SnakefromHell wrote:KG played all his years in Minnesota but guy wanted to win. None of his teammates knew what defense was, especially The Wally World... but guy still played mad defense. I don't think Flip Saunders was a defensive specialist either... because he's much more about his offense. But KG wanted to win in the worst way... and that made him play D.
As a Minny local I can tell you that Flip would sort of preach defense, and praised KG for it, but would never actually devote half a practice to working it out. He was all about his complex motion-and-jump-shots offensive plays, though if you look at the Pistons' numbers this last year they were dang good defensively.
Saunders also had a questionable effect on Garnett's offensive game. We all love the player, don't get me wrong, but his turnaround jumper at the end of a game was maddening by the end, there. Even after Flip was gone, KG went to his comfort zone and "encouraged" Dwayne Casey as Wolves coach to go back in that direction offensively. In that sense, you might say Garnett was stubborn about not changing his game, too. In some ways this same argument -- that he's a tier 2 guy, not the guy who wins championships -- could have been made about Garnett until this year. He certainly didn't put the Wolves franchise on his shoulders as much as his colossal contract might have suggested. But, hey, he's a champion now.
But, yeah, if you want to compare levels of effort and commitment to defense, KG is a great standard to look to. And people? This understanding of 'Melo is absolutely the league's perception about the guy. It's not old news at all for any knowledgeable fan anywhere in the league. They're at least the first questions everyone asks about Anthony.
