How bad do you think KG's Knee is?

[LB3533]

Better or not, the knee injury isn't preventing KG from running the break with Rondo nor preventing KG to dive for loose balls and calling a timeout to save that possession.

Facts and your eyes should tell you that KG is still giving up his body, even if his body is merely at 70 or 80%

[hpantazo]

The knee is good enough to convince management to pay for Sheed and Daniels this past summer to go for the title, and good enough in Feb. to convince management not to trade Ray Allen and/or any other starter and continue to go for the title this year.

[crownsy]

extremely bad.  Next year will be his last playing in the NBA.  He's not coming back after the Lockout.

Doesn't square at all with what we have been seeing the last month.

He is clearly a step slower two years and a surgery removed from the championship, but plays like the one last night where he out ran every other big on the floor, took a rondo pass, and got fouled hard and bounced back up after putting the layup up emphasizes how ridiculous this viewpoint is.

Is he the same KG he was, a top 10 player in the nba? no, and he never will be. Is he looking like he is getting back to being an all-star caliber big in this league? absoultly.

He's been very good the last three weeks. even last night when he couldn't hit a shot to save his life, he played good defense, rebounded well, and ran the floor hard all night.

Not sure what else you want out of an aging vet coming back off a knee injury.

I guess he needs to put up 25 and 10 a night to be considered more than a "shell" of his former self around here 

[housecall]

Not worried about it.

I thought KG was playing like a top 10 player in the league earlier this season.

Garnett still looks athletic enough to be an elite player. Not what he was two years ago but still elite.

Agreed...when they hold the other team to 83pts.,KG's imprint has been put on that game in someway.Some people don't get the defensive part of his game is where he hangs his hat these days.If he gives you both in a game its all the better but i don't expect him to score 18-20pts.consistently at this point.tp

[LarBrd33]

extremely bad.  Next year will be his last playing in the NBA.  He's not coming back after the Lockout.

Doesn't square at all with what we have been seeing the last month.

He is clearly a step slower two years and a surgery removed from the championship, but plays like the one last night where he out ran every other big on the floor, took a rondo pass, and got fouled hard and bounced back up after putting the layup up emphasizes how ridiculous this viewpoint is.

Is he the same KG he was, a top 10 player in the nba? no, and he never will be. Is he looking like he is getting back to being an all-star caliber big in this league? absoultly.

He's been very good the last three weeks. even last night when he couldn't hit a shot to save his life, he played good defense, rebounded well, and ran the floor hard all night.

Not sure what else you want out of an aging vet coming back off a knee injury.

I guess he needs to put up 25 and 10 a night to be considered more than a "shell" of his former self around here 

Nah.  He's not as good as he use to be.  Whether it's the knee or age doesn't matter.  Much of his athleticism is gone.  He's slow and he can't get off the ground like he use to.   You can see he's frustrated.  The man is no longer an alpha dog.  As they keep saying... KG's mind knows what to do, but his body can't do it anymore.  He'll play next season at a similar average level... then there is going to be a lockout.  By the time the lockout ends, KG will be 36 years old, the Celtics will no longer be a serious contender and he'll be a free agent.  He'll have too much pride to continue limping around.  He will have had 16 years under his belt and at least once championship.  He'll decide to call it quits and move on with his life. 

Next year is his last playing for the Celtics... we'll see if he can make it without calling it quits earlier due to injury.

[Vermont Green]

I am not going to make any statements that imply that I think I know the future but I will say that my concerns are not based on KG's stats, it is how he looks on the court.

Garnett looked great I thought at the beginning of the season.  Then he hyperextended his knee against GSW on 12/28 and missed 10 games.  I am not sure what he is recovering from, the surgery last off season or the hyperextension?  He has played about 20 games since coming back from the hyperextension and still looks gimpy to me.  That is plenty of time to recover from a hyperextended knee I think.  There must be something else going on in his knee.

[liam]

I think he's still rounding into top shape. It takes a while , sometimes a year, to recover from a major injury. With that said he's only got so much left. If he can  get a little better than he's playing right now and depending on the match-ups, I think we have a real shot at a tittle this year.

[Chris]

I think he's still rounding into top shape. It takes a while , sometimes a year, to recover from a major injury. With that said he's only got so much left. If he can  get a little better than he's playing right now and depending on the match-ups, I think we have a real shot at a tittle this year.

What major injury?  As far as we know, all he had was a sprain, and some bone spurs in his knee.  He had minor surgery to remove the bone chips. 

KG is not (supposedly) recovering from a torn ACL. 

To me, it is one of 3 things:

a. They lied to us about his injury
b. KG just has had terrible luck, and has had several, unrelated, injuries on the same knee over the last year and a half, and he is still trying to work back from that
c. KG is just getting older, and the wear and tear on his knee, has made his knee prone to injuries to that knee, and he keeps having setbacks, mainly because of the mileage he has on his legs catching up to him.

