of incalculable worth.

The Boston Celtics are scheduled to open camp on Tuesday, September 29, 2009. Based on what I've heard and read over the last 24 hours, the KG Knee-0-meter appears as if it's tilting toward gloomy, with a likelihood for a slow recovery. Notwithstanding protestations to the contrary, namely from Doc that KG's knee is "tip top" and that KG "will be ready for the first day of camp," the feeling I'm getting is that "ready for camp" really means that KG will attend the first day of camp, be in uniform, and possibly even answer some media questions. Beyond that, don't expect much. Indeed, I will be curious to see if we get any media footage of KG participating in drills and the like next week. If not, take note.

The Staples Rumor continues to float around out there, with mainstream media folks like Gary Washburn now opining that the injury to KG's knee is probably worse than the Celtics' Belichickian front office has let on. There is even talk that KG may not be 100% healthy until 2010, perhaps even after the All-Star break. On that point, don't you find it a little more than an interesting coincidence that NEITHER LAKER GAME is scheduled until February of next year? Hmmm. It couldn't be that the NBA had inside information, now could it?

In any event, my prediction is as follows:

KG's knee will be babied like its a Ming vase from the fourteenth century.

More on the Staples Rumor

Celtics Hub gives us more information on the rumor that the surgery to Kevin Garnett's knee required staples to re-aattach his tendon. The update is that the original source won't reveal his source. Beyond that, it's the same old stuff.

I do have a novel idea though.

What about next time Danny Ainge stands in front of one of dem der podiums to answer media questions, maybe someone from the media should just ask him point blank, hey, you remember that surgery KG had on his knee last May?

I don't suppose you know whether the doctor had to reattach his tendon by stapling it to bone, do you?

Grousbeck: Celtics were being Belichickian about KG's Knee

No, their most recent ploy - the management of Kevin Garnett's knee injury - apparently was taken straight from the playbook of Bill Belichick.

The Patriots, known for shielding injury information with the paranoid fervor of a police state, apparently influenced how the Celtics guarded the particulars about Garnett, his gimpy knee and availability during the playoffs.

``We were being Belichickian,'' Celtics managing partner Wyc Grousbeck said of the infamously covert Pats coach. ``We had a great example to follow with the New England Patriots, and we were following their World Championship lead.''

Grousbeck said last week that a heavy dose of gamesmanship went into the trickle of information - or misinformation - regarding Garnett. It might have paid a small playoff dividend to leave opponents - and the media - wondering whether Garnett was coming back, even when the team apparently knew better.

Consider a conversation between Grousbeck and representatives from Orlando and Cleveland during an ownership meeting shortly after the Celtics' first-round elimination of Chicago.

Orlando president Bob Vander Weide asked Grousbeck if Garnett would be available for the conference semifinals between their teams, and the Celtics co-owner left the door of possibility wide open, even if the chances virtually were nil.

``That way they didn't know what to expect,'' he said.

The truth, according to Grousbeck, is the team's medical staff knew exactly what it would find during the operation on Garnett's knee last week.

Though Danny Ainge, the executive director of basketball operations, said last week that surgeons ``did not have to touch'' the tendon during arthroscopic surgery, the inflamed muscle indeed was caused by the bone spur, according to Grousbeck.

Though everyone from Ainge to Doc Rivers intimated during the playoffs that the two knee issues may not be related - that the inflamed tendon somehow was independent of the bone spur - the Celtics managing partner said everyone knew the truth.

``There was no mystery about the problem,'' he said. ``The only mystery was how (Garnett) was going to be able to do something on it. We just didn't feel like sharing that with the media at the time.

``It was just a matter of declining to comment on it. I mean, he did come back to play four (regular-season) games, and I believe that he might have tried to play against Cleveland if we had made it that far.

``But this all threw our opponents into some confusion about what was happening.''

As Vander Weide now knows, his Magic weren't exactly undone by the misinformation, or misdirection, or whatever the Celtics choose to call it.

``But we were able to more or less keep this in the locker room,'' said Grousbeck who, even at this, admits a Garnett return wasn't out of the question.

``KG was still around at shootarounds, and he was still working out,'' he said. ``But regardless of how it looked, Doc and Danny were still out there saying we didn't expect Kevin to play.

``And remember, nobody wanted to play more than Kevin did.''

Good business

The Celtics won the award for several reasons, most recently including a league-leading percentage (high 90s) of season ticket renewals. Those fans obviously expect to see Garnett a lot more next season than last.

Grousbeck also said the stated intentions of Ainge and Rivers to sign a veteran free agent or two this summer are not hollow.

The checkbook, he said, will be open for the right player, regardless of luxury tax ramifications.

``We're planning to look for ways to improve our team,'' Grousbeck said. ``We're willing to invest in the right way. If it's the right situation and the right player, then we'll do it.

``I think we all have someone in mind right now,'' he said of some of the names that are about to become free agents. ``We're willing to consider all sorts of ways if it means winning Banner 18.''

The willingness to spend is, of course, most important with the season ticket-holders. The award committee took other factors into account, like community work and sponsorships in addition to ticket sales.

Another factor?

``Our TV ratings tripled locally for Comcast,'' Grousbeck said. ``The pleasing thing about this was that all of the teams that were in that final group - like Cleveland and the Blackhawks - are teams that are really on the upswing.

``And that's where we are. The product on the floor obviously makes the rest of this happen. But our sellout streak actually goes back to the end of the last year when we didn't play well.

``People wanted to watch that team because players like Rajon (Rondo) and Al Jefferson gave them something exciting to follow,'' Grousbeck said. ``I think it shows that we haven't forgotten how to treat people, and we'll keep doing that.''

Another Grousbeck impression might strike some as a bit of a stretch.

``I've almost got a feeling that people became even more connected to our team this year than during (the championship) because it was such a violent battle, and we had to survive,'' he said. ``I got so many e-mails from people saying what a great fight it was this year.

``Of course they loves the parade, but there was something there this year that I think forged an even greater bond.''

Another Thought on the Staples Rumor

I wonder if Bill Simmons made up the rumor to motivate the local Boston media to flush out the details about KG's knee. The best way he could do this was to concoct the most ridiculous thing he could come up with--staples. This despite the same local media having already reported that the tendon was not touched during the surgery.

Simmons making up such a rumor would not be without risk. Say the local media asks Danny about the staples, and he categorically denies the rumor as false. It's not like Simmons can brag to his fans or friends about the lie. His credibility would be shot. But he can say that at least he had been investigating a lead, following a story, and trying to determine if Celtics fans were getting the whole truth, something he claims the New England media has failed to do.

Ah. Now Simmons starts to sound more like Woodward & Bernstein, and less like the doof that he is. Simmons would be perceived as the investigative Tweeter (sorry, I just can't call it journalism) riding in on a white horse to save Celtics Nation from the neglect of the Fourth Estate. One thing you need to keep in mind is that almost everything about Bill Simmons is about Bill Simmons. He wants to build his brand, get a talk show, and be the next big thing.

So for at least one post, I'm giving up the grassy knoll and the second gunman.

I'm gonna opine that the KG Staples Rumor is a load of crap fabricated to promote someone's personal agenda.

The "KG's Tendons are Stapled" Rumor

Apparently, Bill Simmons is Tweeting that the surgery performed on Kevin Garnett to remove bone spurs from his right knee involved reattching his tendons with staples. Other sources are picking up on the rumor. Jackie MacMullen doesn't have information to refute the rumor.

Just when it looked like it might be safe to shut down the Grassy Knoll for a few days, the Second Gunman returns.