Doc: Garnett Likely Out For Playoffs

Wha happened between last night and this morning that he is now out for the playoffs? I can’t say I would be surprised if this were true but the way the Celts have handled the communication about KG is beyond stupid and ridiculous. DOc and Danny constantly contradict one another and throughout the whole thing not one word from KG. IF ( again big if) this is true then the questions are going to be does he need surgery and if so why didn’t he get it 2-3 months ago when this surfaced? At least then he might have had a chance of coming back.

Bad news bears

Ive been assuming this for a while now
why they postpone telling us until now is obnoxious…they clearly knew all along…I mean did you see the look on their faces and tone in there voices when asked about him? it was painfully obvious.

but they shouldn’t be playing mind games with their fans… I think KG should say something…

Sorry to bring negativity, but how many of you have had knee problems and thought that you could play, that it was nothing….. Well the Garnett tried and I’d rather he opted for the surgery now and heal for next season…. You don’t want to take a chance having him injure the knee so badly that he’s out 2-3 years. Also how many come back 100% healthy from knee injuries…. Just take a look at Leon Powe and how he’s had to work his way back.

Best to let Kevin take care of the knee right now and heel for next season.

Oh, and dont turn into lakers fans and have the constant excuse of injuries for not winning the championship.
The lakers andf cavs were better this season whether we had KG or not…I still think theres something more going on, like he injured it in the offseason…he wasnt right at all this year…terrible season for KG

We knew it was worse than they let on, but this sucks. Its funny, he seemed fine when he played…

Knowing what we know now, they should have shut him down immediately and suregically repair the knee. If he ends up getting surgery, you would have to say we effed this one up.

We will have to hope we have everyone healthy next year… and hopefully the injury bug is completely gone.

all lies.

Wow ….

OMG! This is horrible!

i hope he’s cheering the team on FROM the sidelines, that will give us a little boost intensity-wise….

We all bleed Celtic Green. Shut Kevin down…get him the healing he needs to
get him ready for next year. We are still a contender….

How could this happen to me?

In part we bought the playoff tickets believing the many claims from Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge, etc… that the Cs wouldhave the full front line back. They drop this bombshell NOW? Bait and switch :-(

KG should rest, I’d rather see this post-season go up the floo, and get KG back ready for next year that’s fine (really it is, it’s been a fun season), but I hate being misled, and am disappointed that they pulled this stunt.

not too overlook the postseason since it hasn’t started yet and the C’s still have a shot at the title (not as good as it was with KG in the line-up) but now it becomes imperative for Danny to have an excellent offseason acquiring FAs that will contribute for the full season and ease the burden on the big 3 (I’m still assuming that whatever is wrong with KG can be corrected with surgery and he’ll be ready to go next year  if this was more severe, I would hope they’d have diagnosed it correctly, shut him down immediately and taken care of it when it happened).

Without a trade, Danny will have 5 spots available to fill with players that can provide a better-balanced bench. (BBD, Powe, Marbury, Moore, Pruitt are up after this season. I think they’ll resign only one of BBD/Powe, we can do much better than Moore, Pruitt’s at the team’s option and hasn’t stepped up enough to guarantee another contract year and Marbury will get more $ elsewhere).

I think the window on this version of the big 3 can be 5 years instead of 3 if KG fully recovers but it depends on how DA supplements them with a well-balanced bench (which we don’t have)

Same for Danny and Wyc!

For two months they go out of their way reassuring us that KG will be ready for the playoffs. Last night on TV, Wyc said KG would be playing.

ALL LIES!!!!!

Only two things can save the Celts now : Crippling injuries to Kobe and LeBron within the next 7-10 days.

The Celts beat Chicago {probably in 5, maybe 6}…but that will be it.
Orlando will eliminate them.

As for KG…he better get that surgery TODAY!!!!
Next year will be here before you know it.

It’s OK, guys! We have Mikki Moore!

Actually, I’ve kind of been expecting this ever since they said he wouldn’t be back at all during the regular season. I’m a little surprised that no one in the media tried to call them out on this because the whole thing just seemed kind of fishy to me.

The C’s can still get to the conference finals, but winning it all will be very difficult as they’re nowhere near as good defensively without KG.

let him get it now, and be as ready as possible for next year. Otherwise, I’d like to see him on the bench cheering the team on.

Of us scraping through to make it to the ECF, and KG emerging from the lockerroom in game 1 vs CLE. Go Go Legacy!!!….

Unless they are planning some type of miraculous comeback for the ECF i’d imagine this the end of things – Doc said his mobility was shot in his “run test” so I don’t see how any more time off is going to change it.

Still, it will be interesting to watch this team’s young guys play large roles – Davis and Powe are going to get all the minutes they can handle and the optimist in me thinks that both can be big time performers and give the team a shot.

