Why we don't like Kevin Garnett any more

[duncan228]

Why we don't like Kevin Garnett any more
By Kelly Dwyer
Ball Don't Lie

It's a question that I get asked incessantly, and I can't possibly tell you why I'm still surprised by it. I mean, if you write about cars for a living, you better be ready to say "Audi R8" when a stranger inevitably asks you what your favorite car is.

And because Kobe Bryant is too polarizing, fair-weather fans really haven't forgotton Colorado and Steve Nash a little too ... typical, for years, my consistent answer to "who's your favorite player" has been "Kevin Garnett."

Say that to a basketball nut, though, and you're bound to take a little heat. Because for the duration of his three-season stay in Boston, Kevin Garnett has been rightfully regarded as, well, a bit of an ass.

And this isn't solely due to mainstreaming of his play dates. This isn't because he's on national TV more often, because of the Celtics' status as an elite team. He pulled some of this crap in Minnesota, but not nearly to this extent.

No, this is all on K.G., acting more and more the ass, and forcing people (we only have so much room up there, y'know) to forget what made him so special in the first place.

At his best, only Dennis Rodman was a more versatile defender than K.G. I ranked him as the second-best player of the last decade, and that wasn't an attention-grab or further proof about how much I must hate Kobe Bryant, as was often suggested. It's because he was a better player. And because defense is half the game, Garnett was closer to Tim Duncan's top spot on that list than Kobe was to K.G.'s secondary status.

Defense is merely half of Garnett's game, though. As all-world as Kevin was on that end, his offense was no slouch. Consistent 20-point, 10-rebound, five-assist nights, usually with a bit more than 20 and a lot more than 10, if you dig. He was a monster. And after wasting away with 13 different 6-2 shooting guards as teammates during his last years in Minnesota, K.G. got to be the best player on a championship team in 2008.

And now, two years later, people don't really care for him. And for good reason.

Garnett threw an elbow at Quentin Richardson on Saturday night, and though you can kind of see how Garnett was just flailing his arms and trying to swim his way out of a scrum ... nah. He tossed an elbow at Q-Rich's head, and he was rightfully suspended for Game 2 because of it.

And even though we've been assured of a suspension since Saturday night, this incident just hit home to me. K.G. just took himself out of Game 2. He might not be Boston's best player anymore (at this point, who is? who's stepped forward in any meaningful way recently?), but he's certainly the team's most important player, and he just took himself out of Game 2 and might have handed the Heat the home-court advantage along the way. Five-and-a-half months of regular season work, gone with one elbow.

Thanks a lot, K.G.

Of course, the list of misdeeds doesn't end there. There was the woofing from the Boston bench during the playoffs last season, an embarrassing display. There's the incessant trash talking and harrassment sent the way of — yeah, I'll say it — European players almost as a rule. There was the time he made Glen Davis cry on national TV because he wasn't happy with Davis' defensive rotations in a game the C's were up 20.

There's just the perpetual displays of emotion and rage and over-wrought warrior-isms, and it's tiring. That's always been part of the K.G. package, he was always the last to leave the shower, always the first to step into in-game mode before the game actually started, but never to this degree. This isn't just the difference between Minnesota and Boston, and it's certainly not just because of the difference in how many games K.G.'s teams are winning these days. Boston was .500 over the last three-and-a-half months of the season, and those Timberwolves teams piled up their fair share of wins a few times.

So why now? Why this sudden regression into, dare I say, childish petulance? Well, you've seen it before.

He's a lion in winter.

He's older, the legs aren't there, the hops have hopped out of him and he's scared. He's insecure, he's never had to play basketball like this, he doesn't like it and he's lashing out. He's the basketball version of a distinguished gentleman suddenly turning into a right old coot in a senior citizen's home, treating the help like dirt for reasons that don't go beyond the fact that the distinguished gentleman needs help, now.

K.G. needs help, now. He's still a borderline All-Star, per-minute. He's still the biggest reason why Boston was ranked in the top three in defensive efficiency for most of the season. He can still hit the jumper, he can still crash the boards and he can still cover big stretches of the court in a way that would make a 23-year-old colt shake his head in wonder.

