The NBA announced Sunday evening that Kevin Garnett has been suspended for Game 2 of the Celtics’ first round series with the Heat “for striking the Miami Heat’s Quentin Richardson in the head with an elbow.” In addition, Richardson has been fined $25,000 for his role in the altercation.
Some are saying that this suspension “opens the door” for the Heat, but the truth is that the door is pretty open with or without Garnett in the lineup. The Celtics did look good for a quarter and a half in Game 1, but that doesn’t mean that they were/are a shoe-in to win the series.
Did he deserve to be suspended? It would have been nice if the altercation could have been diffused without all the posturing, but that’s Kevin Garnett for you. He relishes in sticking his chin in his opponent’s face and this time he threw a (stupid) elbow. Now his team has to try to win without him.
There has been similar speculation in the past, but this time the planets seem better aligned for a move. One of Rivers’ sons, Jeremiah, will be a senior next season on the Indiana University hoop team and daughter Callie, a volleyball star, will be in her final year at the University of Florida. Another son, Austin, is a top basketball prospect who will be finishing high school.
“Part of it is true,” Rivers said of the speculation. “Every year I sit down in the middle of the summer and I have a family discussion. We talk about what we want to do. That’s nothing new, but every year it gets stronger and stronger. And I think people are making some common sense reads. I’ve got three seniors next year, two in college and one in high school. That’s important to me. We’re all family men. We all have kids.
“Every year you’ve got to weigh what’s best for your kids. That’s just the way it is. But, I don’t get into it now. I don’t talk about it. I’ve never told anyone one way or the other, and that’s how it’s always been.”
It sounds like Rivers wants to take some time off and spend time with his kids as they enter their final years of college and high school.
The Celtics aren’t done by any means, but Kevin Garnett really needs to bounce back and play at an All-Pro level if this team is going to go anywhere in the near future. The problem there is that KG is 34 and there’s no guarantee that he’s going to get the lift back in his legs that has been missing since the surgery.
Rivers already has his title, so it seems like a good time to take a break. The article noted that he could do a little television to stay engaged, and he’d probably have his pick of jobs in a year or two.
“With that amount of time, you’re not switching, you’re stepping up.”
I’m not exactly sure what the analyst meant by this. If Lee jumps out and hedges (stepping up?), Garnett would still have been open at the top of the key. With that little time remaining, one of the guys covering Rasheed Wallace (Al Harrington) or Eddie House (Larry Hughes) needs to rotate over to Garnett because it is unlikely that he’s going to have enough time to make another pass. Harrington did rotate, but it was way too late. Hughes was hugging House, which was unnecessary once Pierce dribbled towards the other side of the court.
Garnett’s knee is just fine. It has been a concern in camp, but apparently KG has his explosion back. In a recent practice, he caught an alley-oop and slammed it home. The Celtics’ fortunes depend heavily on the health of Garnett’s knee. Without him at full strength, they’ll have a tough time competing with the Cavs and Magic. As an NBA fan, a healthy KG is good for the league.
Is Russell Westbrook turning into a dependable point guard? The Oklahoman reports that is A/T ratio in the preseason is 5.4. Last season it was 1.6, which is quite bad. It’s a small sample size, but if Westbrook can get his A/T ratio above 3.0, it will reap dividends for the Thunder. From a fantasy perspective, if he were to cut his turnovers in half and have the same number of assists (which would result in a A/T ratio of about 3.0), then he’d be the 15th most efficient point guard (just below Mo Williams) instead of the 21st most efficient.
Stephen Jackson will play for the Warriors, but he’s not happy about it. There’s a good chance the Warriors will acquiesce and try to fulfill Jackson’s wishes to be traded, but the 31 year-old has three more years remaining on his contract at the tune of $9.3 per season, so there’s no guarantee that a playoff team would be willing to make a move for him. Miami could move Michael Beasley, but Jackson’s contract would ruin the Heat’s financial flexibility next summer. The Suns could use Jackson to replace an aging Grant Hill, but they’re in financial trouble. The Hornets probably make the most sense, but are they willing to spend?
The Cavs were destined to make the Finals and face the Lakers, with LeBron turning in a fantastic Game 7 performance in front of his loyal fans at the Q to bring the city of Cleveland its first championship since 1964. With a title already under his belt, and a few more on the horizon, he would happily re-up for another four or five seasons. Or at the very worst, the Cavs would lose to the more talented Lakers, leaving fans with the feeling that “one more piece” would be all that is needed to finally bring a title to Cleveland. Under that scenario, there would be no way that LeBron could leave, right? Not when the Cavs were thisclose to a title…
Just over a year ago, I wrote that “The Cavs have failed LeBron James,” which was posted about three months before GM Danny Ferry pulled the trigger on the trade that brought Mo Williams to Cleveland. That trade, along with LeBron’s renewed focus and an improved work ethic (which was inspired by his seeing first hand how Kobe prepared during the 2008 Olympics), pushed the Cavs to a league-best 66 wins this season. Williams was named as an alternate to the All-Star Game (after grousing about not being voted in by the coaches) and all was well with the world.
