People hate winners, Jeff.

Garnett’s a winner.

Of course, nobody’s mentioning Ben Gordon’s gestures, Noah’s yapping or any of that stuff.

Kevin Garnett is one of the best things that has happened to the NBA since the post Jordan era began. If more guys were as passionate about their careers in the NBA the league would be that much better. He has become so visible because of the long quest he was on to get a championship, then to do it with the Celtics takes it to a new level. What really bothers me is that all the “KG Haters” out there don’t realize the same trash talking was going on in the 80’s, there was just a much lower level of media coverage back then from the number of tv camera’s at the games to the internet. Imagine today’s technology with the Celtics, Lakers, Sixers and Pistons?

kg is the leader of this team’s defense. rondo of the offense. i really think this affects pp and puts him in spots that make him uncomfortable. he accepts it but seems at sea at times. kg has been lucky over his career with injuries and he will get thru this one in time. boy do they miss his defensive presence. kg has many friends in the league so his wild ways don’t hurt him with the other players. fans could hate him all they want but when it’s over for him, his legacy will shine. he just won’t be able to post on this blog because of the profanity rules.

First off, yes, of course a lot of it is bitterness and misguided frustration from Bulls fans. Any honest fan knows that this isn’t something unique to one particular fan base. That is pretty obvious though, so let’s not pretend that a fan base is immune to this kind of mentality because it isn’t realistic.

Honestly, I love KG’s enthusiasm, and the fact that he talks a ton of shit on the court doesn’t bother me one bit. I was really happy that he got his title last year and enjoyed watching Boston beat Kobe for the title. The only thing I don’t like about it right now is that he isn’t on the court, he is injured. In my opinion, he should tone down some of the shit talking toward the other team when he can’t even be out there on the court to back any of it up. It almost seems cowardly…especially when he is jawing at Ben Gordon who played through an injury in the last game (I think he played 51 minutes). Mind you, if Luol Deng was on the bench doing this towards Celts players I wouldn’t condone it one bit (although, it would be funny, because Luol is kind of a big pussy anyway).

That said, I hope KG comes back healthy next year and is back being the KG most of us know and love on the court…the nba just isn’t the same without him. (not to mention, as much fun as this series has been, I was looking forward to a Cavs-Celts rematch, but it just won’t be the same without your leader out there if you do meet)

cant help but admire the player who cares more about the sport in which he is playing than the money going in his pocket… need more like him..

Maybe opposing players don’t like KG’s presence on the bench but they’d like it a lot less if he were on the court! It can’t be easy sitting this series out, but he must know his physical presence is beneficial for his team and I admire him for playing this role of Ultimate Cheerleader in this hour of ultimate need. It shows humility, not arrogance.

i respect your opinions and posts. kg hates being on the bench not able to play, which is why he wasn’t during the regular season. he got a lot of crap for not being there to support his team and now that he is there supporting his team he’s getting crap for that too. kg can’t win!

And I hope to see several more of them tonight when the Celts finally get over the hump and win this series.

When he was with the Wolves he wasn’t winning, so his intensity was considered him passionately trying to change things. Now? He’s winning and doing the same thing. But because people want winners to be humble and not rubbing it in people’s faces, they disagree with his taunts.

He’s loud – always has been and always will. That’s just how he is. If he stops bringing that fire, I feel his game would suffer. In order to have confidence he needs to believe he’s giving everything. Energy just pours out of the guy whether he’s playing the game or watching it. Personally, I respect someone who shows similar intensity cheering for his team as he does playing with them. He can’t literally help out so he’s doing his best to verbally help his team. Maybe he feels he can be more verbally aggressive because he’s on the bench, I don’t know. But I love it.

We have KG and everyone else wishes they had him. We love to hate Noah, but we wish he was ours. As to how others, players, fans, media, the league react to his “stuff” we need look no further than Perk. The year before KG came here he and Perk had some “stuff” going on and Perk probably didn’t care too much for it. Now look at their relationship. I think that says it all if people want to put KG down. And remember when the C’s trained in Italy how KG bought suits for the younger and lower paid players. That’s who KG is and that’s what people should really focus on. That’s the KG I see.