The major problem I see is the team’s ability to consistently defend without KG there – I truly wish he’d at least sit on the bench during the games to provide guidance, but I doubt he’ll change his habits.

The pressure is really on Rajon Rondo to consistently step up and be a star player for this team. Pierce and Ray will do their best, but they are not as consistently explosive as they use to be, so there will be a need for Rondo to be a MAN and not a fun little bonus guy offensively.

This also gives Marbury a chance to show up and be a major factor as they’ll need the star power on offense.

There is a part of me that appreciates the fact that even though the news sucks atleast he told us the truth i would rather have bad news than no news at all atleast hes not screwing with the fans its real bad news its tough to take but atleast he was honest with us

I wish the celtics best of luck but now its more important that the bruins get passed montreal and win that cup atleast we have them we could have had no kg and no bruins in the playoffs :( HERE WE GO BRUINS HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!!!!

Looking at the Bulls game last night it appeared THEY already knew.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4073024

Good News for the CAVS and LAKERS..

That the team hasn’t eliminated his return entirely…its sure looking like that, but if KG isn’t going directly to surgery there is a small hope, however minor, that KG will strive to work toward grinding out a series if the team can get to the ECF without him.

Doc did say KG looked great in the drills leading up to yesterdays big test – so there is a remote chance that he holds out for emergency usage…

Regardless, this team is still very good – top 5 even without KG – so even if the ‘chip isn’t in the cards, watching Perk/Powe/Davis/TA/Rondo really get major roles this post-season is going to be great for this team in the long run.

Ainge will also now get a chance to evaluate the development of Powe/Davis in the ultimate atmosphere and see where they’re at going into free agency – great forum for setting their value.

Bill Walker may also get a bit of run since there are only 4 healthy big men right now…I expect TA/House/Marbury to get most of the wing run, but with less PF depth, there might be some “small ball” energy stuff going on.

All in all, this is going to be a great growth experience for the younger Celtics and that will pay dividends going forward.

CMON GARNETT!! JUST GET BETTER, HOLMES! JUST GET BETTER FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!

Garnett’s reaction?

“He was frustrated. He was mad at me, mad at everybody. Then he understood,” Rivers said. “He put up a fight. He’s really frustrated, but that’s Kevin. That’s why we got him, because he cares so much.”

Great teams make adjustments. It’s up to Rondo on offense and TT on defense.

And The Truth in the 4th quarter.

Expect to see quite a bit of it — with Marbury and Tony Allen — maybe even Walker at times all playing expanded roles. They may have to approach things a little differently offensively — but defense will be where the real problem lies…because if Perk fouls out they’re going to be in real trouble.

He and Ray have talked endlessly about “sacrafice” now lets see if they still have the gear they say they’ve been giving up…

on eei now…

Obviously from the screen name, you can tell my rooting interests, but I just wanted to say that this sucks. Both for you as fans and the playoffs in general. Now when we beat Boston, everyone can use the excuse that KG wasn’t there to try to make it illegitimate. I wanted to put away a fully healthy Boston team.

I wish KG the best in his recovery and pray his long term health will not be affected by this injury so he can come back strong.
To the rest of the team who’ve had such a rough year I also wish the best and good health. The season ended on a high note and I hope they take their fighting spirit into the playoffs.

Celtics ’10

these four guys need to step up thats all we need

….but everyone here seems to know all about KG’s case, or should I say medical charts.
We’ve chastised the GM, the owners, the coach, the medical staff. Who else would you like to hit on?

So I should feel worst of all and shame on me. I have a medical education and I still, to this day, do not know the exact diagnosis of this knee injury.

Maybe I should go back to college, but from where I type, I can’t give my patients a treatment regimen until I know the exact diagnosis. And once again, I don’t know the extent of the injury.

Those of you who seem to think that “surgery would have had him ready by now”, perhaps you could share the diagnosis with me so that I might concur with you?
I may not get the inside info that Mark Spears or Steve Bulpett might have access to, but I do read their words and I do listen to Tanguay, Dickerson, Felger, Tommy and Gorman and at no time did I hear the words that KG should have had surgery because he had a torn meniscus or a torn cruciate – both potential surgical conditions.

Please be advised that surgical intervention is not indicated just because the words “knee injury” come out of someone’s mouth.

Now, having said that, can someone put the films up on the monitor while I scrub up and get ready to cut on something in that right knee so he can play!

this was the assumed outcome all along, but danny, doc, and the medical staff never could own up and tell us the truth.

i feel a bit cheated right now, since i have have no doubt about #18 this year until right now.

in the back on my mind i always new that either his knee was fine and this was just rest for a body that’s played in the pro’s for 14 years, or this was season ending and they just wouldn’t tell us!

