KG's phobia of baskets after the whistle

[KungPoweChicken]

I'm not sure if this has ever been mentioned on Celtics blog, but does anyone have any information on when Garnett started the "no baskets after the whistle philosophy"? I saw a decent amount of Garnett in Minnesota, but I am not certain when he started to do this.


It seems to be a superstition that Garnett has, and when Garnett is out on the floor there truly is no easy buckets. He really imposes his will defensively out there. I can easily see how his teammates could rally around him.

It was really cool when someone took a shot after the whistle, and Garnett wasn't near the basket, a lot of the time Posey would jump up and take the ball down.

Out of all the idiosyncrasies players have, Garnett's no basket after the whistle philosophy is by far the coolest. He is the only player I have seen do this on a consistent basis. What can you say, this is just a cool example of how much more intense Garnett is than most athletes.

[Big Ticket]

"Dead Balls Don't Score". It's a psychological game with the opponent... they love to see the ball go through the basket for their rhythm, even if it doesn't count.  He takes that option away.

"One, a real crowd pleaser, is Dead Balls Don't Score. Over the years NBA players have made it a habit to finish off their shot, or offer up a nonchalant practice toss at the hoop, even after the official has whistled the play dead because of a foul or other infraction. For the past couple of years, Garnett has made it his mission to ensure that no post-whistle shots go into the basket. Frequently, he'll leap high in the air and catch the attempt as it heads downward (it would be goaltending if the play were live). Sometimes he'll just steal the ball before an opponent can shoot it. Early this year, Houston's Cutino Mobley sought to sabotage the ritual with a successful dead-ball basket; twice he and KG went at each other one-on-one long after the whistle had blown. Only once have I seen an opponent make a dead-ball shot when Garnett is trying to deny it: KG walked to the sideline muttering peeved, self-chastising comments."

- Britt Robson

[ACF]

I've seen soccer goalies who'd
rather risk injury than concede
a "goal" after the whistle.

As far as KG is concerned, I really
like that all-out commitment.
It really shows just how hyped the man
is and how much he wants to win.
It's a thing of beauty.

[Cman]

"Dead Balls Don't Score". It's a psychological game with the opponent... they love to see the ball go through the basket for their rhythm, even if it doesn't count.  He takes that option away.

"One, a real crowd pleaser, is Dead Balls Don't Score. Over the years NBA players have made it a habit to finish off their shot, or offer up a nonchalant practice toss at the hoop, even after the official has whistled the play dead because of a foul or other infraction. For the past couple of years, Garnett has made it his mission to ensure that no post-whistle shots go into the basket. Frequently, he'll leap high in the air and catch the attempt as it heads downward (it would be goaltending if the play were live). Sometimes he'll just steal the ball before an opponent can shoot it. Early this year, Houston's Cutino Mobley sought to sabotage the ritual with a successful dead-ball basket; twice he and KG went at each other one-on-one long after the whistle had blown. Only once have I seen an opponent make a dead-ball shot when Garnett is trying to deny it: KG walked to the sideline muttering peeved, self-chastising comments."

- Britt Robson

I just love KG for this type of stuff  --- if his tenacity and drive rub off even a little bit on Patrick O'Bryant, the Cs will have a nice pick up on their hands!

[Steve Weinman]

"Dead Balls Don't Score". It's a psychological game with the opponent... they love to see the ball go through the basket for their rhythm, even if it doesn't count.  He takes that option away.

"One, a real crowd pleaser, is Dead Balls Don't Score. Over the years NBA players have made it a habit to finish off their shot, or offer up a nonchalant practice toss at the hoop, even after the official has whistled the play dead because of a foul or other infraction. For the past couple of years, Garnett has made it his mission to ensure that no post-whistle shots go into the basket. Frequently, he'll leap high in the air and catch the attempt as it heads downward (it would be goaltending if the play were live). Sometimes he'll just steal the ball before an opponent can shoot it. Early this year, Houston's Cutino Mobley sought to sabotage the ritual with a successful dead-ball basket; twice he and KG went at each other one-on-one long after the whistle had blown. Only once have I seen an opponent make a dead-ball shot when Garnett is trying to deny it: KG walked to the sideline muttering peeved, self-chastising comments."

