I often wonder what opposing teams, their beat reporters and bloggers are saying about the Celtics after playing the Celtics. Here's a dose of 'enemy chatter' from Cleveland.
In his 14 NBA seasons, Jamison has heard trash talk reduced to a whisper, he said. Big talkers such as John Starks and Charles Barkley are gone. Rabbit-eared referees are quicker with the whistles and technical fouls.
But no one squelches Garnett. The emotional Celtics center remains one of the best and most prolific yappers in the NBA. He can unnerve opponents and take them out of their games, Jamison said.
"KG plays a lot of mental games and he's good at it," Jamison said. "He will hold and grab and talk. There's times I've tried to talk with him, but I don't do it much anymore."
Garnett, 35, has been in Jamison's ear for nearly 20 years. Both players grew up in the Carolinas and faced each other on the AAU circuit. Jamison said Garnett is the same player he was as a kid. Cavaliers rookie Tristan Thompson, who idolizes Garnett, was given a full scouting report on the "shenanigans."
And what are these shenanigans?
"Nothing appropriate for the newspaper or the radio," said Jamison, who relishes the challenge of playing the future Hall-of-Famer. "Let's just say the 'bar fight' [rant] was a G-rating for him."
Poor Antawn Jamison. He's had to listen to Garnett yap for two decades. Then again, I've know John for 20 years, too. Poor me.
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