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Three keys for Kevin Garnett for the 2009-2010 season
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AP Photo/Charles Krupa: KG is back on the floor for the Cs.
The approach of a new basketball season is like watching a sun rise – it’s painstakingly slow, you sit and await with intense anticipation, and it’s emergence brings hope and happiness. However, there will always be a sunset, and depending on the talent of your team, that sun can easily find itself hidden by some water-logger clouds of doom. Each member of the Celtics’ starting five has an individual set of issues that must be addressed properly in order for the Celtics’ season forecast to include nothing but bright sunshine.
Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kendrick Perkins
Kevin Garnett
1) Core and lower body. Let’s be honest, there’s not much wrong with KG’s game. He is a complete player – he is one of the best defenders of my lifetime, a great rebounder, a well-rounded scorer, and an intense leader who puts winning ahead of just about everything else. He elevates his teammates unlike most other stars can. With that said, he can’t help that much when he’s not playing. His absence was immeasurable during last year’s playoffs, as one can only wonder how Boston would have gone in its title defense if it had a full roster with KG leading the charge. A recent article by Slam outlines KG’s training regimen, which focused on strengthening his core and legs. The article includes a lot of quotes from KG’s summer trainer, Joe Abunassar, who spoke to me about his training program with the Celtics as well. Slam’s piece on Joe can be found here, and mine here. If Joe’s new program for KG ends up working out, we may see a stronger, and healthier KG than we’ve seen over the last two years (which is saying something because prior to his knee injury last year, he looked great). We might even have proof already, based on the numerous alley-oops he’s already finished off from Rajon Rondo.
2) Interior scoring. Again, there isn’t much to knock KG on, but at times he does get tentative scoring in the paint. How often did we see him miss layups or opt to roam around the perimeter last year, and especially during the 2008 playoffs? He has the size and talent to finish inside, and he often does, but his occasional weak approaches bely his enormous talent and ferocious on-court nature. Next time Al Horford is in your face, KG, just throw it down.
3) Consistency in the playoffs. Key #2 leads us right into the final key for KG, which won’t apply until April. KG was inconsistent during the 2008 playoffs, sometimes even disappearing for stretches and forcing the team to rely on the other members of the Big Three, and the bench (the latter especially when Ray was struggling with his shot in the first couple of rounds). Did he end up putting up good numbers? Yes, to the tune of 20/10 during the Celtics’ championship run. However, he could have put up even better numbers than that, if you can believe it. Again, We’re nitpicking here, because KG is the total package.
Chances of accomplishing the tasks above: Very good. Anytime someone doubts KG, or puts an obstacle in front of him, he grins and overachieves. People look at this injury and feel like there’s no way that KG can return to form, yet he’s played very well during the pre-season. It’s almost as if task #1 is already accomplished. I can see steps #2 and #3 going just fine for KG, now that his fire has been turned to white hot in the face of the judgmental and doubting media. He’s ready to lead this team again, and I think that we’re going to see a KG just as good, if not better, than the one we saw two seasons ago.
You can follow me on twitter as well (rawdenm).
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