I would be thankful if i was a Bulls fan,that KG is on the sidelines,not in the games.

I can’t say I blame people for not liking him. A lot of it has to do with the fact that he plays for Boston. Most of the rest of the country hates Boston teams because 1. Boston teams are good, and they’re jealous. 2. Boston teams are good, but so many Boston sports fans (emphasis on “Boston” before “sports”) all over the country still act like we’re some sort of underdog, and get so angry when someone says “The Celtics are a bunch of ^#$^#ers!” Who care? We’ve won 3 major sports titles this decade, why do you care what the guy from Dallas thinks about your team? On the other hand, are we not allowed to support and defend our team, just because they won? That woudl make us underdog-bandwagon fans, and that’s the same as being a regular bandwagon fan.

KG’s attitude can easily be seen as an extension of this. Now that the Celtics are champs, everyone wants them to go around shaking hands, kissing babies, and not caring about this season, because they won last year, and trying to repeat is just too darn greedy. KG got a ring last year, and guess what? He wants another one! Badly! And there’s no longer anything he can do about it.

Maybe everyone has a point, and maybe it’s just sour grapes. But we’re the reigning champs, so I can live with angry blog posts. No skin off my back.

Check out sites like realgm or insidehoops, it`s where all this crap is coming from.
THE place to be if you`re 14. Your opinion is made there.

I remember when this crap started, and I saw who started it.
Threads were made by the biggest lunatic trolls imaginable, and everyone with an agenda jumped on the bandwagon.

14-year-olds, I`m telling you.

KG will be paid a half a billion $‘s to play basketball when all is said & done…..and when is all said & done he will not have been overpaid…very few athletes you can say that about….he’s the man.

as bad habits to get an edge go, talking too much and with too much profanity seems like a fraction as bad as the flopping which pretenders like Ben Gordon, prima donas like Kobe and Lebron, and the entire Spurs team have all used for years.

Anyways (as a player) if you don’t like his trash talk, ignore it. As a fan, why should I care what you think? I’m 100% convinced these people would like him if he was on their team. (When the T-Wolves with Blount and Davis beet the Celts a few years back, I found KG to be annoying and petulant, funny how that changed post trade.)

If it were Kirk Hinrich or Derrick Rose or somebody mild-mannered he was yelling at, maybe I could see the backlash. But Ben Gordon is a fake tough guy from Mount Vernon who has been taunting the Celtics all series (crotch-grabbing, ‘bullseye’ hand gesture clownery), so cry me a river if KG — frustrated as hell for having to watch all of this, unable to do anything — yells at poor little Ben.

The people who are mad about this aren’t really mad about this. They’re either bitter Cavs/Lakers fans, or they’re Bulls fans sick over the way they choked away Game 5. Build a bridge and GET OVER IT.

that picture is awesome. Who cares what the rest of the league thinks. Maybe we wouldnt like it if he were on another team, but he’s not on another team. I’m proud to have him represent this city and team because that picture just sums up how I feel about this city and the Celtics.

KG is a cinch Hall Of Famer…yet plays with the type of passion you`d expect to see from a rookie trying to make the roster!

Like KG…we all should live every moment in the moment.

it’s a good posting and I agree with all of it, but you shouldn’t feel the need to apologize for the way KG is. obviously fans of opposing teams are going to criticize KG, but I have seen many C’s fans posting on here asking ‘why the need for KG’s antics?’ The argument of such “purists” centers around the idea that “it’s not classy” and “it’s not the way the game should be played”. My question is: when was it ever played the way you’re referring to? I’m no historian but if guys like Bill russell continue to have reputations as trash talkers to this day I’m pretty sure it’s not a new thing.

bottom line is:
haters wanna hate. ballers wanna ball.

I, for one, love that he’s doing it from the bench.. yeah he can’t play but he’s doing whatever else he can to help his teammates.

Guys like Bruce bowen, who stick their feet out when they’re guarding a guy whos shooting a 3 so that player will twist an ankle when they land; THAT is unsportsmanlike.