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“You know what, I’m looking for the statistician around here. And when I find out what he looks like, we might have some problems,” joked Garnett. “I had a rebound in the first quarter. That’s bull—-, man. No, that’s f—ing bull—-. That’s all I’m going to say. I had a rebound in the first half, thank you. I think that’s an error, we’re going to fix that.”
ESPN Boston – KG Incredulous About Zero Rebounds
Since July 31st, 2007, the day KG officially became a Celtic, we have been extremely fortunate to have him represent the green.
Obviously his game had been well established well before he arrived here, but the Hall of Fame bound Ticket has provided C’s fans with several great memories off the court too, mainly in the form of post-game interviews. Last night was one of the best rants as he was playfully pissed (or maybe not) about not getting credit for a single rebound. Even Doc messed around in his post-game interview about it:
“He had one — a tip-in for [the 76ers],” quipped Rivers, referencing a bucket that Garnett inadvertently tipped in for Philadelphia in the second half. “That’s what I told him after the game. He didn’t know [about having no rebounds], it was amazing. He was shocked he didn’t have a rebound.”
Enjoy every last second of his time here because guys like KG are once in a generation type of a player.
Related links: Globe – Zero rebounds in stat book grab Kevin Garnett’s attention | Herald – KG Blanked on Boards | CSNNE – KG Fails to Grab a Board for First Time Since ’97
Prior to the game, there was one stat that isn’t officially kept (I’m not sure how it could be quantified), that pre-enraged KG and Jason Terry. What would that be? Well, let them tell you:
KG – “One thing they don’t keep track of is heart and cajones,” said Garnett. “OK? You can monitor all the minutes you want, but you can’t monitor someone’s drive, what fuels them and motivates them. Doc came in here and gave us that so — Doc’s the best at getting the best out of us in certain ways, and tonight’s no different from that.”
Terry – “Fresh legs don’t mean anything if you don’t have the heart to go with it,” said Jason Terry. “You’ve got three champions when you talk about the guys that logged the most minutes over the last how many years. After losing a game like [Friday] night, tonight was personal. Philly has had our number so to speak, and this was a game for us to prove to ourselves that that team is not better than us, and that’s what we believe.”
ESPN Boston – Celtics do in Doug C.
I’m sure Doug Collins is a great motivator, well at least for his opponents. This was great work by the Celtics media to give the message to Doc pre-game, who then relayed the message to KG and his team. Most of the Celtics don’t really need any extra motivation to get amped for a game, but playing the second game in two nights against a Sixers team that is younger and more athletic, it sure did provide a mental jolt that seemed to energize them for a full 48. Typically these tactics don’t translate much directly during regular season games this early, but this home-and-home had a mini-playoff feel to it, and with that resulted in a rare wire-to-wire beat down of a C’s opponent. Thanks Doug, but you know better to let sleeping old dogs lie. Not only did you toss them a bone, you left plenty of tender meat on it.
Related links: MWDN – Rivalry Renewed with 76ers | CSNNE – Celtics-Sixers review: Words come back to bite Sixers
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