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“That’s the hardest thing in the NBA: being ready to play, staying ready, mentally and physically, all those things,” Humphries said. “Our staff does a great job of preparing us and working with us.”

Humphries Making The Most Of Opportunities-Chris Forsberg

It was bad enough that Kris Humphries had a lot of drama attached to his name before he came to Boston. And to make matters worse, he was brought in to “replace” Kevin Garnett. Not literally, but Humphries was part of a massive deal over the summer that brought himself, Keith Bogans, Marshon Brooks & Gerald Wallace to Boston in part of the KG/Pierce deal. Kris surely had his work cut out for him as far as winning fans over in the 617. I for one was one of those fans. I did not want Humphries here, and just couldn’t see him sticking around for long. Well last night at the Garden, I was screaming loudly for Humphries, as once again he brought toughness, hustle & scrap to the Celtics’ lineup.

Fans have started to take a liking to Humphries’ very Celtic-like blue collar play. It hasn’t been easy for Kris either. For much of the beginning part of this season, coach Brad Stevens kept him on the bench. But Humph did not pout. He kept working in the gym, keeping his body (and mind) ready for when the opportunity presented itself. And you better believe Stevens respects that.

“My admiration usually goes to the guys that don’t get opportunities because they have to deal with stuff that’s harder than being the guy that plays the minutes,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “So I thoroughly respect those guys that are sitting. And when their time comes, nobody’s rooting harder than me for them to take advantage of it.”

With Brandon Bass getting into foul trouble last night, Humphries was called upon to battle with Kevin Love & Nikola Pekovic-the Wolves’ tandem of talented big men. Humph delivered-big time. He did a nice job on defense, harassing the Wolves’ bigs & banging down low all night, and finished with a pretty impressive line: 21 minutes, 8 points on 4 of 5 shooting, 7 rebs, 2 asts & a steal. His biggest play of the night was a thunderous put back dunk with 30 seconds left in the 3rd quarter that put the C’s up 74-69 and got the crowd fired-up. It’s clear that Humphries has not let his time riding the pine earlier in the season get him down. When he’s been called upon, he has come through. He’s a quiet guy, who does what he’s told & shows up every day ready to do what he can for the team. Just the kind of guy that Celtics fans love.

“I really focus on the team and what we’re doing as a team,” Humphries said. “Personally, it doesn’t really matter. I think everyone on this team wants to play 38 minutes, get the ball every time, shoot 20 shots — that’s the way the NBA is, and that’s the way if people had the choice, they’d choose that.”

Related links: Herald: Notebook: Kris Humphries Up Off Bench