KG must suit up for game 7

[MattD]

Powe playing on his torn ACL for 3 minutes was more effective than Mikki; shall we have Leon suit up, too?

[ForexPirate]

I think he needs to suit up as well - not necessarily play unless people start fouling out again.  Certainly a 50% KG is better than a Mikki or a Scali - we're not playing very agressively on defense because we are afraid to foul due to lack of depth at the big.   I don't want him to play, but if he were available, I would have brought him in at the end of last night's game after we lost Perk and Big Baby.

[ToppersBsktball10]

So a 50% KG is better than a 100% Glen Davis just because he is passionate about winning? I mean I'd love to see KG out there as much as anyone but this is ridiculous. He won't help the team if he is as hurt as doc says he is.

 

who said he was 50%?

[LarBrd33]

So a 50% KG is better than a 100% Glen Davis just because he is passionate about winning? I mean I'd love to see KG out there as much as anyone but this is ridiculous. He won't help the team if he is as hurt as doc says he is.

 

who said he was 50%?

50% KG is definitely better than 100% Glen Davis.   His length alone would disrupt Chicago's defense more.  He's just as capable of knocking down wide open mid range shots.

[youcanthandlethetruth113]

I've been saying this since the end of game 5, but it looks like somebody (Christopher Reina from RealGM) put it in their article (i suppose Simmons did too but not really). Reina writes:

"1. Dress KG

Forget about WR1970 for a second and instead remember the beginning of the Kaffee/Jessep cross-examination in 'A Few Good Men,' when Tom Cruise says, "Defense will be calling Airman Cecil O'Malley and Airman Anthony Perez. They were working the ground crew at Andrews at two a.m. on the seventh." The airmen ubiquitously enter the court room and immediately draw the attention of a now nervous Jack Nicholson.

Just the possibility of Garnett taking the floor will alter Chicago's mental state and his customary F-bombs and taunting will play off a little better in adidas warm-ups than his undertaker suit.

If he can't play at all, then he can't play and there is no harm done in putting Bill Walker in street clothes."

Here's the entire article: http://www.realgm.com/src_feature_pieces/768/20090501/five_points_for_game_7_including_whether_or_not_kg_should_dress/

Thoughts?

[youcanthandlethetruth113]

I like the idea of KG simply DRESSING TO IMPRESS (or in this case scare) the opponent as opposed to him actually playing.

[PaulPierce34G]

I'm for having him dress as well, leaving the possibility of having him come in, keeping the Bulls on their toes.....Just the psychological factor alone could kill Chicago's hope. 

Playing is a different story..I'm sure we would all love to see him play, but with, as ESPN said, 3 yrs, 60 mil left on his contract & this only being a first round series...is it really worth it?  It's not the finals, no need for the theatrics, risking the next 3 seasons..

[noro]

So a 50% KG is better than a 100% Glen Davis just because he is passionate about winning? I mean I'd love to see KG out there as much as anyone but this is ridiculous. He won't help the team if he is as hurt as doc says he is.

 

who said he was 50%?

50% KG is definitely better than 100% Glen Davis.   His length alone would disrupt Chicago's defense more.  He's just as capable of knocking down wide open mid range shots.

So you would rather have a Kevin Garnett who according to Doc cannot run, going out there and laboring to get points than Big Baby, who has been our 4th best player this postseason, and is scoring about 15 with 8 boards, as well as playing good defense?

I still can't understand this argument... A player who can barely run and hasn't seen game action or practice most likely in a month is going to go out there in a game seven and somehow be better than a guy who has flourished in his absence just because it's KG?

I love KG as much as the next guy but this is just unrealistic to expect.

[LarBrd33]

So a 50% KG is better than a 100% Glen Davis just because he is passionate about winning? I mean I'd love to see KG out there as much as anyone but this is ridiculous. He won't help the team if he is as hurt as doc says he is.

 

who said he was 50%?

50% KG is definitely better than 100% Glen Davis.   His length alone would disrupt Chicago's defense more.  He's just as capable of knocking down wide open mid range shots.

So you would rather have a Kevin Garnett who according to Doc cannot run, going out there and laboring to get points than Big Baby, who has been our 4th best player this postseason, and is scoring about 15 with 8 boards, as well as playing good defense?