But he's nowhere near the K.G. we saw dominate this league in 2003-04 or dominate defensively in 2007-08. And he's the first person to see this because he's got a first-hand glance at just how far away that rim is compared to where it used to be when he tried to jump real high. Whether he wants to talk about it or not, yeah, K.G. knows.

Cornered by his own increasing frailties, Garnett lashes out. He didn't need to throw that elbow. He didn't need to have Paul Pierce's back. He doesn't need any of this, but he presses on. And he loses more and more fans — , more and more admirers in the process.

He wasn't caught somewhere with a gun. He didn't fool around with too many women. He didn't cheat, he didn't drug himself up and didn't embarrass himself off the court.

And though Garnett's dive into infamy won't be familiar to the readers of grocery store checkout magazines, we are seeing the vissitudes of on-court s om as opposed to off-court s om.

That's what made K.G. so special. He was, for us, the on-court star, the guy only the true hoop heads knew about. Famous for game only, nothing else.

And that fame, such a drug for the others that dot those magazines — whether they moonlight in the sports world or not — is just as addicting. Why wouldn't it be? When you can stop a five-man team from running a play by your lonesome on three consecutive possessions, dotting the turn with a few jumpers and a nifty extra pass, why wouldn't you get addicted to being that good? It's as addictive, I'm sure, as playing your biggest hit in front of 20,000 screaming fans or walking into a movie theater to watch your own movie while being mobbed by hundreds of well-wishers and dozens of cameramen.

Garnett's excellence, though, has gone away. He's not just another guy, but that rush is getting harder and harder to acquire these days. So he has to bring that excitement back, chasing that high, by making the game nastier and more intense. It helps remind him of what he once was.

The sad thing is, he's losing the sort of fans that used to gush endlessly about what he once was.

[mogrovejo]

Thanks a lot, K.G.

Why does a Bulls fan/Celtics hater like Dwyer cares?

Of course, the list of misdeeds doesn't end there. There was the woofing from the Boston bench during the playoffs last season, an embarrassing display. There's the incessant trash talking and harrassment sent the way of — yeah, I'll say it — European players almost as a rule. There was the time he made Glen Davis cry on national TV because he wasn't happy with Davis' defensive rotations in a game the C's were up 20.

Which doesn't compute with his pseudo-psychological theory, as most of those things happened before Garnett's knee injury.

here's the incessant trash talking and harrassment sent the way of — yeah, I'll say it — European players almost as a rule.

False.

There was the time he made Glen Davis cry on national TV because he wasn't happy with Davis' defensive rotations in a game the C's were up 20.

False. For example, this is an excellent example that suggests that people are somehow disturbed by Garnett - this kind of myth is created and survives against all the evidences. Garnett didn't make Davis cry. Davis cried for being benched after his poor play on the floor. Garnett addressed the huddle in the previous time-out - something Doc asks him to do regularly due to his leadership skills - and people/press just associated the idea. But why does this happen with Garnett? That's what is deeply disturbing.

[Dex]

[badfish22]

Celtics hater like Dwyer?
False.

[picc84]

lol Boston fan ghost-debating sportswriters

[SomeCallMeTim]

Why does a Bulls fan/Celtics hater like Dwyer cares?

And I thought it was just paranoid Laker fans who called him a "hater"...

Yep, I one of the many in the "Used to be a KG fan, but he totally turned me off these last few years" club. Has nary a thing to do with the laundry he's wearing, either... I don't "hate" the Celtics any more than I'd ever "hate" any team, which is frankly silly to begin with IMO.

It's not like I think KG is evil or anything... he seems to do the stuff he does in an effort to fire himself and his teammates up. Worked great in 2008. Still, doesn't mean I or anyone else has to like it.

[mogrovejo]

It's not like I think KG is evil or anything... he seems to do the stuff he does in an effort to fire himself and his teammates up. Worked great in 2008. Still, doesn't mean I or anyone else has to like it.

