Celtics swear by profane Garnett
BOSTON — Kevin Garnett leads the NBA in profanity, whether it’s screaming at the crowd during his pregame ritual, exchanging pleasantries with opposing players or addressing the media late into the evening.
“The jungle was rocking tonight,” Garnett said following the Celtics’ critical Game 3 victory Friday night in the Eastern Conference finals. “I want to thank all the fans who came out.”
That was the cleaned-up version of Garnett's quote. The actual sound bite included enough curse words to make the cast of “Jersey Shore” blush. At 36, Garnett is too old to threaten to wash his mouth out with soap. It’s too late for that.
Plus, this is part of the entire Garnett package. He defends, rebounds, leads, sets illegal screens, throws elbows and, yes, he curses a lot. And now he has the Miami Heat cursing under its breath.
Garnett had a team-high 24 points and 11 rebounds in Boston’s 101-91 series-saving win on Friday that cut Miami’s lead to 2-1. For the first time in six games, Chris Bosh’s absence made the Heat look vulnerable as Garnett made 10 of 16 shots, mostly from close range.
“His length is a little more different. He’s agile,” said 6-8 Miami power forward Shane Battier, Bosh’s undersized replacement. “A guy like (Indiana’s Roy) Hibbert, he was so big, but he was lot slower than K.G. You could react a little quicker to him. K.G. is pretty agile, and his length makes him a different challenge.”
With Boston looking to draw even in the best-of-seven series Sunday night in Game 4, Garnett must continue to be aggressive on offense, especially with Bosh, sidelined since May 13 with an abdominal strain, unlikely to play until Game 5 at the earliest. Garnett, much like Larry Johnson when he joined the Knicks in 1996, is an unselfish star who defers — sometimes too much — to his teammates.
But with Ray Allen limited due to a bone spurs in his ankle and Paul Pierce hobbled by a sore knee, Garnett has picked up the scoring load and is averaging 19.7 points and 10.6 rebounds — both team highs — in the playoffs.
“K.G. is a difficult cover,” LeBron James said. “First of all, he’s a more prolific scorer than (Tyson) Chandler and Hibbert. And when he gets to shoot, his wingspan, he shoots higher than anybody we have in this league. So we have to do a better job of trying to help each other out and not expose ourselves as much with our coverages.”
Garnett is the vocal leader of the Celtics. During the team’s pregame introductions, Garnett is shown on the giant scoreboard screaming to the fans. And just before he walks to center court for the opening tip, Garnett walks toward one corner of the arena, pounds his chest and shouts some more. The home crowd, of course, eats it up.
The Celtics supporters also appreciated how Garnett decked Mario Chalmers with an elbow as he fought to protect the ball in the fourth quarter Friday. Chalmers drew a foul and the elbow to the chops while Garnett was called for a technical foul. There was no harm, however, as Mike Miller missed the free throw.
By then, Garnett had already won over the crowd in the first half after being bodyslammed by Miami's Udonis Haslem. Garnett hit the floor hard on his back, spun over and began doing push-ups. The final count was eight.
“I’m getting (negative comments) about my form,” Garnett said. “But I want people to notice it was on the knuckles.”
Chalmers said afterward that the Heat players can’t allow Garnett to get into their heads. But that’s no easy task when the Celtics’ big man is on his game, throwing elbows and cursing at anyone who comes near him.
“Typical Eastern Conference basketball,” Garnett said. “It’s been very physical. This has been nothing to disappoint.”