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Well he's right.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playof...ory?id=5253247
Gasol says KG now a jump shooter
LOS ANGELES -- Lakers big man Pau Gasol said Celtics forward Kevin Garnett is not the player he used to be, but Boston coach Doc Rivers stressed on Friday that there is nothing physically wrong with KG.
The Lakers held Garnett to 16 points and only four rebounds in a 102-89 win in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.
"On Kevin's part, he's also lost some explosiveness," said Gasol, who had 23 points and 14 rebounds. "He's more of a jump shooter now you could say, comes off the lane. Before he had a really, really quick first step and was getting to the lane and he was more aggressive then. Time passes and we all suffer it one way or another, but he's still a terrific player, a terrific compe or, and he's going to bring everything he's got. You can count on that."
Rivers countered Gasol with strong assurances that Garnett's problem Thursday was mental rather than physical.
"I just thought, honestly, he got so hyped up about the game he almost took himself out," Rivers said. "He was trying to slow himself down. He didn't have a great game. But no, he's fine healthwise and all that. It's funny -- just with our team -- whenever we don't play well, it always comes down to either health or age, and it's usually sometimes we just don't play well. I thought last night was more of that.
"I just thought he struggled. He had one of those nights. We all have them. We're just not used to seeing him have them unless there's something wrong. But he's fine, I can guarantee you that."
At 34 years old and with 15 hard-fought years behind him at this point in his NBA career, Garnett averaged only 14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 29.9 minutes per game this season, the lowest totals since his rookie season.
He missed 25 games last season because of an injury to his right knee that required offseason surgery to remove bone spurs from the back of the joint. The 7-footer, who prefers to refer to himself as 6-foot-12, also suffered a hyperextended right knee in December of this season, causing him to miss 10 games in late December through mid January.
But Garnett's effervescent energy and internal motor that manifests itself through constant chatter and fits of unparalleled intensity have masked his decline.
The surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer was asked after Celtics practice if he took exception to what Gasol said.
"Not at all," Garnett said. "I have no comments for his comments."
Boston point guard Rajon Rondo's face broke into a sly grin when told about Gasol's comment, perhaps knowing that the Spaniard might have just awoken the Celtics' sleeping giant.
"I just can't wait -- I didn't know he said that, but I'll be excited to see how it goes in Game 2," Rondo said. "You know, Kevin is fine. It's just one game. We'll see in Game 2. We'll see in Game 2."
Coincidentally, other members of the Celtics made remarks similar to Gasol's statement about Garnett on Friday, but criticism when it comes from the family is considered constructive.
"Obviously he's had to battle with adjustment with an injury," Paul Pierce said about Garnett. "Certain things that he's done before he's probably not doing now or he's getting back to doing those things."
Still, Pierce sees good things in Garnett.
"He had a good run in practice [Wednesday]," Pierce said. "He was getting into a nice rhythm, offensive flow. You can have good practices and go out there and play bad games. You can have a bad practice and play good games. At the end of the day, you still have to put it on the court regardless."
Asked about a sequence in which KG missed consecutive layups, failing to get up to dunk the ball, Pierce said: "It happens. I've done that throughout the course of my 12 years. We all miss layups, we all miss shots, you've just got to keep playing."
Pressed on Garnett, Rivers said KG had the best practice of any Celtic on Wednesday, but he said he seemed to lose some of that edge trying to calm himself down on Thursday.
"I thought he tried to talk himself down, and he did too good of a job of it," Rivers said. "He needs to play with that edge, and I really thought early on he was going too fast and trying to slow himself down. He probably did it a little bit too much. But he'll be fine."
Kendrick Perkins also dismissed the injury talk and suggested Boston needed to get back to what worked so well against Cleveland in the conference semifinals.
"I think KG's been great these whole playoffs," Perkins said. "In the Miami series he was huge; against Cleveland he was even better. I thought in the Orlando series he did a good job of guarding Rashard Lewis. In this series, we've got to get back to demanding the ball on the blocks. We've got to get back to KG taking 20 shots per game, like he did in the Cleveland series. We've got to find a way to post KG a little more."
