Kevin Garnett said recently about Rondo that he is always motivated, but sometimes is "more than motivated" for some matchups. Well, he may as well have said the same thing about himself last night.
Patrick Reusse: Who's the fairest Kevin of all? Um, answer is on the scoreboard | StarTribune.com
The debate before Friday night's game at Target Center was whether Kevin Garnett in his prime or Kevin Love as a 23-year-old stats monster was the best player in Timberwolves history. Garnett still has enough pals to be aware that this conversation was taking place in the Twin Cities dailies and on sports talk radio. Anyone raising this issue did no favors to Love. Tom Hanneman, the Wolves' TV play-by-play announcer, said he was told by his Boston peers that they had not seen Garnett so fired up before a game in a couple of years. That's not a surprise to anyone who watched Garnett in his 12 seasons in Minnesota. If we learned anything, it was that any hint of disrespect turned KG from merely a fierce competitor to an uncaged lion.
You want to know why I have consistently left the door ajar with this team? Why I never fully can bring myself to count them out? Because of stuff like this. When the playoffs begin and these guys are staring at what could be their final days together (more on that soon), what more motivation could you need? They may not win it all, but they are one of those teams that is absolutely capable of winning it all. And that's enough for me right now.