Are the Celtics being truthful about KG's injury? If so, is he definitely done?

[Jon]

I think they're being very conservative in saying he's done.  And I don't think it's sneaky.  If anything, I think they're trying to trick this team, not the opponent.

I mean think about it.  If you're Doc, even if you know it's 50/50 KG is ready for the second round, do you tell the team that?  Do you give them inspiring speeches saying, if we can just get through the first round or two, we'll have KG back?  What happens if he doesn't come back then?  It destroys morale. 

Now, Doc uses the KG injury as a rallying call for the first round or two, and if KG does have a miraculous "recovery," it's just scare the hell out of Cleveland or Orlando and inspire the hell out of the C's.

Plus, it's also possible the C's could just be resting him the first round.  If that's the case, they don't really want to come out and say they aren't playing KG because the Bulls are a joke. 

Mark me down in the camp who thinks there's a better than 10% chance KG comes back.  I know it's not a lot, but I don't think it's 100% that he's done. 

[greg683x]

honestly? i think Doc knows he can get by chicago and orlando without him...i think he is going to allow him to rest it for almost another month and see if he can come back

you underestimate orlando.  I realize that when we have Garnett we are a far superior team, and we can probably handle them without KG.  It wont be a cakewalk like you make it seem like in your post though.

.....or maybe Im just thrown off my seeing a bit of optimism in your posts for once. 

[BASS_THUMPER]

I hate to say it but I think the C's are definitely not being truthful about this.  C'mon man.  KG's missed most of 2 months with "strain".  We're talking "strain", man.

Is he some kind of baby or something? 

i feel ya fam but he aint no baby..sumthin is wrong wit him..they goin back n forth cause he wants to play...but trainers and doctors are sayin diffrent....two sides to this story..what kevin say he can do and what the doctors say he cant do..

kevin please chill till next season...get yo work done on yo knee and get ready!!!

*on my 2nd 40oz*

[CoachBo]

Some interesting quotes are coming out from medical professionals about the extent of KG's injury.  First, the Globe ran the diagnosis by two orthopedic surgeons, and they weren't buying the strained tendon theory:

[Dr. Nicholas DiNubile, an orthopedic surgeon who previously was team orthopedist for the Philadelphia 76ers] said Garnett's symptoms and the projected length of his recovery do not seem consistent with the diagnosis. . . . [A]nother orthopedic specialist speculated that the star player may be suffering from something more severe: damaged cartilage, perhaps, or a floating chip that might be lodged in a recess of the tendon.

"I'd say it's not likely" that it's a damaged popliteus tendon, said Dr. Riley Williams, the New Jersey Nets' team physician and an orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. "It's such an unusual diagnosis. It seldom occurs in isolation."

DiNubile theorized that high-tech medical scans may be failing to identify the true source of the damage.

"He's probably having a meniscus tear they're probably not seeing," DiNubile said, referring to the cartilage that acts like a shock absorber in the knee. "I can tell you it's not a strained tendon. A strained tendon would not give you the swelling and the ongoing symptoms. That's not a strained popliteus tendon."

Now, from SI.com:

The Celtics have maintained that Garnett's injury, which they have called a strained popliteus tendon that is located deep inside the back of the knee, will prevent him from playing at all in the postseason. But SI.com contacted five trainers from different NBA teams, all of whom said they believed that Garnett could potentially play if Boston advances in the playoffs.

"I was really surprised when they announced he was done," said one trainer. "If that really is his injury, he could definitely be back on the court."

All five trainers agreed with what Celtics coach Doc Rivers has publicly stated: the surgery Garnett will undergo in the offseason to remove bone spurs from his knee has nothing to do with the tendon that has forced him to sit out for 25 games this season. . . .

The fact that the Celtics are ruling Garnett out for the postseason makes several trainers wonder if the injury is more serious than they are letting on.

"There's probably a tear there," said one trainer. "I have a hard time seeing how a player with the pain tolerance of Garnett isn't able to play with a strain. Especially when you consider he has missed so much time with the injury already." . . .

Lastly, assuming the injury is just a strain, here's what one  trainer had to say:

Said a trainer, "It's unlikely he can cause more serious damage to the knee by playing. It's just a matter of how much pain he can take."

Link.

So, are the Celtics being truthful?  Is KG's injury worse than the team is letting on?  Are they being purposefully coy, or is this potentially a misdiagnosis?  Is there any chance KG  will come back?

I feel as though the team was overly optimistic with its original  statements, and rather than give the team (and potentially fans) false hope, they're going to assume the worst, while hoping for  the best.  *If* the team got the diagnosis right, I think there's a good chance that KG is back.

I agree, Roy - although this is the most bizarre injury story I think I've ever seen.

The evidence is mounting - if the diagnosis is honest and correct - that this injury might well improve rapidly at any time.

[BASS_THUMPER]

honestly? i think Doc knows he can get by chicago and orlando without him...i think he is going to allow him to rest it for almost another month and see if he can come back

you underestimate orlando.  I realize that when we have Garnett we are a far superior team, and we can probably handle them without KG.  It wont be a cakewalk like you make it seem like in your post though.