I think it generally works great, with a few exceptions. I particularly enjoy how it frequently disturbs weak minded opponents/opponent crowds.

[SomeCallMeTim]

I think it generally works great, with a few exceptions. I particularly enjoy how it frequently disturbs weak minded opponents/opponent crowds.

I think tactics like that tend to have diminishing returns and in the long run end up backfiring. Bullying, abusive behavior is effective in the short term but over time people resent it.

In this case, it's hard to say how much it has to do with the C's abortive run at a dynasty. Probably relatively little... it has a heck of a lot more to do with with injuries and relying on a washed-up Sheed in the rotation than any mojo. Still, it's hardly surprising to see the joy with which people dance on Boston's grave. Lakers went through the same thing back in 2003 and 2004 when Shaq and Kobe left a bad taste in everyone's mouth.

[Giuseppe]

He was denied early in his career and had his nose pushed in it by the Lakers in one of the 3 of that 3 peat. He never forgot that. He thought winning it in '08 would sate his hate,

uh, uh.

[mogrovejo]

I think tactics like that tend to have diminishing returns and in the long run end up backfiring. Bullying, abusive behavior is effective in the short term but over time people resent it.

In this case, it's hard to say how much it has to do with the C's abortive run at a dynasty. Probably relatively little... it has a heck of a lot more to do with with injuries and relying on a washed-up Sheed in the rotation than any mojo. Still, it's hardly surprising to see the joy with which people dance on Boston's grave. Lakers went through the same thing back in 2003 and 2004 when Shaq and Kobe left a bad taste in everyone's mouth.

What backfiring? What people? Fans and writers? Fans and writers don't win basketball games, don't understand how could it backfire.

[monosylab1k]

What backfiring? What people? Fans and writers? Fans and writers don't win basketball games, don't understand how could it backfire.

2 year ago, when his reputation was still intact, he was able to shove a referee after backing down to Zaza Pachulia, waiting for people to get in between them, and then acting like he wanted to fight. He literally shoved a referee, a huge no no. Anybody else would have been suspended, easily. No suspension for KG.

This year, after being exposed as a fake-tough bag, he has Quentin Richardson of all people getting in his face trying to punk him, he throws an elbow that really wasn't all that bad considering the situation, and he gets suspended without the league even thinking twice about it.

[mogrovejo]

2 year ago, when his reputation was still intact, he was able to shove a referee after backing down to Zaza Pachulia, waiting for people to get in between them, and then acting like he wanted to fight. He literally shoved a referee, a huge no no. Anybody else would have been suspended, easily. No suspension for KG.

This year, after being exposed as a fake-tough bag, he has Quentin Richardson of all people getting in his face trying to punk him, he throws an elbow that really wasn't all that bad considering the situation, and he gets suspended without the league even thinking twice about it.

Nonsense. He was suspended when, according to you, his reputation was still intact, whatever that means, by shoving Bogut in a weak fight they had. (I think people don't mention this story because it destroys the "Garnett only bullys small guys" fable).

He wasn't seeing the referee, he was being grabbed and he pushed off. It'd be pathetic to suspend a player for that kind of gesture and I suspect you know it. That wasn't even an issue when happened. After backing down to Pachulia? He put him on the floor with a hard screen and Pachulia was all butt hurt.

He was suspended because pretty much everybody is suspended after connecting an elbow to the face:
http://celticshub.com/2010/04/18/sho...flying-elbows/

[monosylab1k]

Nonsense. He was suspended when, according to you, his reputation was still intact, whatever that means, by shoving Bogut in a weak fight they had. (I think people don't mention this story because it destroys the "Garnett only bullys small guys" fable).

comparing a regular season suspension to a playoff suspension.

He wasn't seeing the referee, he was being grabbed and he pushed off.

What the does that matter? Physically manhandling a ref is exactly that, it doesn't matter where the your eyes are. He wasn't "seeing" Quentin Richardson when he threw that elbow either.

After backing down to Pachulia? He put him on the floor with a hard screen and Pachulia was all butt hurt.

