The Truth about KG's so-called "antics", Calderon et. al

[stretch]

For years, KG was considered by the majority of observers and the NBA family as one of the classiest, hard working, coolest players. Among all the superstars in the NBA, off the court KG was the best (better than Kobe, Shaq, Kidd, VC, etc.).

He was the one everyone wanted to play with, along with Duncan. Everyone loved him. Even in the last few years: Reggie Miller wanted to come back just to play with KG. LeBron told Scoop Jackson that the one player he'd want to be is not Kobe, but KG.

This season, after winning a title, many people have taken offense to his so-called "antics"

Well here is the truth about each one of those things, coming up in this thread as the evidence comes in.

1. the Jose Calderon thing this season
The actual truth behind that has to do with KG having Sam Mitchell's back. Talk to those close to the Raptors scene and they'll vouch that Calderon-Mitchell had some things going on. And it's no secret that KG's best friends, along with Chauncey Billups and Tyrone Lue, include Sam Mitchell. Mitchell was his mentor in Minny. The recent article about Chauncey in ESPN OTL also reveals how close they all were.

Obviously KG had an idea of what was going on with the Raports. He wanted to put Calderon in his place, for not showing respect to Sam Mitchell. Not because Sam asked him to, but because KG has too much love and respect for Sam (who helped make him the player he is). And KG knew what was going on from his once-in-a-while phone conversations with the coach. So he tried to put Calderon in his place.


2. the crawling panther/jaguar thing against the Blazers

Now that was overblown. It wasn't to disrespect the other team or mock them. It was to fire up his own team and channel his energy. A Minny fan is in the process of compiling a list of times he's done that with the Wolves (hopefully with some photos/videos to back it up). According to him, KG's done it at least 25 times while in a Wolves jersey. And it's one of the coolest things to watch.


3. His ongoing conversation with the Magic during this series

We're still trying to figure out who he was trash talking to. It's not Dwight Howard. Someone said it's Patrick Ewing. It would be great if we can determine that.

Tonight he did the thing with the two fingers crawling on his other palm. Was he saying the C's are walking on. it was a specific message to someone. Notice how opposing fans are taking such offense to his talking on our bench. What they don't realize is how much KG is contributing in the process.

Arguably, no injured player on a bench in NBA history has contributed as much as KG has to our wins against the Bulls and Magic. And fans at both of those games live, and even those watching on TV, can attest to that. Whether it's the motivating and cheering, or the secret dialogues with Glen Davis or Ray Allen every crunch time to give his unique perspective, or the total psyching out or distracting of B Miller, B Gordon, and D Howard at certain times during the last two playoff series (which fans at the game near the Celtics bench can attest to)

The DHo thing is especially important. Don't forget how much, (like LeBron) Howard respects KG. Incidentally, we saw some of that in the Adidas outtakes.. where KG made it clear he's the only person who wouldn't call Dwight "Superman", and Howard asked KG all sorts of questions like a padawan and master. Howard doesn't need KG's validation, but there was one point near the end of Game 4 where KG really distracted (i.e. played a mind game with) Howard (ala LeBron and Arenas a few years ago). Hello people! KG is doing so much for us in a suit and tie. And yet when the national tv cameras make it a point to only zoom in at key junctures, apparently it makes him out to be someone just jawing nonsense from the sidelines.. and even if that alone were the case, there's nothing wrong with that passion


More things to come

Keep in mind that this whole idea of KG as a classless thing is actually a fan-created thing. A byproduct of Celtic hate. Created by the fan discourse and inter-subjectivity.
If you ask any NBA player, the majority will tell you how much they love KG. Even Jose Calderon noted how much he liked and respected KG's competitiveness in the Raptors practice, the day after that game (something on youtube that every Raptors realgm poster seemed to overlook conveniently)

[crm0922]

I don't understand why people whine about KG's antics so much.

He's a good man off the court and a total maniac sometimes when he's on (or near) the court.

That's just the way it is. Root against him if you don't like him.

What I can't stand is LeBron's incessant strutting and preening after EVERY SINGLE shot these days. It's getting ridiculous. The producers seem to be literally framing shots around what LeBron's celebrating-his-amazingingness move is going to be.

