Kevin Garnett wasn’t satisfied with his oft-dispiriting play of last season, and has a way to ensure that similar struggles won’t plague him in 2014-2015. How? By playing with an “edge” that the notoriously intense future Hall-of-Famer apparently lacked in his first season with the Brookyn Nets.
KG: "I have a little bit of an edge to me this year. I’ll say that. I didn’t like how I ended last year, or how I even started last year."
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) October 27, 2014
Scary.
This is the same guy that pounds his head on the basket stanchion before games and ranks among the league’s biggest trash talkers. Garnett is also known for going out of his way to intimidate young players and being one of the hardest working practice players in NBA history. He once got down on all fours and barked at Jerryd Bayless!
“A little bit of an edge?” We can’t wait to see what theatrics KG has up his sleeve for this season considering his already overt passion for the game.
Of course, this is mostly just lip service being offered to clarify that the 38 year-old won’t go down without a fight. Garnett of the first half of 2013-2014 was barely a replacement level player. His steady jumper failed him, his feet were heavy defensively, and he looked every bit his age. That changed once Brook Lopez went down with a season-ending injury and Garnett shifted down to center. KG’s mid-season renaissance directly aligned with the Nets’ as a whole, and that’s not a coincidence. When he’s playing well, Garnett’s two-way influence – even in limited minutes – can still loom very large.
The question many have for this season is if he can maintain that level of play after moving back to power forward as a result of Lopez’s reintegration. And interestingly, Garnett maintains that playing a more perimeter-oriented game and even chasing stretch 4s is far better for him than banging with behemoths in the paint.
Kevin Garnett on difference between playing PF and C: "The four is like running on grass. The five is like running on sand."
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) October 27, 2014
Garnett on playing C: "Playing the five is like being in cement, in sand, dragging, slower." So, Kevin, how much do you like playing there?
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) October 27, 2014
The analogy is classic KG, and actually makes sense for a player approaching 40 with a long history of debilitating lower body injuries. But it also clashes with the one elite tangible skill Garnett still offers: defensive rebounding. He grabbed a career-high and league-leading 32.1 percent of the opponent’s misses in 2013-2014, and corralled an insane 70.4 percent of total boards within three-and-a-half feet of him – the fourth-best mark in the NBA.
He’s still a viable floor-spacer and canny passer from the high post, an invaluable defensive talker, and might be basketball’s best locker room leader. But is Garnett really best suited farther from the paint where his top statistical attribute will be less utilized and decreasing mobility will be highlighted? We’re dubious.
But maybe that’s where KG’s extra edge will pay off in 2014-2015. We’re certainly hoping so, and deeming that development impossible would be remiss after he’s enjoyed such a legendary career.
What do you think?
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