Kevin Garnett: Halfway Recovered From His Knee Injury

With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, Boston Celtics fans can stop searching for any savior to be brought in via a trade.  The focus can return to what really will make or break the Celtics this season—the health of Kevin Garnett.

For a while, the outlook appeared bleak at best.

Garnett was getting beat off the dribble.  He was being out-jumped for rebounds. He was noticeably limping when running up the court.  He had no lift in his jump shot. 

Panic, no doubt, had set in among many pulling for the C’s.

But over the last few weeks, we have begun to see flashes of Garnett returning to full strength.  Maybe he will never again be the player we saw in 2008, but, suddenly, KG is playing in a way that may convince us that he is healthy enough for at least one more run deep into the playoffs.

There remains one problem, however.  Nearly every Garnett highlight has been occurring in the first half. A pattern has developed where Garnett will get off to a fast start, but come the second half, he is no longer a factor in the game.

In the first half Tuesday against the Knicks, Garnett had us all remembering the KG we first saw in a Celtics uniform, scoring 12 points, including finishing off an alley-oop from Rajon Rondo.  In the second half, though, he scored only four points, finishing the game with 16.

This statistical stat pattern was not an anomaly either.  Over the last six games, Garnett is averaging 12.7 points and 7.3 rebounds.  In the first half, those numbers are nine points and 4.5 boards, while his stats dip to just 3.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in the second half over that span. 

What does all this mean?  One of two things really. 

The first is good news for Boston—Garnett is almost at as close to fully recovered as he is going to be and just needs to keep improving his stamina.  The bursts of strength we see out of him early in games will soon occur in the second half as well.

The second is a little depressing. Garnett’s knee is still giving him trouble.  Early in games, when he has all day to treat the knee and get stretched out, he is capable of scoring and rebounding like we would expect.  But as the game goes on, his legs stiffen up, rendering him relatively ineffective once that happens.

I really don’t know what the answer is.  Garnett has always been someone whose game transcended points in a box score.  Because of that, I do not want to pin a label on him based solely on points.  At the same time, the man who grabbed 20 rebounds in his first ever game with the Celtics, now has gone 19 games without reaching double-digit rebounds, and 31 games since he had more than 10 in any game.

I did think against the Knicks last night, despite only scoring four second-half points, that Garnett looked to be running well up and down the court in the second half.  Which leads me to believe Garnett is feeling better and will continue to improve, considering it was only two weeks ago when commentators for the New Orleans Hornets during the game with Boston repeatedly mentioned how KG was lumbering trying to get from one end to the other. 

If Garnett is slowly returning to full health, it now is up to head coach Doc Rivers to acknowledge what Garnett can and cannot do.  Doc has to understand that to win the war, you might lose a few battles, meaning it is fine to sacrifice a win or two in the regular season, by limiting Garnett’s minutes, if it leads to KG being as close to his best as possible when the games really matter, in the playoffs. 

NOTES

• Heading into the trade deadline last week, most of the talk centered around Ray Allen trade rumors.  Allen wants to be in Boston, and without question, the uncertainty had to impact his play.  At the time of the deadline, Allen was averaging just 16.0 points on 45 percent shooting from the field and 33 percent from three. In the four games since the deadline, albeit a smaller sample size, Allen looks far more relaxed and it is showing up in his production.  Over those four games, in which Boston is 3-1, Allen has scored at least 20 points in all of them, averaging 23.5 points while shooting a blistering 65 percent from the floor and 43 percent from three. 
• Tomorrow night, the Celtics will host the Cleveland Cavaliers, in just the second meeting between the two teams this season.  Way back on opening night, Boston won in Cleveland 95-89, behind 23 points from Paul Pierce.  The win ended the Celtics’ 11-game losing streak in Cleveland. The Celtics have defeated Cleveland nine straight times in Boston.  Cleveland’s last win in Boston was on Jan. 3, 2007, 107-104.
• With Cleveland making its first trip to Boston this season, it also marks the return of former Celtic Leon Powe.  Possibly.  Powe is still out with the knee injury that ended his season last year in the playoffs.  By all reports, he is nearly fully recovered and ready to return to action.  Since Cleveland acquired Antawn Jamison, even if healthy, it might be difficult for Powe to find minutes.  But if Powe is able to return to full strength, not resigning him for little money will no doubt prove to be a mistake on Danny Ainge’s part.  Powe was not a perfect player, or even a great player.  He was, however, the type of player coming off the bench all teams need—ready to contribute at a moment’s notice.  Powe also could have provided much needed rebounding and low-post scoring that the Celtics team lacks. He still has not played a minute this season, so it may be jumping the gun a bit to talk about how he could have helped Boston down the stretch, especially considering his latest serious knee injury was not his first.  Knowing Powe’s background, though, I would not count him out from being able to return to full strength. 
• Along the lines of what I was writing about above, where Doc might need to rest Garnett even if it costs the team a win or two, it would not bother me if Paul Pierce rested his ailing thumb for another few days, missing the Cleveland game.  Watching Pierce play against the Lakers, Portland, and then in Denver, it was obvious he was hurting.  The goal of this team has to be getting the older players healthy.  Pierce will no doubt want to play against LeBron James and the Cavs, but Doc should step in and have him rest for the greater good of the team and the season.
• A benefit to Pierce sitting out is it gives Marquis Daniels a chance to not only play big minutes, but also to finally get comfortable on the court with the Celtics.  Here we are, over 50 games into the season, and I still do not have any real sense of the type of player Daniels can be for this team or how he fits in.  But last night, with Pierce out, Daniels played a season high in minutes, scoring 14 points on 5-9 shooting. 
• Another factor that should help Daniels adapt to being in Boston is the arrival of Nate Robinson.  Daniels is not a point guard and always looked uncomfortable when Doc Rivers had him in that role with the second unit.  Now, even when Pierce returns, Daniels can concentrate on his natural position.
• Lastly, speaking of the trade for Nate Robinson, the Boston fans once again did right by a former player, giving Eddie House a tremendous ovation in his return with the Knicks last night.

(This article was originally posted on 4SportBoston.com)

You can read more articles like this one at http://4SportBoston.com

Follow Stew Winkel on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stew_winkel