Post by FLCeltsFan on Apr 1, 2009 7:37:59 GMT -5
www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1162639&format=text
Celts stop Kevin Garnett
Doc decides rest best for big man’s knee
By Mark Murphy | Wednesday, April 1, 2009 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics
Photo by Herald file
Kevin Garnett and the phrase “shut down” are not a palatable combination to put into a sentence, but Doc Rivers did just that yesterday.
After watching Garnett, plagued by a sore right knee since Feb. 19, struggle at the start of practice, the Celtics [team stats] coach decided to shelve the heart and soul of his defense at least for the next three games.
Though Rivers allowed that Garnett might return over the last three games of the regular season, it’s quite possible he won’t be seen again until the playoffs.
“Off of watching him move today, we’re just going to shut him down,” Rivers said. “But he’s not progressing the way we would like him to progress. So we’re going to shut him down until we feel he is ready. He didn’t respond to the games the way we thought, and clearly not to the practices either. It’s just through his gait that you can tell.”
There is no guarantee Garnett will return to full strength by the playoffs.
“He’ll be ready. Whether that means he’ll be 100 percent, I don’t know,” Rivers said. “Right now we just have to get the soreness to go away.”
A less-than-100 percent Garnett, according to captain Paul Pierce [stats], is not the worst alternative.
“Kevin at 75 percent is as good as anyone in the league,” Pierce said. “But the whole key for us is that he’s healthy. Only Kevin knows his body. I know that doctors aren’t always right, but right now we have to go by what they say. I know it’s really eating at him. Kevin has never sat out this many games in his career before. We tell him, ‘You’re getting older, and you have to address it and take care of it.’ ”
For now, Garnett has to allow his teammates - 9-6 without him this season - to take care of themselves.
The Cleveland Cavaliers essentially have locked up first place in the East and its accompanying homecourt advantage for the conference playoffs, and in that respect the urgency for Garnett’s return has been momentarily lessened.
The Celtics, still fighting the Orlando Magic for the Eastern Conference’s second seed, have seven regular-season games left to better their position, starting tonight at the Garden against the Charlotte Bobcats.
“You could tell (Garnett’s) not 100 percent,” Kendrick Perkins [stats] said. “He has a bit of a limp. We have two to three weeks before the playoffs, and we just want him to be healthy. Something like this is always a concern, but at the same time you’re dealing with a warrior. He’ll find a way to come back. I’ll take 60 percent of KG rather than none in the playoffs.”
In the meantime, Rivers will continue his juggling act. He has most recently benefited from a surge in the play of Glen Davis as Garnett’s replacement starter.
The additional practice time this month should help Stephon Marbury and Mikki Moore, who have both struggled to get up to speed.
Leon Powe, also out with a sore knee, said he may not return before the playoffs as well, depriving the lineup of yet another active big man.
Health is the overriding concern for all involved. President of basketball operations Danny Ainge refuted a published report that claimed Garnett turned down an offer by the team to have surgery, saying, “Surgery was never an option.”
Instead, rest appears to be the sole remedy while the rest of the lineup forges on.
“There’s nothing new,” Rivers said of whether further tests have been taken on Garnett’s right knee. “It’s just not reacting the way it should. He’ll continue doing cardio, but this is a setback. He’s not very happy about it - it’s frustrating for him, but he’s understanding. We just have to get the soreness to go away.”