Granted this year’s Celtics will have a much tougher playoff road ahead of them, but a team of Pierce, Walker and role players came very close to the finals. This team is far better than that team so I’m still optimistic. Never underestimate the Celtics’ ability to step up.

go team though

I never heard such evasive answers in my life from Ainge and Rivers.

So let him get surgery ASAP so that he’ll be 100% next year. This is LeBron’s year. Deal with it.

The truth about KG has been known for weeks. It was posted here several times, and elsewhere. KG’s agent has said that he has loose cartilage in his knee. That condition CANNOT get better with “rehab” or time. It can only be fixed by arthroscopic surgery to remove the loose bodies floating around in his knee.

If they never tried to get the cartilage out of there, that would stand as a totally idiotic decision. Most likely they DID try, early on, but either they missed some piece(s) or the problem recurred. By then it was too late to go in again and expect him to heal in time for the playoffs. (He will certainly need arthroscopy in the off-season.)

We’ve known these facts for weeks now. For some strange reason, the major media has not really reported it, though the original story was posted by an ESPN reporter. Doesn’t matter. WE KNOW what’s wrong with KG. And the fact is, and has been for weeks, that whenever he exercises that leg, he takes the risk of having it lock up on him at ANY MOMENT, which would instantly and completely incapacitate him. Even if it doesn’t lock up, the loose cartilage causes ongoing pain and inflammation. So that’s the story. Looks like we will have to win this thing with 0% KG, based on the news this morning.

All the more glory when the guys get it done anyway. Yeah…. with Big Baby, and Leon Powe, and guys like Mikki Moore and the rookie stepping up. Maybe Marbury will fly high. We know Paul and Ray will be stepping up. Same for Perk and Rondo.

The only real challenge is Cleveland. We can take LA without KG, but Cleveland has the D and has the chemistry. So it comes down to ONE series… the Cavs. If we stay mentally strong and focused, and if we suffer no more injuries, we win.

We can do this thing, and now if/when we do, it will be the greatest story of all.

Garnett is a warrior and no doubt he would play if at all possible. Even if this injury in a career ending in my opinion the trade would have been worth it to end the 20 years of misery.

However…

The delaying of this information for the benefit of ticket sales is a realistic possibility of this situation. It is also entirely possible that the management is not all that happy with Doc for including the out for the whole playoffs line rather then just the first round.

……….that if his condition was diagnosed as loose cartilage by someone intimate with the case, that someone else, e.g. Wyc, Danny, Doc or someone would have had no problem reporting this to Celtic Nation.
Why you ask?
Because as you have alluded to and may know, this is a readily treatable condition which lends itself well to arthroscopic repair. However, and I may be wrong here, this is too simple to have passed over and instead opt to attempt to play through the rigors of an NBA regular/playoff season? A simple arthroscopic procedure to clean the fragments would have been the treatment of choice.

Based on the history, the ‘secrecy’, and the fact that he’s still not able to participate….. leads me to believe there is more to the story.

Sorry. Just an “‘Enquiring’ mind wanting to know”.

The Cavs play the right way. They defend really well, and defense wins championships. And with Ilgauskas, Wallace and Varejao, they have the length up front to deal with Bynum and Gasol, plus they have better point guards.

I could say a lot more, but that about sums it all up.

…last year:
“There’s gonna come a moment when you face unreal adversity, and you must play together, play with ubuntu. A person is a person through other people. I can’t be all that I can be unless you’re all that you can be.”

He wasn’t talking about game 4, that was a cakewalk compared to this. Our guys will step up. The Cavs are a great team, but they absolutely CANNOT lose their best player, as we have, and have a shot at the title. The Cs with KG are a better team. Without him, it’s close. Now it’s up to character, and heart, and the random (and sometimes not so random) fate of health and the refs. Yes, the Cavs have achieved great D and chemistry… but we invented it.

Dr. Large James might have been right after all. Unfortunately. The Cs should have shut him down when it happened and performed surgery then.

That’s about all I have to say.

We can get past 1st and 2nd round, people will need to show up in Cleveland for us to have a chance.

I hate to say this, but Scal might be useful as he can get Mikki Moore off the floor so we have someone to play against Turkolu and Lewis.

Leon and Baby are playing for contract. A good playoff could mean getting a $25M contract vs a $15M contract!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let’s just hope for the best!

i remember the year havlicek hurt his shoulder and the c’s who were the best team lost to the knicks in the playoffs. you always go for the gold and you take what you can and admire the effort. hey this team is used to playing without kg and of course, our chances are diminished but a champion goes out and gives the valiant effort and you never know. do i disregard what tommy’s team with a broken hondo did? no. did i enjoy the 62 win season ? yes. and as long as they are out there, they have a chance and doc will have them ready. next year, is another story and danny has some major decisions to make.

