Is Kevin Garnett like Antoine Walker...?

[GreenGrizz]

You hate him and he wants your respect. It is simple.

[campybatman]

Without question it's contagious as you'll see Davis or Perkins behave similar to him or doing their best impression of his emotion at least.

[Collinto]

I don't really respect KG for his antics. Sometimes it looks like he doing things that should only be seen in a cartoon or in a video game. It's not normal, and it's a bit over the top.

His play is not normal either. He plays with more energy and effort than any other big man in the game if not any other player in the game. I think the antics are the trade off for the intensity and performance it is part of what pushes him farther, harder, and faster.

Frankly KG and Perk remind me of the Mourning and PJ Brown and Ewing and Oakley front courts of the 90's and everyone wants their front court to be like that but the rules and tight assedness of the league have eliminated much of it. KG and Perk are finding a way to intimidate physically while for the most part staying on the floor in a contact free era of the NBA.

Frankly I will take the antics and brace for the ire of the entire great Canadian north in exchange for the performance.

Completely agree with this.

I do, however, see the OP's point. If you saw KG for a few games a year, you would wonder why it was necessary, or assume it was an act. When the true C's fans see his intensity every game, it is more an indication of a constant desire to win. When viewed in singularity, it can be misleading...especially since alot of players in this league are about "projecting" intesity....while KG IS intensity.

At the same time, Perk is the perfect Robin to KG's Batman...if Robin wasn't a pussy! The intensity they both bring really makes this team tick, IMHO. The Mourning/Brown and Ewing/Oakley comparisons are right on, imho.

//Highjack//

I also have to giggle at the constant banter from non-Celtic fans that the Celtic's opponent 'lost the game". It has happened more than once over the past two seasons that team's fans and announcers say, "We had that one and gave it away"...as if the Celtic's constant intensity and relentless attitude had nothing to do with it. I don't mean to be putting my C's up on a pedastal...however, I do believe that when this iterataion of the C's is over, more than one 'hater' will be retracting comments and admitting that the C's intensity had alot to do with other team's melting down.

\\Highjack\\

[GreenGrizz]

I think the non-celtic fans are asking for his respect so their teams can win. The fans are like players. They want you to fear them. KG is actually protecting himself. Horford taunted a lot without getting a call in the playoffs last year. What KG did last game was a payback. It is all part of game.

[ironman]

hell no he is not like walker. KG plays with heart and he is even an impact on the bench. he is not as bad as rasheed, artest, shaq, iverson or even kobe. all players talk smack and you can't blame them, its a high intensity game. KG always had a good head on his shoulders, look who was his mentor when he came right out of high school. enough said

[TheMartian]

Remember when Doc told KG to "tone it down a bit"?
The result: KG's game took a downward spiral. Celtics lost the game.

After that, Doc told KG to never listen to him again.

I rest my case.

[campybatman]

Bad shots or not he's as much a Celtic as anyone has been in the past couple of decades. And I've always respected Toine for that.

Yes, supposed Celtics fans seem to neglect that.

Thank goodness there's a lot of other posters on here who are intelligent more so than others and can actually read rather then assume. You guys get it. For the others... As always... I'm ignoring.

[MyInsatiableOne]

I agree that Antoine is a true Celtics...always thought so! ^^^

And I also agree KG's antics get kind of old...I tire of them as well, but when I look at the overall package and the results, how can I complain?

[PPAW4Life]

Obviously KG's competitive fire will rub other fans the wrong way even some of our own fans....but that's what makes KG so great. He never tires and always brings it no matter the score or the time on the clock or the player in front of him.

That's just KG!

[pballa]

i'd loathe walker as my opponent in fear of that he may sneak into my team's locker room and steal our food

[AlCelticFan]

Basketball is a high energy sport. I think part of what makes KG great is his constant, unending dynamo of energy (and intensity)... Those outbursts are a result of the energy that is KG overflowing. It can't be helped. He is an animal. Let KG be KG, he isn't hurting anybody!

Also, I do actually think KG has a quiet/contemplative side. (think of his talks w Bill Russell or some of his commercials) And I am sure his teammates have seen plenty of that aspect of him on the road, more than we, the fans, do. KG is a great player who makes his teammates better. I am sure he doesn't push all the players the same way, because he knows all people won't respond as well to his hyper-intense personality.

I might be giving KG too much credit but that's ho wI see it.

[SharoneWright]

Considering the OP asked for the opinion of other teams' fans, I'll chip in with my 2 cents. It can't be considered trolling if you've been invited, right.......?

Anyway, KG had was once likeable. His high water mark came with The Fun Police. Nothing good since then.

Most of the time it is painfully embarrassing to have to watch or listen to him. The "duel" with Calderon is just a recent example. If that dude was your friend on the court, or at your house watching the game, or at the dinner table, you'd tell him to put a sock in it. In any other situation in life he would be instantly recognized as a melodramatic attention-whore. The taunts and fingerwaving to Calderon were not signs of "intesity", but the signs of a frustrated and overinflated ego. If the C's had a big lead for most of the game, KG would not have been nearly as agitated. And he certainly would not have displayed such "intesity". "He's such an animal!". lol.

Congrats on the win btw. The Raps folded badly. We'll see you soon!

Anyway, these are my impressions as an outsider. Anyone knows he's a great player. So is Tim Duncan and I have a few choice words for him too. But if you don't think KG lives in his own chest-thumping dreamworld, check out his words of wisdom from an old ESPN story:

In an 2002 GQ interview, the Timberwolves forward, who signed a six-year, $126-million contract in 1997, remarked: "The things I have been through since I came into the NBA, you would not believe how hard it has been." Asked to cite an example, Garnett replied, "Buying my first house. That was a hardship."

Ya. You got to love this guy. The only valuable means of comparison to Antoine Walker would be to use Antoine's IQ as the high score in Kevin's pinball brain.

Also, I do actually think KG has a quiet/contemplative side. (think of his talks w Bill Russell or some of his commercials) And I am sure his teammates have seen plenty of that aspect of him on the road, more than we, the fans, do.

As to his "introspective and thoughtful" side. Give me a bag. Bill Russell is maybe the greatest ever. KG is poaching that legacy. Pure and simple. If KG was so humbled, etc, those interviews wouldn't have been played up like they were. Bill gets himself some time on the stage again, but KG was first guy to the makeup room, believe me.

Anyway, got that off my chest. Still reeling from the loss as well so maybe that's got my horns up a bit more than usual... so flame away or just ignore. But honestly, this is the kind of viewpoint the OP must have know is out there among league wide fans.