Heck yeah, I would. 

[LarBrd33]

So a 50% KG is better than a 100% Glen Davis just because he is passionate about winning? I mean I'd love to see KG out there as much as anyone but this is ridiculous. He won't help the team if he is as hurt as doc says he is.

 

who said he was 50%?

50% KG is definitely better than 100% Glen Davis.   His length alone would disrupt Chicago's defense more.  He's just as capable of knocking down wide open mid range shots.

I still can't understand this argument... A player who can barely run and hasn't seen game action or practice most likely in a month is going to go out there in a game seven and somehow be better than a guy who has flourished in his absence just because it's KG?

I love KG as much as the next guy but this is just unrealistic to expect.

I'll explain my reasoning.

Kevin Garnett is the Celtics. 

I need to give Obese credit for making the most of his situation.  43.2 minutes, 18.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1 block with 47% shooting.  He's done well.  A handful of rebounds.  They are rightfully leaving him wide open and he's done a bangup job of knocking down his wide open shots and converting a few of those wide open layups.  Someone needed to get those minutes and he's done a commendable job with them.  

But whereas Glen Davis is the beneficiary of his teammates play (Rondo, Ray, Paul and Perk)... KG's teammates are the beneficiaries of HIS play.  That's the difference, I think.

Our defense is undeniably worse off without Garnett on the floor.  Our team was only good last year because of their defense.  Their offense was never elite.  It was all about defense.  The offense came... but we wouldn't have accomplished anything without our defense.  It's all about constant rotation and KG is the center of that.  His length, quickness and intelligence were the focal point of our entire team.  We're talking about last year's defensive player of the year and one of the greatest players of all time.  A sure hall of famer.  The Bulls simply do NOT burn us inside and kill us with mid range shots with KG in there.  Doesn't happen. Glen Davis is our 3rd string Power forward... a 2nd year player who might knock down some shots but can't offer anything near what KG offers to this team.   

On offense, KG demands attention... thus opening things up for everyone else.  Even with a hand in his face, he will knock down those mid range shots due to his size.   That frees things up for the rest of the players.  Whereas Glen Davis has been left open pretty must constantly (for good reason), making everything else harder for the rest of the team.   KG unquestionably improves us on both ends.

Now... if I honestly thought the guy couldn't walk I'd feel you on this.  But I can't shake the fact that KG played 4 consecutive games late March in limited minutes.  He was "limited" then and they had to shut him down for further rest.  But I don't really get how he could be much worse off over a month later.  We won three of those games and lost the last one by 2 points against Orlando (with KG sitting the entire 4th quarter).  

His stats over the 4 games?  9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1 assist, .8 blocks, .5 steals on 65% shooting in 16.8 minutes. 

Is that "50%" KG?  It's not that spectacular... but if you project those stats to Glen's 43.2 minutes you get  23 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 2 blocks a game.  So basically... right about what KG has averaged throughout his entire HOF career.

Regardless, it's not like Glen would lose minutes... it just means less minutes to crap like Scal and Mikki.   Glen can still get a plethora of minutes... if he comes out in the 2nd unit (where he'll likely struggle without the starters) maybe he can provide a spark. 

But yeah... I'm sorely missing KG and think even at "50%" he'd be a big improvement.

... My theory all along has been that maybe the Celtics can muster 3-4 games out of KG and then his knees will swell up and he'll be unable to move.  I figured KG was going to be unleashed as a "secret weapon"... the NOS in the back of the Fast and Furious car that you activate towards the finish line.   A temporary major boost that thrusts us forward.   In that sense... maybe it's too early to unleash KG.  Maybe we should save him for Orlando or the Cavs.  But I sure hope we can get by Chicago without him

[fairweatherfan]

If KG plays (I don't think this will happen BTW), I think he needs to come off the bench - I'd be worried the starters would try too hard to work him into the game like they did during his first comeback. 

Plus, imagine the boost a guy like him coming in and playing 20-25 minutes would give us.  Our bench would immediately go from D- to at least a solid C, and Baby and Perk could be a little more physical without worrying quite as much about foul trouble.  That would be huge for us.  Not to mention the massive standing O he'd get the first time he checked in.

