The official support Kevin Garnett thread . . .

[wahz]

I am sorry but I don't know what the problem is: I think KG played the greatest game I have ever seen in the history of basketball. He rebounded well, he blocked shots, he was in the perfect position on every possesssion. I mean he is the man! If James Posey was 7 feet tall, he'd play just like that! Pound for pound, Keven Garnett is the greatest player of all time! and especially tonight.

Just joking.

Look,its like this: PAUL PIERCE is one of the greatest celtics ever and by adding KG and Ray Ray, PP deserves a title and can show how great he is. The national press will talk about how KG added PP and RA and thats why he got a title. I have had dozens of my friends call me and tell me KG is not at all what they thought. He has destroyed his rep and imho that is great because EVERYONE can see it was PAUL PIERCE who needed help to win a title, PP deserved to be the foundation to be built off of. KG deserved to be an important add on. And that is what he has been. A key additional player, more important than Posey but not the key guy to build a team around. PAUL PIERCE deserved to have a team built around him. Paul Pierce a guy who took a group of nothings to within two games of the finals.PAUL is the guy who never got what he deserved and because Paul now has KG, PP will win a title.

[Roy Hobbs]

I think his problem is he wants it TOO bad.  Can't knock him for that.

I don't really want to get on KG's case too much, but if he gets tight and plays poorly because of how much he wants it, I think fans absolutely can knock him, or at least point out its a huge deficiency in his game.

I'm not going to psychoanalyze him and make any lasting value judgments based upon tonight's game.  However, I do think it's a little silly to attempt to justify a player tightening up when it matters most (since it seems like the above comment accepted that that is what happened.)

[CelticsPrideKG]

I am sorry but I don't know what the problem is: I think KG played the greatest game I have ever seen in the history of basketball. He rebounded well, he blocked shots, he was in the perfect position on every possesssion. I mean he is the man! If James Posey was 7 feet tall, he'd play just like that! Pound for pound, Keven Garnett is the greatest player of all time! and especially tonight.

Just joking.

Look,its like this: PAUL PIERCE is one of the greatest celtics ever and by adding KG and Ray Ray, PP deserves a title and can show how great he is. The national press will talk about how KG added PP and RA and thats why he got a title. I have had dozens of my friends call me and tell me KG is not at all what they thought. He has destroyed his rep and imho that is great because EVERYONE can see it was PAUL PIERCE who needed help to win a title, PP deserved to be the foundation to be built off of. KG deserved to be an important add on. And that is what he has been. A key additional player, more important than Posey but not the key guy to build a team around. PAUL PIERCE deserved to have a team built around him. Paul Pierce a guy who took a group of nothings to within two games of the finals.PAUL is the guy who never got what he deserved and because Paul now has KG, PP will win a title.

Not even sure how to decipher what you were just writing.  Saying that Garnett and/or Allen are just add-on's slightly more important than Posey (I love Posey BTW) is borderline insane.

[wahz]

Let my try again to explain my on going frustration and disappointment with Kevin, in order, and briefly:

1-7. He can dominate on the post, and he just won't consistently enough to carry his team.
8. This problem he has makes him a lesser player. His reputation exceeds his reality.  Pierce is the better and more important player to this team. KG has far more talent. KG should be far better. He isn't. I find it unfortunate that KG's rep far exceeds Paul's.
9. How did Kevin develop like this with Kevin McHale as a mentor?
10. He should block an additional shot a game on average given his rep. He is too often out of position on d or has opposing players shoot right over him.

There is not one other thing bad you could say about the guy.

One twisted, positive thing about how he has played in the playoffs. To a man, everyone I talk to out here in Washington who is a BB nut now realizes his limitations, and has expressed shock. He isn't who they thought he was, as the saying goes. Lets face it: KG probably would be happy to know that, and it serves the purpose of folks appreciating PP more.

[cordobes]

This is insane. He missed 2 FTs. In the previous game, he was clutch, he it big shots in crunch time. I never heard the unclutchness talk during the playoffs. He has been taking the ball to the rim. He was our top scorer for more than half of the playoffs games. Yesterday, after a good start, he never had a chance of feeling comfortable in the game, because of the foul trouble. This overreacting act is so funny.