It's not like he's celebrating getting a lead or winning a game, most of the time he's just celebrating himself. Bulding that kind of bad karma is probably going to come back around someday.

C

[threrf23]

Interesting post, IMO.

[stretch]

Interesting post, IMO.

Thanks. Though If anything, as much as many people have stressed what a fantastic coach KG would make, this series showed that KG shouldnt' really coach. He himself was right. He doesn't have the temperment.

Just imagine. He would be the polar opposite of Stan Van Gundy. Instead of doing those silly things, he would be doing all these intense things. imagine if he did the phone call gesture, the walking on his palm gesture, or the pointing to his watch gesture as a head coach...
He would be way too confident and intense to be a coach. But you know his team would give it 100%. He would be hyperventilating all the time. He would rip his own suit.. that's not hyperbole

There aren't even a handful of non-PGs that understand the game as well as KG. Him, Sheed and Duncan are probably the smartest bigs in recent history. But it doesn't mean KG should coach even though he's one of the best teachers/mentors

[Cyclical]

I like the post stretch. Good points. If you or anyone else finds out what the fingers on the palm thing is all about please post. As of now it just looks like an advertisement for Yellow Pages by an angry man.

Btw, what's DHo?

[GuyClinch]

KG's personality might morph a bit as a coach. Danny Ainge is a guy who never struck me as "coach like" during his playing days and has been very good as a coach and GM. C's have several potential coaches in Rondo - who is shy but smart. Pierce who is seemingly well liked by fellow NBA players (Kobe, Lebron etc) and KG. Heck even Scalabrine might coach.. Sometimes bad players make good coaches.

Pete

[Visouk]

KG was probably taunting Rafer "Skip to my Lou" Alston with the finger gesture.

[Red2]

KG is ultracompetitive; I honestly think he has no idea what's he doing when he gets going like that. when he calms down he's not that person at all

[humblebum]

KG's personality might morph a bit as a coach. Danny Ainge is a guy who never struck me as "coach like" during his playing days and has been very good as a coach and GM. C's have several potential coaches in Rondo - who is shy but smart. Pierce who is seemingly well liked by fellow NBA players (Kobe, Lebron etc) and KG. Heck even Scalabrine might coach.. Sometimes bad players make good coaches.

Pete

LOL, a little bit mean-spirited but the bolded comment brought a chuckle out of me. But what you're saying is definitely true Pete, the Celtics have a lot of guys who could end up coaching. Even Perkins strikes me as a guy who would be a great big man coach a la Clifford Ray.

I appreciate the OP's remarks. I think that people have kind of lost touch with who KG is as a person these days. They think his antics are all nonsensical and crazy. But that's just not true. KG is very intelligent and he does everything with a purpose. Sure he can be over the top but overall KG is a good guy and he's done a hell of a lot for the NBA.

[ATLTimekeeper]

That Calderon stuff is a total fabrication. Everyone "in-the-know" knows that Jose was Sam's guy. That's why they traded TJ Ford. Jose was totally floored when Sam was fired, and one of the few players that Sam talked to directly after he had been fired (I think he only spoke to Bosh, Jose and Anthony Parker and then left). That incident also happened before Mitchell had been fired, and if you'll recall, the Raptors were actually winning that game by a large margin until the 4th when Pierce went off. It was definitely a mini-turning point in the Raptors' season.

I think you heard some bad information, sorry.

As for KG, most fans prefer a stoic, graceful hero. I can't think of too many fans that like a sore winner, in any sport. At the end of the day, everyone takes the "winner" and tolerates the "sore."

[Celtics_Champs]

A byproduct of Celtic hate.

Yes! Nice post man.

If you go back and look, KG has done some sketchy stuff. His incident with Anthony Peeler. The time he threw or kicked, I forget, the ball into the stands. He's had some run-ins.

Is that unforgivable, no. But as soon as he became a Celtic, every fan on the general NBA board seems to hate him. It makes no sense. He did the same stuff he does now, while he was in Minny. But because he is a celtic, people will hate on him.

