The election was yesterday, but there will be a debate today. Kevin Garnett and Doc Rivers appear headed for a lively discussion on whether the power forward will play tonight against the Pistons after nine games out with a hyperextended right knee.
Garnett went through his first full practice since the injury yesterday and was on the Celtics [team stats]’ flight to Michigan later in the afternoon. But Rivers said he is still looking at Friday (at home vs. Portland) for KG’s return.
“No chance (tonight),” the coach said.
Asked if there’s a chance Garnett will talk him out of that position, Rivers said, “No means no.”
Will Garnett fight the decision?
“It wouldn’t be me if I didn’t, you know?” he replied.
“But I try to listen at this stage that I’m at in life and try to preserve as much as I can and be smart about injuries so that they don’t get worse. I think I learned that last year the hard way (a knee injury that required surgery). So I’m just trying to be patient and actually listen. When he says I’m able and they give me the green light, then that’s what it is.”
But Garnett was wearing a green jersey yesterday and looked very good late in the session when media members were able to view the proceedings. So why not let him get some minutes against the Pistons?
“Because he just had one practice with all the rest (of the Celts),” Rivers said. “I’d rather wait and see. . . . Right now the plan is Friday, but if he gets sore or anything we’ll push it back to the next game.
“He actually looked really good - played well. Conditioning was awful. That’s why I stopped, because he was going well. I didn’t want to take him to that next step yet. So he’s going to do some running (today). We may do something (tomorrow) or not, and then Friday we’ll see.”
In Paul Pierce [stats]’s mind, the door may be open slightly for a KG sighting this evening. He and the rest of the Celts were pleased to have him back for the workout, and, with four losses in their last six games, they’re very much looking forward to his return.
“He looked fluid,” Pierce said. “He got up and down the court.
“It’ll be a positive to get him back whenever he comes back. We don’t know if it’s going to be tomorrow, later in the week or whenever. But it’s just good to have him out there, his presence. You feel and you see it when he’s on the court.”
Garnett has no concerns that this latest injury, which occurred when he was kicked by Golden State’s Monta Ellis, was related to last year’s problem that cost him the end of the regular season and playoffs.
“No,” he said. “That’s why you get CAT scans and MRIs.”
But the old injury has made him a bit more cautious.
“When you’re younger, man, you think that you can go all day, that you can run through a wall,” Garnett said. “I’m sure all of us can say that we learned the hard way, and I’m no different from that. These days I’m just trying to be a lot smarter and not be injured. I’m having these freak accidents.”
As opposed to last season when Garnett and the Celtics [team stats] were constantly altering potential return dates - including asking him to hold off on the surgery when he wanted to have it during the playoffs - this year the club held him out even after Rivers admitted he could play. The idea was to get the knee past the point where it could be a lingering problem.
Garnett and the Celts hope they have accomplished that - no matter when he plays.
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