[CelticsPrideKG]

Let my try again to explain my on going frustration and disappointment with Kevin, in order, and briefly:

1-7. He can dominate on the post, and he just won't consistently enough to carry his team.
8. This problem he has makes him a lesser player. His reputation exceeds his reality.  Pierce is the better and more important player to this team. KG has far more talent. KG should be far better. He isn't. I find it unfortunate that KG's rep far exceeds Paul's.
9. How did Kevin develop like this with Kevin McHale as a mentor?
10. He should block an additional shot a game on average given his rep. He is too often out of position on d or has opposing players shoot right over him.

There is not one other thing bad you could say about the guy.

One twisted, positive thing about how he has played in the playoffs. To a man, everyone I talk to out here in Washington who is a BB nut now realizes his limitations, and has expressed shock. He isn't who they thought he was, as the saying goes. Lets face it: KG probably would be happy to know that, and it serves the purpose of folks appreciating PP more.

Your post reeks of jumping to conclusions based off of one series.  Where were these posts when he was leading the team in scoring for most of the playoffs?  Where were these posts after he carried us in Game 1 against Cleveland?  Where were the posts after he put up 34+ points just a few weeks ago and carried us in that game?


Give me a break.  Not his best offensive series - he was still clutch in Game 4 during the comeback hitting big buckets down the stretch and this team would have had no hopes of a title without him.  So to say that PP is exponentially more important than KG is ridiculous.  This team needs both of them on the floor to have a chance.  Taking either one of them off the floor makes the team go from "potentially great" to "remarkably average".

[wahz]

Fwiw, I didn't criticize his free throws. Ive never said he wasn't clutch, others have. Fact is he is a good ft shooter for a guy his size in this league. But this is a common tactic by his apologists. If I say he is a top ten-twelve player in the league but I think PP is better, than I am accussed of saying he isn't clutch, he chokes, whatever. I said what I said. And there is a desire to censor any mild criticism of KG. Its also useful to suggest someone who criticizes Kg didn't want the trade; try that one next time.

He has ONE huge problem: he won't go to the hole with anything that looks like consistency. He just won't. He doesn't have it in him to do it. And this kills us at times. I think he could be the greatest player ever, if he knew when to take over. But its not gonna happen.

Oh and for the guy who says I am jumping to conclusions, I have been saying this since last year.

[CELTICS733]

Fortunately or unfortunatley your game is defined in the playoffs.  And for the most part KG has been consistent, however as mentioned earlier his reputation totatlly exceeds his talents.  He has received entirely too much hype, I love his Legends of the Clutch commercial but the words Clutch and KG should not be in the same sentence.  The playoffs have exposed so many flaws to his game, even though the numbers probably won't confirm it but he's either been outplayed or played even with his frontline opponent, not good.  This is KG "The Man", "The Big Ticket" I had a novice watching game 5 with me last night and they couldn't figure out why this guy is so hyped.  And to be honest, I don't know why either.  His bark is much louder than his bite.  I want to Luv the guy, but at 20+ a year he got us big time.  

[CelticsPrideKG]

Fwiw, I didn't criticize his free throws. Ive never said he wasn't clutch, others have. Fact is he is a good ft shooter for a guy his size in this league. But this is a common tactic by his apologists. If I say he is a top ten-twelve player in the league but I think PP is better, than I am accussed of saying he isn't clutch, he chokes, whatever. I said what I said. And there is a desire to censor any mild criticism of KG. Its also useful to suggest someone who criticizes Kg didn't want the trade; try that one next time.

He has ONE huge problem: he won't go to the hole with anything that looks like consistency. He just won't. He doesn't have it in him to do it. And this kills us at times. I think he could be the greatest player ever, if he knew when to take over. But its not gonna happen.

Oh and for the guy who says I am jumping to conclusions, I have been saying this since last year.

He was going inside consistently last night until the foul trouble.  He was dominating that first quarter with about 8 points before the fouls starting piling up.


Also, to the poster above - it's always great to define a player by one game, as your casual observer has done.  I agree that you are defined by the playoffs but it's insane to argue with the results at this point and saying that KG is basically robbing the Celtics with his paycheck is hilarious and insane.  The results and numbers speak for themselves - if he has 2 more bad games and the Celtics manage to not win the title then you may have a bigger argument but at this point all these negative KG posts are nothing more than reactionary BS.