- Britt Robson

On a related note, how awesome is Britt?

I feel guilty every time you post something of his, BT, because it reminds me that I don't read his stuff anywhere near as often as I should.  Really one of the best and brightest around this game - it's truly a pleasure to read his commentaries.  Hoefully not too far of topic, but I just wanted to take a moment to mention that.

And of course I love the dead balls practice by KG.  Wholly agreed about how cool it was when teammates (especially Posey as was mentioned already) would follow suit -- just one more example of his influence.

-sw

[kw10]

"Dead Balls Don't Score". It's a psychological game with the opponent... they love to see the ball go through the basket for their rhythm, even if it doesn't count.  He takes that option away.

"One, a real crowd pleaser, is Dead Balls Don't Score. Over the years NBA players have made it a habit to finish off their shot, or offer up a nonchalant practice toss at the hoop, even after the official has whistled the play dead because of a foul or other infraction. For the past couple of years, Garnett has made it his mission to ensure that no post-whistle shots go into the basket. Frequently, he'll leap high in the air and catch the attempt as it heads downward (it would be goaltending if the play were live). Sometimes he'll just steal the ball before an opponent can shoot it. Early this year, Houston's Cutino Mobley sought to sabotage the ritual with a successful dead-ball basket; twice he and KG went at each other one-on-one long after the whistle had blown. Only once have I seen an opponent make a dead-ball shot when Garnett is trying to deny it: KG walked to the sideline muttering peeved, self-chastising comments."

- Britt Robson

What?! Mobley scored a basket after the whistle....no way! haha
I believe KG's been doing this for quite a few years now. And It's great to see opponents get demoralised like that.

[jdub1660]

Thats the funniest thing to see when KG takes the ball out of the air. He really should consider doing the Mutombo wave. Either way, to mimic the Red Sox "That's just Manny being Manny" we'll say, " Thats KG being KG". Its just like when a player makes a crazy dunk on someone. 2ex. 1. Rondo dunked on ...Maxiell I think it was. KG came over, slapped his hand away 3 times before picking him up. I was scared for Rondo b/c you never knew when to get up and not get slapped. 2. Powe had a similar dunk on someone else in the play offs. KG does the crazy high fives/chest bumping thing as well. That's just KG being KG...No matter how many years he play basketball, he'll always be the Kid

[WillC]

KG is such a great player to watch. I loved the way he psyched the young Hawks out. Those young guys looked like "Oh my God, that dude is insane" LOL. And then Pachulia tried to talk mess back only to get sent home.

[Redz]

It's more of a pet peeve than a phobia.  Plenty of other guys do it.  Ricky Davis comes to mind (which might also dispell the defensive intensity aspect of protecting the goal after the whistle)

[zerophase]

i think its good. if he allows it, it gives the opposing player a free shot, you know, as a heat check. free shoot around shots give an advantage to the other side.

[RockinRyA]

i believe perk is doing it now too

[indeedproceed]

Big Ticket...that was awesome. Thank you.

[Sun Devil]

All of my friends at school (celtics haters) gave me Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline. about it, and to tell you the truth after a while it started to bother me as well. Idk what it is, but sometimes it looks like he think he's bigger than the game when he does that kind of stuff. I thought it was pretty funny when I saw someone pump fake him this year after a dead ball. KG was so p---ed.

(Don't get me wrong, still love everything he's done for us.)

[Fan from VT]

(Knocking on wood)

No problem with this habit, but i'm just hoping we don't get a martin gramatica/tony allen type incident...

[JSD]

The first person I saw do this (no basket after whistle) was Ricky Davis as a Celtic. I think when he was traded to the Twolves KG inherited the habit from him.