Good KG Article on TrueHoop

[Athanacropolis]

Just in case people haven't seen this yet:

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-37-45/Kevin-Garnett-s-Big-Mouth.html

Some good points from a great writer, but on the whole, it's more of the same ol' sour grapes. I thi Henry Abbot just seems ticked that our Celtics are still better than his Blazers

[Harison]

Interesting article, plenty of good points:

Pacers vice president of player relations, weighs in:

I don't think he's crossed any lines. KG is in the same category emotion-wise as Terrell Owens. Those two guys play with such emotion that some people mistake it for being boastful or arrogant. KG wears his emotions on the outside, some players show it differently. People just aren't as used to it.

Basketball trainer Idan Ravin has worked with many NBA All-Stars, and believe what Garnett is doing is no accident:

Never understimate the level of sophistication of the professional athlete.

While some may consider Kevin Garnett's antics to be over-the-top and reckless, I think they are intentional and part of his basketball psychology: to motivate and inspire his teammates and himself, and to disorient and annoy his opponents. This basketball psychology is a large part of why Kevin Garnett has had years of success at this level, and why he has been able to maintain an incredible level of intensity and consistency for over a decade.

Ask anyone who has played with him and they will tell you he is a great teammate. Ask anyone who has played against him, and they will tell you he is a fierce competitor.

Dave Zirin is a Slam columnist, and author of "A People's History of Sports in the United States." He says:

The tired complaint against pro athletes is that they "just don't care" or are in it "just for the money."

Now Kevin Garnett is under fire for caring too much?!? Do people really believe this? What color is the sky in this alternative universe? I want players to slap the floor with their hands, shoot daggers with their eyes, and bang the ball against their heads. That's what we did on my NYC High School team because we gave a damn something fierce.

I'm sure an 82-game season is an unholy grind. But it's our privilege that we have a player who acts like it's anything but. A decade ago Garnett warned us that it wasn't about "the loot." We should have listened.

[Ortho Stice]

I applaud Henry for condoning his actions, considering every other Blazers fan on the planet are whiny babies about it. Here was my response in his blog:

Anyone upset over Garnett's "antics" takes the sport too seriously. It's amazing how temperamental some NBA fans are: for instance, they complain about Tim Duncan being too bland and unemotional for their tastes, and on the other hand, whine about Garnett being too emotional. It seems like there needs to be a fine balance between the two, with maybe some special instances permitting one of the extremes, in order to keep the average NBA fan from not getting upset.

NBA fans set up paradoxical expectations for the game: they want to see the opposing team act with the utmost respect, civility and class, yet on the other hand they only watch their team in the primal yearning of seeing heroic and passionate wins based on an infantile game of bouncing a toy ball. It's ridiculous.

[Datruth345]

i don't see anything wrong with it
of course if annoys the pother team and outside observers
when your playing basketball and there is a talker on your team its great and fun and amps you up
and the same exact guy will annoy you to no end if your on opposite sides when you shoot up for teams the next time, that's the nature of it

it;s the same thing with Kg, i hated it when he was with minnesota, and then he comes to your team and its awesome he is getting in peoples faces slapping the floor, how can the NBA look down upon that emotion and passion

[ryaningf]

I think it was a decently objective, well thought-out article about a very heated subject from someone who was probably a little upset about the Portland outcome.

Personally, I'll never understand anyone who has anything negative to say about KG. To me, he's THE ultimate professional athlete on and off the court. Life, let alone basketball, is about passion and about engaging fully in the moment. Garnett gets that. Everyone can learn something about how Garnett approaches the game. Some people go entire lifetimes without passion or without engaging in the 'now.' They're probably the same people who don't like Garnett because he uses salty language or because he gets on all fours. They've never encountered the moment, never lived in the 'now,' never acknowledged passion about anything or been able to focus their entire being on one thing, and never lived up to their potential or really learned what life is about. And not only do I disagree with them about Garnett; I also feel sorry for them.

[bingoboyraps]

I applaud Henry for condoning his actions, considering every other Blazers fan on the planet are whiny babies about it. Here was my response in his blog:

Anyone upset over Garnett's "antics" takes the sport too seriously. It's amazing how temperamental some NBA fans are: for instance, they complain about Tim Duncan being too bland and unemotional for their tastes, and on the other hand, whine about Garnett being too emotional. It seems like there needs to be a fine balance between the two, with maybe some special instances permitting one of the extremes, in order to keep the average NBA fan from not getting upset.

NBA fans set up paradoxical expectations for the game: they want to see the opposing team act with the utmost respect, civility and class, yet on the other hand they only watch their team in the primal yearning of seeing heroic and passionate wins based on an infantile game of bouncing a toy ball. It's ridiculous.

...who complains about it?...commentators discuss often his strong fundamentals rather than a loud, abrasive temperment and game style...there are many (perhaps not on this board) that find Garnett less of an asset to his team than Duncan...

...Either way they are both all-stars, but to say that people think Duncan is too boring are just haters...

[jbs]

This is a very good article. The point about Garnett riling up opponents so that they focus on him instead of team play reminds me of a similar passage in Bill Russell's autobiography (Second wind). Bill says that he always tried to appear cocky to get the other teams star to focus on him to the detriment of team play. The only player he didn't try to play mind games with was Wilt. It wasn't wise to anger him!

[Hemingway]

Here is what is going on:

At somepoint KG realized that he needs to not only get himself pumped up but the team. Most notable Rondo and Perk. To do this KG is going even more nuts than usual and taunting not just his guy but other players defenders as well. Look at all his run ins with opposing pgs.

The thing is; it's working. Perk and Rondo are playing at their all time bests. They are playing with an intensity that comes from knowing they have KG backing them up. WE can also see this tactic working in the Big Baby incident. KG sets Baby off and on national television no less and Baby comes back strong the next game.

KG just realizes that there is a cerebral side to the game.

[Hemingway]

Here is what is going on:

At somepoint KG realized that he needs to not only get himself pumped up but the team. Most notable Rondo and Perk. To do this KG is going even more nuts than usual and taunting not just his guy but other players defenders as well. Look at all his run ins with opposing pgs.

The thing is; it's working. Perk and Rondo are playing at their all time bests. They are playing with an intensity that comes from knowing they have KG backing them up. WE can also see this tactic working in the Big Baby incident. KG sets Baby off and on national television no less and Baby comes back strong the next game.

KG just realizes that there is a cerebral side to the game.