[wahz]

To the poster above, I am sure you understand going to the post for one q isn't being consistent about it.

Here is a link to the sort of thing that is now being written about KG and PP:

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1101131&srvc=rss


I think that article is way over the top. Way to anti KG but his play has damaged his rep, there is no doubt.

I'll say again, that imho KG could be the greatest player to ever step on the floor. But he bails out the opponent time after time after time by not going to the hole. If he drove just one more time a quarter..if someone could get that in his head, one more time every quarter, big guy... but its a fantasy that this will suddenly happen on Tuesday or any other day.

[mattyweb]

Why does it get everyone so upset to point out that KG has trouble at the end of games?  Isn't it possible for KG to both be the best player on the Celtics and still be an offensive liability late in games?

For the first point, if you look at the whole season from November to June, KG has been the best player on the team.  There is no way the C's win 66 games and get home court advantage for the Finals without him.

For the second, there are at least 4 other players (PP, Allen, Posey, House) that I would rather see taking a shot in the 4th quarter than KG.  I still want him out there for his defense and his rebounding, just not taking shots.  Not that he's incapable of making one, but I'm about 1000x more comfortable with Pierce in those situations.

Simply put, this team has a different regular season MVP (KG) than playoff MVP (Pierce).

[BirdNerd]

Bottom line, KG did NOT make plays last night.   

I will not not a guy for missing 2 crunch time FTs.   They came off his hand softly and looked good.  Thats the breaks. 

His lack of aggressiveness on the block is hurting the team, and has been at various times this playoffs.   A handful of times in the 4th he was ISO'd on Gasol and didn't make one move to the hoop!!    That is not the proper basketball play and its damaging the offense.   If he scores, it opens up the shooters.

I recognize everything KG brings.   Its not his FAULT we lost.   If he gave us 60% of what he's capable of, we win that game.  Ray Ray's struggles were completely different, he kept firing shots, trying to get it together.   

KG is deferring.   

[TruthSerum]

I've watched the Celtics learn from their mistakes and adapt to their challenges all year, especially in the playoffs. Their emphasis on teamwork has elevated the Lakers playing level, and their composure on and off the court is equally remarkable. KG is a hard worker. When he's hard on himself he always comes back stronger because he's motivated to be the best he can be. He knows the situation calls for him to be more mentally tough, and he will respond to that challenge. I've seen KG, and the Celtics, and the opposition, and the fans, and the media, all elevate their game because of The Truth's example. Pierce meets adversity with an expansive, positive outlook, plays through his pain and sees an opportunity in every defeat. KG is lucky to be on the Celtics and the Celtics are lucky to have him. It will be fun to watch him shake it off in Game 6.

[PierceMVP08]

I completely agree with Wahz on this.  I have been sayin all year long that Pierce is the true MVP of the team but everyone has been caught up in the KG hype that they couldn't see the truth, no pun intended.  Pierce is the real star on this team, he makes them go.  KG is a piece to the puzzle but Pierce is the main centerpiece. I'm glad everyone can finally see this (Except for those of you who are refusing to.  Those who don't admit it are the same ones who have unfairly bashed Pierce his whole career.  Whoever says no one else was saying this earlier just wasn't listening.  The fans who really know this team and have watched Pierce do what he is doing his whole career knew this all along.  Those who listened to the hype and just expected KG to dominate are having a tough time opening their eyes.

Don't get me wrong, i like KG and think he's a fine player but his rep is way out of proportion.  To give him all the credit for the celt's turnaroun is ridiculous.  Give Pierce most of the credit.  I don't want to hear that KG brought a winning culture because he's never won before... You have to have the culture to bring it with you.  That said, I hope he finally realizes what he can do and takes it to Gasol.  Let's bring it home guys! LET'S GO CELTICS!!!

[Onslaught]

I love how everyone automatically points to KG. NO ONE did ANYTHING offensively except for Pierce, so do two missed free throws alone really make it fair to pin all of the blame on KG?

It's not all on him. But you don't miss free throws at the end of a game like that. You just don't do it unless you want to lose. He missed others before those in the game.