I saw one guy wrote, "Ya know, before KG came to to celtics, I loved him, but now I just realize how much of a douche he really is" That doesn't even make any sense. Look at Minny fans, you don't see them hating KG. How about other markets, not as much. It is the Lakers, the Cavs, the Knicks, the Nets, and mostly the Toronto Raptors fans.

[Athanacropolis]

Excellent post stretch!

I wonder, though: whenever LeBron wins his first title, are people going to get sick of his douche-like antics, too?

[MyInsatiableOne]

Excellent post stretch!

I wonder, though: whenever LeBron wins his first title, are people going to get sick of his douche-like antics, too?

Stern will start a media PR blitz to soften LeBron's arrogant a-hole image...

[sweatdog]

KG was looking at SVG while he was walking his fingers on his palm because coach was pacing back and forth so anxiously during our 4th quarter comeback. KG may not be able to mix it up physically yet but he can still get psychological on yo ass!

Permission granted to anyone wanting that previous sentence for a sig. heh

[Teh Intense]

Sam spoke very highly of Calderon. In fact, he is one of the few players that exceeded expectations because of Sam's on and off court mentoring. It's a paraphrase, but I think Sam said something along the lines of being "most proud" of Calderon and his growth as a player. I would go as far as saying Calderon was probably his favorite player, more than even Bosh.

If you ask me, KG probably knew, and was just giving Calderon a **** test of sorts. See if he has any balls.

Although Sam more or less disliked Graham and Bargnani.

[greenbeans]

Great post stretch, though I'm afraid it will fall on deaf ears to non-Celts fans.

I think the hc-in-waiting on the roster is Scal, this guy is too smart not to, as long as we've seen his last concussion that is

[Bird4Three]

A byproduct of Celtic hate.

Yes! Nice post man.

If you go back and look, KG has done some sketchy stuff. His incident with Anthony Peeler. The time he threw or kicked, I forget, the ball into the stands. He's had some run-ins.

Is that unforgivable, no. But as soon as he became a Celtic, every fan on the general NBA board seems to hate him. It makes no sense. He did the same stuff he does now, while he was in Minny. But because he is a celtic, people will hate on him.

I saw one guy wrote, "Ya know, before KG came to to celtics, I loved him, but now I just realize how much of a douche he really is" That doesn't even make any sense. Look at Minny fans, you don't see them hating KG. How about other markets, not as much. It is the Lakers, the Cavs, the Knicks, the Nets, and mostly the Toronto Raptors fans.

This is so true. I find it amusing, actually, because I was actually one of the few people who was critical of KG's percieved "antics" back in the Minnesota days. I thought he was a loudmouth and instigator. The first series versus Tim Duncan and the Spurs was my initial glimpse of his competitiveness. I thought it was a little bully-like at the time. I remember many other games where it seemed like he was just a little too mouthy, but everyone backed him! It was rare that someone agreed with me or percieved it my way. Now, even as KG has matured a bit and won a ring, he gets slammed more than ever. I totally understand it, but I think a huge part of it is, yes, the Celtics hate, but also that he is seen on a larger scale now. Some fans may not really know what he's about on the court. Having him on my team has opened my eyes to what he's about and where the fire comes from. I still personally like a player such as Ray Allen, who doesn't jaw as much and lets his game do the work, but I at least understand and respect KG.

[Celtic Esquire]

Great post stretch.

I didn't know KG's history with Sam Mitchell so that makes sense seeing as I always remember hearing that Calderon was lobbying Mitchell hard to be the starting PG.

I still don't under the two fingers thing that KG was doing last night.

Can someone explain that?

[BakersDozen]

no idea what KG was doing but it reminded me of a scene from Wedding Crashers. Vince Vaughn did something similiar when he was pretending to be deaf when he see's a former one night stand. I think he was trying to tell Owen Wilson's character he wanted crab cakes...ha.

[sweatdog]

yes esquire he was mocking SVG. i mentioned it a few posts ago....

KG was looking at SVG while he was walking his fingers on his palm because coach was pacing back and forth so anxiously during our 4th quarter comeback.