.....or maybe Im just thrown off my seeing a bit of optimism in your posts for once. 

naw.. doc and no fool..orlando is a code red...so many weapons of mass they can really crush us...doc aint fool...is he?

[celticinorlando]

i never said it would be easy to beat orlando...just that IMO Doc might feel he can beat them in 7 games with the homecourt and all....just from the game i have seen vs orlando...2 blowouts...one game where boston had no baby, KG, no rondo and still had a chance to win...then in orlando they had no powe and a limited KG and had a chance to win it but they neglected to call the foul on howard....orlando has some injuries also...lewis' knee is not getting any better and hedo's ankle is an issue...i like how boston matches up with the magic

[celticinorlando]

and my question is this...How does KG look so good according to Doc last week....before the cleveland road trip to not being able to run the next? all he did was rehab...what caused him to go backwards? i mean all we heard was he was progressing nicely...no real setbacks...DOc even flat out said he would play in the first game in the playoffs...then to the injury being so bad it was going to shut him down? i just don't get what is going on

[Jon]

and my question is this...How does KG look so good according to Doc last week....before the cleveland road trip to not being able to run the next? all he did was rehab...what caused him to go backwards? i mean all we heard was he was progressing nicely...no real setbacks...DOc even flat out said he would play in the first game in the playoffs...then to the injury being so bad it was going to shut him down? i just don't get what is going on

Again, like I said above, I think it's a case of that it's better to say he's out and then be surprised when he comes back, then to say he's coming back and then be demoralized when he doesn't. 

[Quinn]

am i the only one who saw this coming?
D:

[cordobes]

Good thread. This morning I had the chance of having a very interesting, albeit short, conversation on this issue with a world-wide respected and well-renowned specialist on techniques in knee surgery and sports medicine (Dr. José Carlos Noronha) and he basically said "nobody but them [C's medical team] can say what's going on; and maybe not even them are aware of what the problem is". But he also finds the information available quite puzzling.

Personally, I'd answer the questions with a "Probably no, they aren't" and a "If so, there's a chance he can still play". Personally, I'm still not convinced there's no correlation between the bone spur and the inflammation on the tendon. If there isn't, why isn't Garnett cured yet? And why the heck are they going to perform surgery on a bone spur that isn't causing any ill effect?

Oh well, I've always assumed some cortisone shots would be enough to put Garnett on the floor, but that's obviously not the case, so who knows what's happening?

"I'd say it's not likely" that it's a damaged popliteus tendon, said Dr. Riley Williams, the New Jersey Nets' team physician and an orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. "It's such an unusual diagnosis. It seldom occurs in isolation."

True, it's very rare, but it still happens. And that could very well explain why he isn't healed yet, as it'd be easy to misdiagnosis and generally the popliteus won't stretch by itself without direct massage. Assuming this is the correct diagnosis, then KG should be pain-free at some point during the playoffs.

[Jon]

Another thing to consider, if Garnett really was 100% out for the playoffs, why wouldn't they just do the bone spur surgery now?  If they're waiting on that, it must be because they at least harbor some hope that he'll return.  What percentage that is, none of us know.  But I think it's definitely plausible. 

[BirdNerd]

When I attempt to break this down logically, this situation is 100% conflicting and grey. 

Things pointing to KG WILL BE COMING BACK!!

1)  as previous posters mentioned, he was targeted for the last few games of the regular season with no word on a setback.  The shutdown was ONLY from Doc and out of nowhere.
2)  MANY times in past interviews, Doc defers injury questions, claiming little knowledge, and leaving it up to the trainers, joking that he's not a REAL Doc.   Now he's the spokesperson on this?  odd.
3)  IF its truly only a tendon strain (google that particular strain, read up) amateur athletes return after a little R/R and rehab.  KG is a greyhound!!
4)  He's already played several games with this injury!!!  And it was WEEKS ago.
5)  The Celtics brass, Danny, Doc, Wyc ARE coy and calculated.   These are smart dudes that have reasons for what they do.


THINGS POINTING TO NO RETURN
1)   The Celtics are coy and are clearly not be disclosing what is really going on.   And there is a more serious injury.
2)   Danny literally had a heart attack the day of the announcement.   Heart attacks are often triggered by traumatic emotional, stressful events (and he knows the truth here).
3)  He kept getting set back and set back.   They tried to no avail.
4)   We take this at face value.

Hope for the best, expect the worst.   And like Bob Ryan wrote, the worst here ain't so bad.   One chip in bank, and a darn good exciting competitive team to cheer for.

[HYPE.]

2)   Danny literally had a heart attack the day of the announcement.   Heart attacks are often triggered by traumatic emotional, stressful events (and he knows the truth here).

Actually, Danny's heart attack came from a clogged artery, so it was from high cholesterol, not high stress. Good post, though. Makes me hopeful for KG's return.