The Cavs received some more good news when Kevin Garnett struggled with injuries down the stretch of the regular season and was eventually shut down for the playoffs. At the time, the Celtics were considered the Cavs’ biggest threat in the East, but KG’s injury might have allowed the Magic, one of four teams that beat the Cavs twice during the year — the Celtics, the Lakers and…um…the Wizards were the other three — to advance to the Conference Finals when they otherwise wouldn’t have survived to face the Cavs. The Magic were a very bad matchup because the Cavs simply didn’t have anyone that could cover Dwight Howard. When they didn’t double-team him, he would make a living on the post, and when they did send another guy, it would free up the Orlando sharpshooters for open jumpers.
The plot thickens in the ever changing world of the NBA playoffs, and several scenarios could play out this weekend. Will KG play or not? Celtic management has repeatedly stated that Kevin Garnett will not see action in this playoff season. Okay, then why hasn’t he had surgery to repair the knee and begin rehab for next season? Please Kobe, don’t let Ron Artest crawl inside your head because he will do damage. Just play your game and get ready for the inevitable showdown with King James in the Finals.
All times ET…
NBA Playoffs
Fri, 7 PM: Boston Celtics @ Orlando Magic (ESPN)
Fri, 9:30 PM: Los Angeles Lakers @ Houston Rockets (ESPN)
Sat, 5 PM: Denver Nuggets @ Dallas Mavericks (ESPN)
Sat, 8 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Atlanta Hawks (ABC)
Sun, 3:30 PM: Los Angeles Lakers @ Houston Rockets (ABC)
Sun, 8 PM: Boston Celtics @ Orlando Magic (TNT)
NHL Playoffs
Fri, 7 PM: Washington Capitals @ Pittsburgh Penguins (Versus)
Sat, 7 PM: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Washington Capitals (Versus)
Sun, 7:30 PM: Carolina Hurricanes @ Boston Bruins (Versus)
MLB
Sat, 3:40 PM: Tampa Bay Rays @ Boston Red Sox (Fox)
Sun., 12:30 PM: Atlanta Braves @ Philadelphia Phillies (TBS)
Sun., 8 PM: Tampa Bay Rays @ Boston Red Sox (ESPN)
Celtics GM Danny Ainge (seemingly) confirmed what the rest of us have been thinking all along: KG is done for the year.
Fans have been holding out hope that if the Celtics can get by the Bulls in the first round, then Garnett would have enough time to recover and return for the remainder of the playoffs. But they’re fighting for their lives against the Bulls and still, Garnett remains sidelined. It really doesn’t seem like he’s close to returning.
I guess all we can get out of Garnett in these playoffs is a lot of chest pounding, several weird faces and repeatedly saying “yeah, motherf****r” on the bench after the Celtics make a good play.
Every so often, I’ll be sitting at a bar, throwing back a few adult beverages with a buddy or two and I’ll pose the following question:
If you could have one current NBA player to build your franchise around, with the goal of winning a NBA title in the next five years – who would it be?
Since the 2009 NBA Playoffs are in their infancy, it seems to be as good of a time as any to kick around this question. My criteria are simple – a franchise player has to be able to carry his team, while being reasonably young and injury-free.
We’ll count down from #10 to #1. My top nine guys were pretty easy to list, but #10 was a bitch. Maybe you can help me decide. Feel free to provide your own top 10.
HONORABLE MENTION
Yao Ming, Rockets (28 years-old)
I love Yao’s post up game, and he is a skilled passer, but the chances are only 60/40 that he’ll be healthy for any given playoffs and those odds are only going to decrease as time wears on. He’s like Robert Downey, Jr. — he’s great at what he does, but you just don’t know if he’s going to be there when you need him.
Chauncey Billups, Nuggets (32)
He seems to be more responsible than ‘Melo for the Nuggets’ great play this season, but he’s 32 years old. Still, his effectiveness depends more on strength, steady play and good shooting than it does his (somewhat limited) athleticism, so he should be able to play into his late thirties.
Al Jefferson, Timberwolves (24)
Jefferson is one of the few young, back-to-the-basket post players in the league. He averaged 23/11 on a bad team, which leads me to believe he could post 19/10 on a playoff team, and should only get better with age.
Amare Stoudemire, Suns (26)
He’s four years younger than our next guy, but he’s already had two serious injuries in his career so one wonders if this is a trend. He also seems to be a little bit on the selfish side and has a rep for being a bad defensive player.
The Boston Three Party is beginning to look like one all-star (Paul Pierce), one struggling shooter (Ray Allen), and one injured player (Kevin Garnett). And any lingering hope of a Garnett return in these playoffs should come to an end soon. According to the Boston Herald, The Big Ticket is seeking a confirmation date for the surgery to repair his injured right knee.
According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Garnett had sought opinions from non-Boston Celtic medical personnel on types of rehabilitation that would allow him to play in the postseason. And it seemed the program of rest and rehab was working until soreness and increased pain inside the knee had returned.
Injuries like this are really a tricky thing,” one medical person who has worked on NBA players said. “Most of the time you just need to rest it and let the area calm down, but sometimes it’s different.”
Surgery seems to be a good investment option for the Celtics, as Garnett is signed through 2012 season. Their plan for next season should be to acquire another quality big man to help out on the frontline and cut down on KG’s minutes.
The Celtics can regroup and make another push for a ring. But it will tougher, as the key components will be one year older and their championship window will continue to close.
