Kevin Garnett aka “The Big Ticket” was traded to the Boston Celtics in the summer of 2007, this was after the Celtics traded Ray Allen. To say the least, he was like a kid in a candy store. My beloved Celtics had fallen on such hard times with the death of Len Bias Reggie Lewis while making some pretty bad draft decisions. I knew that the passion and great energy that Kevin Garnett brought to each and every game and being a great one-on-one defender and team defender would make the Celtics the team to beat. He was right, the Celtics dominated the regular season and they dominated the Lakers in the finals.
Kevin Garnett is and always has been a very selfless great player. In my personal opinion, he is one of the best power forwards to ever play the game. There’s nothing he can’t do. In his career, he averages around 20 points per game, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks. The way he rotates on defense is a beautiful thing and how the energy from him rubs off on others just shows what a great team leader he is.
Since the addition of Kevin Garnett, the Celtics have been one of the top 3 defensive teams in the league. Even this year, the Celtics have only given up about 91 points per game. This is one of the main reasons why it is so important for the Celtics to succeed next year. As long as he can grab rebounds, play with energy, play one-on-one defense well, and team-help defense, the Celtics will always be a team to contend with. Personally, if I were to start a team today, a guy like Kevin Garnett would be one of my best options. He’s seriously underrated when he makes some people’s all-time list simply because he played on some not-so-great Minnesota Timberwolves teams. Not to mention, the West was pretty stacked for most of his career. To say Garnett flopped in Minnesota is grossly unfair considering the franchise has never won anything and being the small market they are, they probably never will.
Kevin Garnett is starting to slow down, he’s getting older and I don’t think he’ll play much longer. However, I think he has a good year left. Next year I’ll call it last stand 2012. Last stand is just last stand for the big three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. These three guys can still play the Celtics, they just need to build a solid bench around themselves and I really think the rest will take care of itself.
How important is Kevin Garnett to the Celtics? He is simply the heart and soul of the team.