Note to KG: Step Up!!!

[Bankshot]

How ridiculous does KG look now, all the barking and cussing on the court and then comes up real small in the biggest playoff game to date.  Is the reason that he doesn't like to play center because he doesn't like contact inside?  He certainly avoids it like the plague!  Cmon KG!.. you are the biggest guy on the court, get the ball inside and throw it down!

Personally, I think he's just a lousy post player.  You see he makes all these jumpers but misses a bunch of easy shots inside.  And when he gets 5 feet from the basket, he passes it out instead of taking the easy shot (probably because he misses the easy shots so much).

My gawd he was sooo frustrating last night.  And he was supposed to be the MVP?  NOT!

I didn't believe it before, but I do believe now that he doesn't like the ball in crunch time.  And that's a shame for a guy with so much talent.

Oh well, we still have PP.  At least he's not afraid to be the closer.  I can only remember one game that KG dominated down the stretch (there are probably a few more that I remember, but not many) and that was the Houston game when Yao was still playing.  Now that I think of it, that was all PP too, because PP had 4 or 5 assists to KG under the basket for easy hoops.

Time for KG to step up and show why people thought he should be the MVP.  If he doesn't want to do it?.... get the ball to PP!

[Las Vegas Asian]

TP. Great points & my frustrations exactly! Forgot how many times he had a mismatch with either Bibby or Childress guarding him and never once did it enter in his mind to drive to the hoop.     

[Redz]

Last night might have been the first game all year that KG didn't have a shot from the top of the key area.  They actually had him down on the box quite a bit.  He just doesn't like it there that much apparently.  I think he's lost a little bit of his ability to flat out dunk people and he's reluctant to take the short shots because he does tend to miss them a lot.

The rebounding's another issue...

[tanner]

there's no excuse for the choke job at the end.  but did anyone notice his lack of intensity throughout the entire game? i think he may have went too far keeping his emotions in check.

strikes me that KG has to be on a certain emotional plane to be effective on court.  the bigger the game, it seems the more emotional he has to be.  but he just wasn't in this game.  i guess it's partly the physicality of the game but he looked to be managing his emotions out there. take his blocks on bibby and smith, for example--KG would have ordinarily been so animated and spewing expletives left and right.

then again, maybe i just don't want to accept that KG gets nervous and intimidated in big games.

which KG shows up in game 7?  i hope a mad and aggressive KG.  he's just not going to throw away his first real chance in years to accomplish something to a bunch of punk upstarts in atlanta. time to put an end to all this upset foolishness!

[Triboy16]

Like i knew all along , kg is a choker in pressure situations. Yeah when your ahead you start pounching your chest, beating your head against the backboard pole but when the pressure kicks in the guy is scared and clueless.

23 million for a guy like this ?? He is worth 12 to 13 million

Al Jefferson not nearly the defensive player kg is, has guts, wants the ball in pressure situations, can actually score, can rebound. I miss al

[dark_lord]

more like,

Note to the entire celtics roster and coaching staff: Step up!!!

[Roy Hobbs]

Yeah...  KG has come up somewhat small this series.  His numbers don't look terrible, but if you look at his actual performances, he lacks any sort of aggression or clutch play.  It's disconcerting, and I'm starting to understand some of the criticism he received in Minnesota.  I've defended him in the past for attacks against his playoff record, but that was mostly due to good stats, rather than me having watched the games.  If his performance then was the same as it was now, I get where people are coming from.

Also, the KG vs. Tim Duncan debate is looking more and more like a landslide.

[Triboy16]

Yeah...  KG has come up somewhat small this series.  His numbers don't look terrible, but if you look at his actual performances, he lacks any sort of aggression or clutch play.  It's disconcerting, and I'm starting to understand some of the criticism he received in Minnesota.  I've defended him in the past for attacks against his playoff record, but that was mostly due to good stats, rather than me having watched the games.  If his performance then was the same as it was now, I get where people are coming from.

Also, the KG vs. Tim Duncan debate is looking more and more like a landslide.

hobbs by a lanslide. You see the hawks not even double teaming him at all?? the guy is also afraid to make mistakes and thats why he passes up 5 footers. I have also never seen him take a charge much of this year in the defensive end for the team.

Wow do i ever wish harder we could have got the third pick, got al horford and had a heck of a team, with him , al , pierce and rondo

[reggie35]

Yeah...  KG has come up somewhat small this series.  His numbers don't look terrible, but if you look at his actual performances, he lacks any sort of aggression or clutch play.  It's disconcerting, and I'm starting to understand some of the criticism he received in Minnesota.  I've defended him in the past for attacks against his playoff record, but that was mostly due to good stats, rather than me having watched the games.  If his performance then was the same as it was now, I get where people are coming from.

Also, the KG vs. Tim Duncan debate is looking more and more like a landslide.

hobbs by a lanslide. You see the hawks not even double teaming him at all?? the guy is also afraid to make mistakes and thats why he passes up 5 footers. I have also never seen him take a charge much of this year in the defensive end for the team.

Wow do i ever wish harder we could have got the third pick, got al horford and had a heck of a team, with him , al , pierce and rondo

It's not time to start piling on KG just yet. I'll reserve all judgements until after game 7. Doc on the other hand...

[SShoreFan]

disappointed.


Sorry Cornbread -- KG is no Larry

[Hoops]

I'm with Hobbs - I didn't buy into KG's lack of clutchness before. But I understand it now. Those couple of plays where he got the ball near the free-throw line (wide open and facing the basket) and then awkwardly turned to kick it out (unnecessarily) were painful to watch. His post game is also proving to be weaker than we already knew it to be. Tough to watch.

I'm not worried about Sunday - I think we'll dismantle the Hawks in game 7. But I am a concerned that the Hawks have exposed us enough for other teams to create big problems. We'll see.