Yeah I remember that weak . He also found the first ref on the floor and got the ref between him and Pachulia with the quickness. Major pussy move.

He was suspended because pretty much everybody is suspended after connecting an elbow to the face

And everybody who gets physical with refs won't get suspended? Tell that to Nick Van Exel.

[Bob Lanier]

That's what is deeply disturbing.

Perhaps you're too emotional to consider this issue objectively.

[cobbler]

Nonsense. He was suspended when, according to you, his reputation was still intact, whatever that means, by shoving Bogut in a weak fight they had. (I think people don't mention this story because it destroys the "Garnett only bullys small guys" fable).

He wasn't seeing the referee, he was being grabbed and he pushed off. It'd be pathetic to suspend a player for that kind of gesture and I suspect you know it. That wasn't even an issue when happened. After backing down to Pachulia? He put him on the floor with a hard screen and Pachulia was all butt hurt.

He was suspended because pretty much everybody is suspended after connecting an elbow to the face:
http://celticshub.com/2010/04/18/sho...flying-elbows/

He wasnt seeing the referee... he didnt see Q... Geeeeeeez.. for a HOF forward who is a head taller than most he sure has terrible court vision!

[boston.balla]

we love kg.

Kg has a message for all the celts we put on the field .. ahem.. floor in the next game, was thinking about big baby



Just switch the bulls to heat .. scrub teams are interchangable.

Seriously: it's sad to see kg being just a s of his former self. Still love his intensity

[The TroutBum]

... except, he's ALWAYS been an abhorrent ass hole.

[Cane]

KG's peak was great but he's always been a primadonna piece of crud.

He's bearable for a season or two but after that you gotta ship that loudmouth dumbass out. Getting suspended when you were ing injured last year during the playoffs? Wtf kind of teamwork and idiocy is that?!

KG is still a bully at heart but its understandable since he was drafted straight out of high school + millions of dollars + years of an inflated/troubled ego being a star of the weak T-wolves and living in the shadow of Duncan and Shaq + noticeable decline

He seems to pick on the Euro players a lot as well

[HarlemHeat37]

I understand why people dislike KG and his "antics", but I don't know why anybody would question him as a teammate..

He's always been one of the better teammates and most unselfish guys in the NBA..isn't that all that matters?..

It's not like he's snitching on teammates or throwing them under the bus through the media..

[cobbler]

i understand why people dislike kg and his "antics", but i don't know why anybody would question him as a teammate..

He's always been one of the better teammates and most unselfish guys in the nba..isn't that all that matters?..

It's not like he's snitching on teammates or throwing them under the bus through the media..

obsessed!!!

HarlemHeat condones violence and makes light of child abuse.

[HarlemHeat37]

obsessed!!!

HarlemHeat condones violence and makes light of child abuse.

Obsessed with what?..

Where did you get that I make light of child abuse?..

[cobbler]

Obsessed with what?..

Where did you get that I make light of child abuse?..

Obsessed with Kobe and the Lakers.... so much so that when it was brought up that SHAQ was abusive to his children you made light of it by making the thread about.... yet again... Kobe.

The morally high and mighty Harlem condoning violence and abuse. WOW!

[jag]

Obsessed with Kobe and the Lakers.... so much so that when it was brought up that SHAQ was abusive to his children you made light of it by making the thread about.... yet again... Kobe.

The morally high and mighty Harlem condoning violence and abuse. WOW!

It's so stupid to start turning threads into this kind of BS.

[ChrisRichards]

Obsessed with Kobe and the Lakers.... so much so that when it was brought up that SHAQ was abusive to his children you made light of it by making the thread about.... yet again... Kobe.

The morally high and mighty Harlem condoning violence and abuse. WOW!

38%>47%


Regular Season Stats>Playoff Stats


Cobbler 03/12/2010

[cobbler]

It's so stupid to start turning threads into this kind of BS.

You mean like calling Kobe a rapist or refering to throwing teamates under the bus or calling Gasol a racist in practically any thread dealing with the Lakers or Laker fans?