Will KG Get Better?

[Greenbean]

I know this topic got tiresome in the summer, but I cannot stop thinking about it when I watch these early C's games. KG looks like he lost a bit of explosiveness and I am wondering if he will get it back this season. For proof I am looking at his dunks or at least dunk attempts. In the past, KG would go up using both legs for power jams. Now on most attempts, he has been only dunking by jumping off the left leg. This has resulted in some misteps and awkward missed dunks. This has also effected his rebounding and quick jumping.

I am hoping that the reason for this is a mental hurdle rather than actual knee pain. Does any one else notice this? I wouldn't say I am overly worried, but rather hopeful that KG can get back some explosiveness making us even more unstoppable.

Explosive or not, KG is still a great player who understands the game on both ends fo the floor and can still be a huge contributor.

[Fan from VT]

Thing is, on some of him missed attempts he's been plenty high enough, just thrown it off the rim too hard. I think those are a timing/coordination thing. It's one thing to dunk in practice and another to dunk in a game when it's split second, less calculated, and you're forced to take off maybe a half step further out than you've practiced. I think he'll figure that out.


I'd like to see him recover his full quickness on D. We'll see, but I imagine he will still improve for a while in that regard if not back to full KG speed.

[Bahku]

He looks a little better each day ... and yes, of course he will get better. This is the type of injury that responds better to consistent aggressive activity than rest ... I think we can count on KG getting plenty of that.

[Rondo2287]

I thought he was pretty dominant in the fourth quarter yesterday.  It seemed like he was hitting big shots when they needed them down the stretch. 

[Bankshot]

He looks a little better each day ... and yes, of course he will get better. This is the type of injury that responds better to consistent aggressive activity than rest ... I think we can count on KG getting plenty of that.

Agreed.

[jimho]

I think it's too early to talk about this. After all, new season is just beginning. Anything will happen. Like Yankees, no one could think that Yankees would have the best standing in the regular season after the 3-game losing streak to Redsox in April.

[Fafnir]

I think it's too early to talk about this. After all, new season is just beginning. Anything will happen. Like Yankees, no one could think that Yankees would have the best standing in the regular season after the 3-game losing streak to Redsox in April.

That's a bad analogy, ever team in baseball loses 3 games.

KG probably won't get all the way back, even last year he didn't look as explosive as he did in 2007-2008. He's an older player, the key is can he still be effective?

So far so good.

[Greenbean]

I think it's too early to talk about this. After all, new season is just beginning. Anything will happen. Like Yankees, no one could think that Yankees would have the best standing in the regular season after the 3-game losing streak to Redsox in April.

That's a bad analogy, ever team in baseball loses 3 games.

KG probably won't get all the way back, even last year he didn't look as explosive as he did in 2007-2008. He's an older player, the key is can he still be effective?

So far so good.

Exactly what I mean. He has shown he can still be effective, but if he gets back to even last year's explsosiveness, then this team is destined for greatness. They can still win without it but will this be a trend of erosion or does he plateau here?

I remember when Shaq was in his last few years with the Lakers and he was struggling with nagging injuries, the team and Kobe kept saying that they were looking for the big fella's explosiveness to come back. When it did, they were unstoppable. He also recaptured it for that run in Miami. I will be looking for the same thing this season from the Big Ticket. When I see him jump with both legs, elevate and dunk over someone, I will be ecstatic. In the meantime I will have to settle for winning by an average of ~19ppg through game 4

[Witch-King]

I dunno, this looks a little like the 'old' KG to me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ3iCxDJ4tM

 

[indeedproceed]

I dunno, this looks a little like the 'old' KG to me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ3iCxDJ4tM

 

Yeah but then show the multiple missed alleys and missed dunk.

I don't think its the end of the world, but KG has def lost significant amounts of explosiveness.

[BballTim]

I dunno, this looks a little like the 'old' KG to me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ3iCxDJ4tM

 

Yeah but then show the multiple missed alleys and missed dunk.

I don't think its the end of the world, but KG has def lost significant amounts of explosiveness.

  I think some of that's due to rust/timing issues.

[Fafnir]

  I think some of that's due to rust/timing issues.

His rebounding rate is down to 15, that's one of the best measures of explosiveness and hops for a player. So hopefully after a month or so he'll get that back to around 16ish like it was in 07/08 and 08/09.

[youcanthandlethetruth113]

To answer the OP simply: YES. He will get better. He's been out of game-shape since he went down last season and with each passing day he gains more strength, conditioning, timing, etc.

Something that is starting to frighten me is when KG goes for the alley-oop from Rondo.

KG always has a guy underneath the rim yet he never hangs onto the rim, which the NBA allows when somebody is underneath the rim to protect themselves from falling on other people's feet and injuring themselves.

Why isn't KG hanging onto the rim after an alley-oop (make or miss) to protect himself?

[Chris]

Will he get better?  Absolutely.  He is still building up strength in the knee, and learning his limitations.

Will he return to what he was in 2008?  That is a tougher question to answer.  I would lean towards no, but I also would not count him out.

[Drucci]

KG will get better and his current health is just fine for me. Remember we were all fearing a "he will never be the same" scenario. Sure, we're just 4 games in the season and I don't want to jinx ourselves by saying that anything can happen but...

His knee is just fine, and that's all you have to know. As for his missed dunks/alley-oops I'm not 100% sure but I think it's more due to his rust or lack of rythm than to his explosiveness. Just look at the dunks/alley-oops he successfully made : I see no difference with the ones he made two years ago. Sure, he missed a lot more dunks than he used to but he's still got the jump to convert them, it's just - for me - a question of rust.