Meanwhile, Gasol's signature play of the fourth was a transition dunk coming off a Ron Artest blocked shot that ignited the Lakers fastbreak and put them up by 15.
Garnett averaged 18.2 points and 13 rebounds in the 2008 Finals, cementing his already stellar career with a ring. Gasol averaged just 14.7 points and 10.2 rebounds, earning a label as being soft that he has been trying to shed ever since, helping his reputation by matching Dwight Howard's physicality in the process of winning the championship against the Orlando Magic in 2009.
"It's not a one-on-one situation between me and Pau," Garnett said about the series heading into Sunday's Game 2. "It's just Lakers vs. Celtics. In order to make this team better, I have to be a lot more aggressive."
Well he's right.
Rachel__Nichols
Gasol also added KG is “still a terrific player” but damage done w/KG. KG said: "I have no comments for his comments. For what? Who is he?”
http://twitter.com/Rachel__Nichols
KG shouldn't get pissed. Wasn't like dude was lying. , Kobe had more rebounds than KG. And that comes with age. Just imagine if this series was played while everyone was still in their prime. That would be a great series.
KG, Pierce, Allen and Rasheed in their prime would most likely be a sweep.
yeah, I may agree with you there ......
I dont understand why Gasol would say such a thing. Last thing you need is motivating a HOF player.
yeah, the way the question was asked, she basically said do you see any difference from nine years ago when you played against KG.
And of course with age, you lose a lot physically and KG has had serious leg issues in the last 15-18 months.
Gasol pointed out the obvious, what everyone already knew but people take certain lines and flip around.
It's the Finals.
KG was already motivated
He's just not as explosive
Im sure KG was already motivated after getting punked by Gasol.
dirk of the east?
KG shouldn't require motivation but he's just the type of person that may actually wake up after such comments. Expect the jaw to be out in game 2.
Side note: they really really need a 'jaw sticking out' smiley.
Was anything he said untrue? Society we live in everyone gets all butthurt.
Sounds to me like he's trying to erase the memory of getting physically and mentally intimidated by Garnett in '08 with a bit of y trash talk.
It will be interesting to see if the Celtics can respond. I doubt they will.
Garnett shouldn't take offense at the truth, especially when it's said by Pau Gasol.
It's not like KG was ever known for taking the ball to the rim with ferocity. His go to shot has always been a baseline fadeaway.
wow nichols was really reaching with that comment. the is no longer hot if she does her job horribly
That wasn't even the complete quote. Gasol was asked to compare nine years ago versus today.
Then the ran around the locker room and asked "What do you think about Gasol saying that Kg is no longer explosive?"
What a dumb bspn trying to stoke the fire.
Garnett has games where he looks like, or close to, the old KG, and some where he looks like he has aged. basically, it's the same thing with Duncan. he just isn't great on a consistent basis anymore. i don't think it has anything to do with assertiveness or energy or anything like that, so i think Rivers is full of on what he said, too. Garnett is going to bring it mentally every night, it's just a matter of whether his body will.
EDIT
Garnett isn't at the stage of his career where every night he's a shadow of his former self. by the 2011-2012 he'll be like that.
Amare gave Gasol fits in th WCF...Garnett doesn't have that game though. That block on KG speak volumes of lost athleticism.
sons at first I thought he was talking about Dirk and then I thought ... wait a second, Dirk has never had any explosiveness and has always only been a jump shooter.
On Offense, he did. He still played horrible D on Odom and Pau. He played great in the first two home games, though.
And I don't see any reason for Pau to give KG a punchers chance in their match-up
True, but, can ya imagine KG permitting Gasol to rearrange his pillows after throwing him out of his sick bed like Duncan permitted Stat? "Stat".....ha, ha, ain't that rich? They cast down The Machine for branding himself such, but, they let "Stat" off scott free.
White Devil...check that
Spaniard Devil beetch
Vujacic is a machine, it's just out of order.
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