Tuesday, May 25, 2004
KG (I Love This Game)
I know this isn’t very irreverent or cutting edge, but I just want to gush for a while. Basically, I love Kevin Garnett. I really have no bias here, since he doesn’t play for my team, didn’t go to my college (or any college), and I don’t have a distant cousin that used to hang with a guy in his posse. I just watch the NBA. Often times the NBA gives me a pathetic product and very little to remind me of the halcyon days of Bird and Magic. Then KG steps on the court, douses the scoring table with powder, and just plays ball the way it should be played.
Shaq takes games off; KG doesn’t even take plays off. Kobe has to be convinced to pass more; KG has to be convinced to shoot more. My beloved Paul Pierce has a tendency to mope and pout; KG is focused on the next play.
Is he perfect? Nope. He sometimes has this awful habit of passing to teammates that have no business touching the ball in crucial situations. He has been known to be overly emotional (like that time when he couldn’t stop screaming at Tim Duncan like he was one of the Palace Guard). Until this year, he hasn’t been able to lead a team out of the first round. Of course you could flip each of those faults. Faith in teammates is what leadership is all about. Emotion channeled properly is called passion. First round losses translates into that all important “experience” that is critical to sustained growth. Think Shaq and Jordan before they met Phil Jackson.
So what has KG done this year? Nothing except catapult himself into the next level. Will he win a title this year? Who knows? He has established himself as a winner and someone that can and will take this team to the next level. It sometimes easy to forget, but he’s still under 30, he’s still over seven feet, and he’s getting better. I’m just glad I get to watch.