This was suspicious from the start. You knew that Doc was never being honest with the press about this injury…….and the depression settles in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-1jgNhopNo

1. there is a significant inconsistency with one day thinking KG will play with no time limits and the next day he won’t play at all for the next 9 weeks. As long as they thought no surgery was needed before it may well still not be needed now. It may not be risky to play him. I will hold out some hope that he plays some against Orlando late, and we go from there.

2. We need Scal to play. We are that thin up front. If he can pick up where he left off and play a minor league Posey roll, and Powe and Baby and Perk pound up front, imho, we can get by Orlando.

3. If KG can play a little against Cle in Boston and we can steal a game in Cle where he shows up and plays one excellent game, we can do this. ONE game. Marbury is going to have to team with Rajon to cause extraordinary point play. Ray and PP will have to play out of their minds.

4. One series at a time. There is nothing to say other teams will not have problems too. We can do this but KG will have to play a little in spots

(fighting back tears)…now we know. Pierce, Ray, and Rondo will carry this team. KG needs to be on the bench cheering, barking, hugging. BBD and Powe will really step it up. Maybe I’m too optimistic, but I still think we can do it. I wish we were playing Philly in the first round, as I’m more afraid of the Bulls than the Cavs. JK.

I’m sad, but excited too.

3 concussions = out for season. It’s ok, we can do this thing.

and pretty dang entertaining theater, too. Pay no attention to the men behind the curtain.

I for one, am going to enjoy the atmosphere of each and every playoff game and be happy we have a team that will play into at least May, instead of waiting on the lottery again. I realize the bar has been raised with #17 and we all wanted to repeat, but if that doesn’t happen, well, only 1 team in the entire league each year gets that privilege, so if that is theonly barometer for success , 29 teams are failures.

I still look forward to the competition and the process, talking about who we will now root for in the Finals, just skips right over many wonderful games/series in this great game of basketball. At this point, the C’s are underdogs to win it all, so I will be able to enjoy whatever level of success they are able to achieve, not regret what could have been.

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no………

Powe/Davis will fill the void. KG can bring his energy to the bench to motivate. We still have two All-Stars and future Hall of Famers, the faster guard in the league (RR), a lethal 3 point shooter (Eddie), a former All Star who is starting to bring it (Marbury), a fiery center (Perk), an underrated TA who can do many things. Do I have to go on? Come on, everyone. We still have a very good team and one that is still capable of winning it all. I respect those that believe our chances are less with KG out, but I cannot stomach those on here who are conceding the title, not buying tix, deciding whether to root for the Cavs over the Lakers, etc.. We are also assuming that the Cavs will make the ECF and the Lakers will go to the WCF. I believe that we will take the Cavs in a wild 7th game and face Portland or Denver in the finals, with home court advantage. I personally love the underdog role and all the pressure is on the Cavs and Lakers. Bring it on.

sigh

Come on! It’s Celtics Basketball! Let’s enjoy it as long as we can. It’s going to be fun. We were the underdog last year, and we’re the underdog this year.

Let the games begin!

That’s why they play the games.

So, KG’s out for certain for the first round. Fine, we don’t need him. Take another 2 weeks off, Big Fella…

They say KG’s only 70% right now and having swelling and stiffness in the knee. Okay, there’s some chance that gets better…or at least that on SOME days he won’t have stiffness or swelling, making him a game-time decision in the 2nd round…

And, if we bring our A-game consistently, I don’t see why we can’t get by Orlando in the 2nd round, even sans KG. And if Scal comes back (as he hopes to by the 2nd round), we can return to a pretty decent big man rotation (where Moore stays mostly on the bench), possibly starting Scal and allowing Rondo the penetration room to dissect the defense at will.

It’s an understatement, but Rondo/Paul/Ray need to be big this post-season…in almost every game.

Then, assuming we get to the ECF and play Cleveland, don’t discount the possibility that KG wills himself into a game or two on one of his ‘good days’ (people will bad knees know that some days are better than others as far as the knee pain goes)…maybe we steal one of those games on their home court, stay strong at home (we’ve already proved we can beat Cleveland in Boston w/o KG), and miraculously close out the series and head to Finals.

I still like our chances. We just gotta stay mentally strong and then hope KG can sneak into a pivotal games.

In closing, it’s good news that KG will be on the bench…because his presence alone will make us play better defense. His voice is what we miss the most…

The Lakers got to the finals without Bynum, but the Celtics are lucky to get out of the first round without Garnett. It’s about depth, and Boston has very little.

Hate to break it to ya Celts fans, but it isn’t gonna get any prettier next year either.

doesn’t KG justhave the surgery now if hes not coming back? Are the C’s holding out hope for the Eastern Conf. Finals. I thinks it stupid for him to wait till the offseason if hes out anyway.