Garnett has Stories

2020

Kevin Garnett has always had the stories, yet he was never a storyteller. He catalogued all of his NBA experiences throughout his 21-year career, some harrowing, some hilarious, some motivating, and has decided to reveal those tales, his innermost thoughts, turning himself into a sage and a comedian.

Big Three Reunion?

Well, the Celtics have Ray Allen in place. Er, um, I mean Al Horford. Of course this reminds everyone of another poker play Danny Ainge made a few years back. If Danny's mindset were like it was circa July 2007, and there's no reason to think it's not, what behind-the-scenes maneuvering might we expect this time?

Is KG Bill Russell?

2009-10 Playoffs			FG		3PT		FT		Rebounds			Misc
	G	MIN	FGM-A	FG%	3PM-A	3P%	FTM-A	FT%	OFF	DEF	TOT	STL	BLK	TO	PF	AST	PTS
Totals	16	34.0	104-213	.488	0-1	.000	30-37	.811	1.5	6.7	8.2	1.00	.69	1.25	2.88	2.3	14.9
vs. ORL	6	32.7	28-72	.389	0-0	.000	6-9	.667	1.7	6.3	8.0	1.00	.67	.67	2.67	2.3	10.3
vs. CLE	6	34.3	50-96	.521	0-1	.000	13-13	1.000	1.3	6.7	8.0	.50	.83	1.33	3.33	2.2	18.8
vs. MIA	4	35.3	26-45	.578	0-0	.000	11-15	.733	1.5	7.3	8.8	1.75	.50	2.00	2.50	2.5	15.8

Remember when the Kevin Garnett rumors first began to swirl around the Hub? A sizable and vocal contingent of fans vehemently opposed acquiring Garnett if acquiring him meant losing Al Jefferson. Garnett's career was in its twilight, and, anyway, he couldn't win and never seemed to produce in the clutch. A smaller, less vocal contingent of fans compared Garnett to Bill Russell, and thus favored the deal. The former contingent howled with laughter upon hearing the Garnett-Russell comparison.

Both contingent's were right. Garnett had clocked a lot-0-minutes on those legs, but, in his one healthy season with the Celtics, KG reminded just about everyone who saw Russell play that he was indeed a throwback to the days of #6. There were some (announcers even) who swore Kevin Garnett was Bill Russell, at least during the 2007-08 NBA season.

Fast forward two years, and the same fans who compared KG to Russ are now just happy KG isn't the second coming of Bill Walton, which is to say a "one-and-doner." That's how I had KG pegged. I mean, didn't he choose to wear that darned number? That god forsaken #5? And with it came the curse, the Walton curse. But now, all of a sudden, KG seems to be back. He seems to have risen from the ashes. And let's be frank here, the timing is good. If KG plays 85% of what he did during the 2008 NBA Finals, the Celtics win in 6.

But The Ticket is not all the way back, not yet.

There's still plenty of room for him to improve.

Does he have it in him?

Can he elevate his game a la Kareem Abdul Jabbar during the 1985 and 1987 Finals?

That's what I want, and that's Celticdom is hoping for. And if the Bill Russell comparisons are fair, KG needs more than one ring to justify the comparisons. He needs to remind Kobe that there's more than one superstar in the 2010 NBA Finals.

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?

Knock, Knock. KG, are You Still There?

There are nights when Garnett looks like he might be all done as an NBA superstar. He drags his leg around the court, struggles to score, fails to rebound, and makes guys like Anderson Varejao look like Karl Malone.

This is not necessarily KG’s fault. He’s got more miles on him than my 1995 Volvo and isn’t the same player since he injured his knee in the middle of last season. He’s still the master of gesture and noise, but the game just isn’t the same.

Never forget that Garnett is the man who changed everything. The Celtics went from the lottery to the championship in a single season because of Kevin Garnett.

In order for a long run in April, May, and June, Garnett has to be that player again.

--Dan Shaughnessy

KG remains the #1 reason the Celtics won't get as far as we'd like them to this year. He's basically a B player, B+ on a good night, B- on a bad night. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen simply don't have it in them to bring there A games every night of the playoffs to compensate.

There remains the Kareem Precedent, whereby Kareem Abdul-Jabbar posted amazing numbers in playoff games long after he'd turned 35. Does KG have it in him? Let me turn this around and ask you: can you see him going for 30 and 20 in a playoff game, sprinkling in, oh, I don't know, 6 blocks and 7 dimes?

Dusting Off the Cape

Tonight Paul Pierce posted his first 20-point scoring effort since January 29th, and looked a lot like the Superman of old in so doing. Meanwhile, that seven-foot-one guy on the roster was blocking more shots than I could keep track of. While he's not the KG of old, the Ticket is starting to do something he hasn't done in a while: pump his fist when any of his teammates force something good to happen on defense. We're still not playing the greatest defense, but one thing that's been lacking on D has been an emotional and spiritual presence.

That little fist-pump may be the first sign that Tom Thibodeau is starting to rally the troops, and using Garnett to lead the charge.

Is this KG's Last Year?

Rage, rage against the dying of the light, Dylan Thomas wrote, and for nearly 60 years since then, sportswriters have applied that refrain to athletes nearing the end of their playing days. Because, y'know, it's so poetic. And it does seem to capture much of what happens as the gusts of time cause that competitive flame to flicker.

In Kevin Garnett's case, though, there's nothing wrong with his light. Burns as fierce and strong as ever. It's his lantern that isn't in very good shape.

To see Garnett at age 33, his right leg sheathed in a black support sleeve from kneecap to ankle, his gait noticeably slowed and flattened from what it had been only a couple years ago, is to see and feel with each stride most of the 40,861 minutes he already has logged in regular season games, along with 3,162 more in All-Star and postseason play. He isn't exactly High Priest Imhotep out on the hardwood, dragging the leg Mummy-style, but if you isolate on the Boston Celtics' 7-foot forward, you will see him hop every so often to keep up. Or slide. Or otherwise cut a corner or find an angle that gets him where he wants to be without the explosiveness he once took for granted.

LINK

The rest of the world has finally joined us conspiracy theorists who long suspected that news about KG's knee wasn't lacking, it was just bad news and neither KG nor the Celtics brass cared to share it with the rest of us. It's hard to read a Celtics-related post anymore without seeing the phrase "shadow of his former self" when the Ticket is being discussed.

World class athletes have a couple of choices as Father Time exerts his limitations over youthful strength, speed, and agility. You can go the route of Rocky Marciano and Sandy Koufax, leave the game at the height of your powers or nearly so, or you can hang on and hang on and hang on. Kevin Garnett won't leave the game at the height of his powers, but he'll be damned if we seem him hanging on like Muhammad Ali or Michael Jordan.

So when will KG hang 'em up?

The answer depends in part on how much Garnett's game improves from here to April.

Say he doesn't improve at all.

Then the next question is how far do the Celtics get in the playoffs? If they get squashed in the first round with KG floundering, it says here KG is done, with Sheed following closely behind. Now suppose they get to the ECFs or NBA Finals but lose. Does he lace them up for another year? I don't know. He'd probably return for camp and see how it goes.

Either way, soak up what you can now, Celtics fans. The Big Fella may not be around these parts much longer.

Are You Excited Yet?

KG Making the Purple See Green

I Miss the Big Fella

Forgive me, but I feel the need to fill the void in Celtic Universe.

Remember this Guy?