[drza44]

But whereas Glen Davis is the beneficiary of his teammates play (Rondo, Ray, Paul and Perk)... KG's teammates are the beneficiary of HIS play.  That's the difference, I think.

Excellent point.  I wrote a much more long-winded blog post about that on another site yesterday, pointing out the difference between individual stats and team impact.  Individually, Baby's actually putting up box score stats very similar to what KG has done this year.  But if you look at the team as a whole, the difference is huge.

... My theory all along has been that maybe the Celtics can muster 3-4 games out of KG and then his knees will swell up and he'll be unable to move.  I figured KG was going to be unleashed as a "secret weapon"... the NOS in the back of the Fast and Furious car that you activate towards the finish line.   A temporary major boost that thrusts us forward.   In that sense... maybe it's too early to unleash KG.  Maybe we should save him for Orlando or the Cavs.  But I sure hope we can get by Chicago without him

I feel you on this, and have secretly been nursing this suspicion as well.  In a lot of ways it makes the most sense, that the Cs think/hope they can maybe get 3 - 4 games out of KG, and they've wanted to use them at the right time.  But if there were any kernel of truth in this, I think tomorrow would be a time he'd suit up.  Not necessarily play, but suit up and be held in reserve.  Because if it's late in the game, Perk and/or Baby have fouled out, and the game is close...if he is to be used as NOS, it would have to be then.  We saw last night what can happen when the game is on the line and we're relying on anyone except Perk to protect the rim.

That said...even that secret hope feels too fan-boy of me.  The odds against him playing are pretty long at this point.

[liam]

But whereas Glen Davis is the beneficiary of his teammates play (Rondo, Ray, Paul and Perk)... KG's teammates are the beneficiary of HIS play.  That's the difference, I think.

Excellent point.  I wrote a much more long-winded blog post about that on another site yesterday, pointing out the difference between individual stats and team impact.  Individually, Baby's actually putting up box score stats very similar to what KG has done this year.  But if you look at the team as a whole, the difference is huge.

... My theory all along has been that maybe the Celtics can muster 3-4 games out of KG and then his knees will swell up and he'll be unable to move.  I figured KG was going to be unleashed as a "secret weapon"... the NOS in the back of the Fast and Furious car that you activate towards the finish line.   A temporary major boost that thrusts us forward.   In that sense... maybe it's too early to unleash KG.  Maybe we should save him for Orlando or the Cavs.  But I sure hope we can get by Chicago without him

I feel you on this, and have secretly been nursing this suspicion as well.  In a lot of ways it makes the most sense, that the Cs think/hope they can maybe get 3 - 4 games out of KG, and they've wanted to use them at the right time.  But if there were any kernel of truth in this, I think tomorrow would be a time he'd suit up.  Not necessarily play, but suit up and be held in reserve.  Because if it's late in the game, Perk and/or Baby have fouled out, and the game is close...if he is to be used as NOS, it would have to be then.  We saw last night what can happen when the game is on the line and we're relying on anyone except Perk to protect the rim.

That said...even that secret hope feels too fan-boy of me.  The odds against him playing are pretty long at this point.

Nice, KG = NOS. I like that.

[guava_wrench]

50% KG? Does that really exist? This is real life, not a video game.

If there is a chance that KG can play this playoffs, you save him until the ECF. There is no point in playing him now if he would be toast for the ECF. We can't beat Clev in a series without him. You don't risk his chance of improvement in health by playing him against the Bulls, a team we can beat without him.

[LarBrd33]

50% KG? Does that really exist? This is real life, not a video game.

If there is a chance that KG can play this playoffs, you save him until the ECF. There is no point in playing him now if he would be toast for the ECF. We can't beat Clev in a series without him. You don't risk his chance of improvement in health by playing him against the Bulls, a team we can beat without him.

It just means he'd be rusty, winded and playing through pain... maybe not reacting as quickly.  Kinda like last month.  I'm sure he could muster up the ability to play minutes on pure adrenaline... but the problem is that the next day he'd be toast.  Rondo and Pierce both seem to be playing hurt... Ben Gordon has been playing hurt... and I bet KG could throw himself out there for a few games, but then his body would probably stop cooperating.