Personally, I think it's "c".  Basically, he is turning into Chris Webber or even Arvedis Sabonis.  He just needs to accept it, and move on to that part of his career.

[ForexPirate]

i think I saw somewhere that he has shin splints now.  Shin splints don't go away unless they are rested.  When his leg gets packed in ice - its always the shin.

[Vermont Green]

Hyperextended knee injuries vary in severity. It occurs when the knee is forced backwards. Dancers, volleyball players, gymnasts, and those who jump and make contact during sports are vulnerable to hyperextension of the knee.

The most common symptom of a hyperextended knee injury is pain and swelling, treated initially with rest, ice, compression and elevation (RICE) until more information can be gleaned about the injury. Knee instability may not be immediately apparent because of swelling.

The ACL ligament (anterior cruciate ligament) can be torn when the knee is hyperextended, leading to a more serious injury. The tear can be partial or complete. Surgery might be required, followed by physical therapy and six to nine months recovery time before engaging in sports activity.

Most hyperextended knee injuries, not involving a tear to the ligament, required about two to four weeks of rest. A knee brace can be used for hyperextended knee injuries to help with stability and further risk of injury.

So I answered my own question about HE Knee recovery time, 2-4 weeks if no tear.  He HE'ed his knee on 12/28, about 10 weeks ago and I don't buy that KG needs more than 20 games to get in shape.

[BballTim]

I think he's still rounding into top shape. It takes a while , sometimes a year, to recover from a major injury. With that said he's only got so much left. If he can  get a little better than he's playing right now and depending on the match-ups, I think we have a real shot at a tittle this year.

What major injury?  As far as we know, all he had was a sprain, and some bone spurs in his knee.  He had minor surgery to remove the bone chips. 

KG is not (supposedly) recovering from a torn ACL. 

To me, it is one of 3 things:

a. They lied to us about his injury
b. KG just has had terrible luck, and has had several, unrelated, injuries on the same knee over the last year and a half, and he is still trying to work back from that
c. KG is just getting older, and the wear and tear on his knee, has made his knee prone to injuries to that knee, and he keeps having setbacks, mainly because of the mileage he has on his legs catching up to him.

Personally, I think it's "c".  Basically, he is turning into Chris Webber or even Arvedis Sabonis.  He just needs to accept it, and move on to that part of his career.

  According to Danny the bone spurs were a much bigger deal than they thought they were going to be before they opened up his knee and the operation was a longer-lasting and more extensive surgery than was planned.

[Chris]

I think he's still rounding into top shape. It takes a while , sometimes a year, to recover from a major injury. With that said he's only got so much left. If he can  get a little better than he's playing right now and depending on the match-ups, I think we have a real shot at a tittle this year.

What major injury?  As far as we know, all he had was a sprain, and some bone spurs in his knee.  He had minor surgery to remove the bone chips. 

KG is not (supposedly) recovering from a torn ACL. 

To me, it is one of 3 things:

a. They lied to us about his injury
b. KG just has had terrible luck, and has had several, unrelated, injuries on the same knee over the last year and a half, and he is still trying to work back from that
c. KG is just getting older, and the wear and tear on his knee, has made his knee prone to injuries to that knee, and he keeps having setbacks, mainly because of the mileage he has on his legs catching up to him.

Personally, I think it's "c".  Basically, he is turning into Chris Webber or even Arvedis Sabonis.  He just needs to accept it, and move on to that part of his career.

  According to Danny the bone spurs were a much bigger deal than they thought they were going to be before they opened up his knee and the operation was a longer-lasting and more extensive surgery than was planned.

I think that is an overstatement.  From what I remember, Danny said that the bone spurs were bigger than they though, however, he maintained that it was still a minor surgery.

[Greenbean]

i think I saw somewhere that he has shin splints now.  Shin splints don't go away unless they are rested.  When his leg gets packed in ice - its always the shin.

Shin splints have been a problem for him all year I think and it is related to his changing his gait from the knee injury. Both Doc and KG have said as much at different points this year. I think that has slowed him at various points. Shin splints can really sap athleticism.

It is impossible to know where pain, if any, might be coming from since he wont tell us himself.

[Fafnir]

Once you start having knee or back problems as an older athlete you never really stop.

I think he looks pretty good, now its just a matter of getting his play to match his physical skill set.

[Chris]

i think I saw somewhere that he has shin splints now.  Shin splints don't go away unless they are rested.  When his leg gets packed in ice - its always the shin.

Shin splints have been a problem for him all year I think and it is related to his changing his gait from the knee injury. Both Doc and KG have said as much at different points this year. I think that has slowed him at various points. Shin splints can really sap athleticism.

It is impossible to know where pain, if any, might be coming from since he wont tell us himself.

I never heard the part about changing the gait, but I know it was an issue early in the season, because of the sudden increase in activity, after resting the leg for so long.

He also said that his biggest issue a couple weeks ago was actually his calf.

Basically, I think this all points to a guy getting older, and the bumps and bruises building up, compounding each other, and just not being able to fight through them like he used to.