Kevin Garnett is competing for more than an NBA championship this spring. He’s working on his legacy, too.
At 31 years old, and complemented by a support group that depends on 32-year-old Ray Allen and 30-year-old Paul Pierce, Garnett could be experiencing his best shot at a championship. With a team built on defense and the multiple skills of its three stars, the Celtics compiled an NBA best regular season record of 66 and 16. Boston improved from 24-58 a year ago, a dramatic turn around shaped considerably by Garnett in his first season with the Celtics.
How long the honeymoon continues belongs right at the top of NBA stories to watch. Those who thought the Celtics would cruise to the NBA finals already received a wake up call when Boston struggled to win a seven game first round playoff series with Atlanta.
The Celtics also labored in their opening second round game with Cleveland on Tuesday night. Allen, who averaged 17.4 points per game during the regular season, didn’t score. Pierce scored four points after averaging 16.3. Garnett carried the team, scoring 28 points including two baskets in the last two minutes that were vital to Boston’s 76-72 win.
Last night the Celtics easily won game two against the Cavs, with an 89-73 win. The big three clicked as Pierce scored 19, Allen 16 and Garnett had 13 points with 12 rebounds.
Anything less than the NBA finals will be considered a disappointment for the Celtics. An ending before then will bring suggestions the Celtics are too old and wore down during the 82 game regular season schedule and the playoffs.
Those allegations could be fair. Boston’s big three is aging and in the NBA that usually means players in their 30s are more susceptible to injuries and have less energy.
Garnett has a lot of “miles” on his body. This past season was his 13th in the NBA, with all the previous years in Minneapolis with the Timberwolves. He came straight from high school as an 18-year-old, not even giving his body the opportunity to play fewer games in the less demanding college game.
Next season Garnett will be 32, his birthday is May 19. Will he still be without a championship ring? Although he was third in the MVP voting this year, was honored as the league’s defensive player of the year and is an 11 time NBA All-Star game selection, Garnett’s name is included but doesn’t rank at the top of a list with his best contemporaries. Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and Jason Kidd have all either won rings or at least been to the finals. Even Steve Nash, who hasn’t made the finals, has won two NBA MVP awards while Garnett has one.
A lot of folks with good basketball IQ’s would take any of the above mentioned players before Garnett if they were all 20 years old and starting their careers. Garnett’s won a string of rebound titles and consistently averaged around 20 points per game, while being an excellent defender and good passer. He hasn’t, though, been an extraordinary clutch scorer or playmaker.
To use some George Bush type terminology, Garnett is steady superbly good. So far in his career he can be remembered for that. He has to be more if one day he’s going to be found among the game’s 50 greatest players and someone who carried his team to a title. In a series of nationally televised playoff games starting now Garnett must often be dominating, spectacular and the leader during the most important moments. Nothing less will provide the best legacy.
Garnett will be judged by his entire career but what he and the Celtics do this spring will jump off the page of his final resume.