RE: Garnett

You see, here is why the strength of this blog lies in the numbers and the fact that one of the contributors lives in DC and not Boston. Somebody from DC has the balls to criticize KG which I acknowledged at the time was sacrelig to people in Boston.

First and foremost, the C's would not be where they currently are without KG. I absolutely love that a) the C's are relevant again and b) Paul Pierce finally gets to show the rest of the basketball loving world what a GREAT and I mean GREAT player he is and without KG absolutely none of this occurs. If you are a C's fan and you are a touch too young to appreciate the Bird Era but old enough to know the true sting of Reggie Lewis and how great he was then you best include Pierce's game 5 against Philly in 2002 and his first round series against Indy in 2003 as your favorite fan moments of your lifetime. If you don't remember the Indy series, let me refresh you memory...

Pierce won the first game by getting himself to the line and hitting all of his shots but he really took it to another level in his landmark game 5 (I think) where he caught fire in the second half, lead the C's back from a double-digit deficit, and ended the third quarter by calling an iso for himself against Al Harrington and draining a deep three in his grill with an, "I'm going to dick on you and there is nothing you can do about it Albert" look on his face the whole time. That is still the most exhilirating paly I have seen in my Celtic cheering life just because you saw it coming from a mile a way and when he drilled that shot, it was the ultimate WHAT...WHAT moment to the Pacers who were the far and away better team. Remember who coached that Indy team? I'll give you hint, he currently is the coach/GM for the Knicks.

But anyway, back to KG.

I still don't mean to disparage the contributions he has made to the team and the organization, but he absolutely needs to play on the block more. I will not back down from that statement. Is it a coincedence that every single team since MJ retired to win a title (go ahead, challenge me here) has featured a dominant post player? Of course not. I don't care how well you shoot the J, the J is a shot that will come and go. However, if you pound the ball down low and attack the rim you will not only get more high percentage shots but you will also draw fouls AND get the other team's big in foul trouble. Not only that, but jump shots will get you back into as many games as they will bury you because if that is all you settle for then in games where they aren't falling you are SOL as opposed to pounding the ball down low because at least there you can get to the line. If you need even more reasoning, by pouding the ball into the paint to a big with a good knack for passing like KG - and BTW, passing has always been the most underrated part of Shaq's game - then the big can command a double team and kick out to the perimeter guys, which is a pretty good thing to do when you have Ray Allen on your squad. If you're really an NBA guy then think of all the big shots that Derek Fisher, Brian Shaw, Steve Kerr, and Bob Horry hit during the Lakers/Spurs domination that has occurred since 2001.

OK, enough bickering for now. I don't want to hate on KG because I love what he has done, but I will leave you with one thought...

The Pistons and Celtics are clearly a cut above every other Eastern Conference team. When the C's play the Pistons, after Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups, the guy you have to fear the most there is Rasheed Wallace. When you see Rasheed - who Charles Barkley said on TNT the other night could be the best player in the NBA if he wanted to, a brash statement but Barkley's a HOFer so you need to at least pay him a little mind - head to the three point line to jack a three you get a little excited right? Wouldn't you rather see Wallace hoist some threes and long Js as opposed to using his god-given talent and size to back his defender down to get either a layup or turnaround J? Of course you would. You give him the three ten times out of ten. And I promise you that is how the C's opponents feel when they see KG taking jumpers all night long. Sure he may hit them more than he misses but I know they'd rather him take long Js than attack the basket.

And one more thought before I sign off...

The above is EXACTLY why Antoine Walker never developed into an All NBA type player. Antoine in his younger days was quicker than any 4 in the league and a great passer. I remeber watching him in his early years destroy Karl Malone while still in his prime and drop 50 on Juwan Howard and the Bullets and thinking to myself what kind of player Antoince could become. And then he fell in love with the three point shot. And I'll end it there because you all probably know how this story ends. If not, yadda, yadda, yadda he's now about 100 pounds over weight and playing for one of the worst teams in the NBA.

That's it for now. I hope other people than us authors are reading this. I'm trying to spread the word.