Kevin Garnett Leads Boston Celtics to Next Round over the Atlanta Hawks 83-80

Coming into this game, almost everyone was saying that the key for the Boston Celtics would be Rajon Rondo. Paul Pierce had a balky knee, and Rondo wasted Boston's final possession in Game 5 by dribbling into the corner and then proceeding to throw the ball away in an 87-86 loss. Because of that, people thought Rondo would come out angry and dominate.

That did not happen as Rondo's streak of 28 straight games with 10 or more assists was broken. He finished with a quiet 14 points and eight dimes.

Pierce? He had 18 points, but his imprint was hardly felt on the game.

What about Ray Allen? Needless to say, his shot was off as he hit only one of his seven attempts and tallied seven points.

That left the Big Ticket, Kevin Garnett. I have forever thought that Doc Rivers does not utilize Garnett enough. He has the ability to completely control a game, but he rarely gets enough touches to do so. Well, in Thursday night's series-clinching 83-80 win over the Atlanta Hawks, Rivers utilized Garnett, and Garnett obliged.

Plain and simple, Garnett took over. He posted a 2004-like line of 28 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks and three steals. He also put the Celtics up for good with a jumper in the lane with 31 seconds left. It brought back memories of K.G.'s stellar Game 7 performance against the Sacramento Kings in the second round of the playoffs back in '04, when Garnett posted 32 points, 21 boards, five blocks and four steals.

Every time Atlanta would trim Boston's lead (which it had for most of the game), the former MVP would take matters into his own hands.

He would abuse whomever was covering him in the post. He would drain jumpers. He would swat and alter shots. He would grab huge rebounds.

Then, down 80-79 in crunchtime, he hit that patented jump shot over the outstretched arm of Josh Smith, a shot that essentially ended the Hawks' season. He did everything.

It just makes me wonder that much more why we do not see Boston's offense run through Garnett more. It's not only that he is so adept at exploiting mismatches anywhere on the floor; it's also that he demands double (and sometimes triple) teams that give his teammates opportunities for easy buckets.

Perhaps the most well-orchestrated play of the game for the C's was when K.G. got the ball in the post, and then, as Avery Bradley was cutting, Garnett screened Bradley's defender and dumped the ball into the guard for an easy layup. It's those types of plays that win games, and it's those types of plays that make me question Rivers' decision to not pound the ball into K.G. more often.

You certainly might see more of that now as I think it is blatantly obvious that Pierce's sprained MCL is giving him issues. He does not have great lift on his jumper, and he is struggling to get to the basket. That is obviously a huge piece of Boston's offense, and without Pierce at 100 percent, Garnett will need to step up, and in order for Garnett to step up, he needs to get the basketball.

The Celtics will face the Philadelphia 76ers in the conference semifinals, and that is a team that really does not have any sort of answer for Garnett. Thaddeus Young cannot handle K.G. one on one. He isn't bulky enough. Elton Brand? He isn't tall enough. Spencer Hawes? Let's stop while we're ahead.

Garnett needs to have the ball in his hands in that series. It's that simple.

This was certainly a hard-fought series for Boston, but, as most expected, it came out on top, sending Atlanta packing in six games. Now, the C's will have home court advantage against the 76ers, a team that just knocked off the No. 1 overall seed in the Chicago Bulls. That of course comes with an asterisk, as Derrick Rose tore his ACL at the tail end of Game 1, and Joakim Noah sprained his ankle in Game 3.

Boston should not run into too much trouble with Philadelphia, but I'll get into that another time. As of right now, let's just relax and savor the Celtics' thrilling closeout victory over the Hawks—even though I'm sure Garnett is already meditating over Game 1 on Saturday.