The big question facing the Celtics this preseason — really the biggest preseason question in the whole NBA — concerned the health and well-being of Kevin Garnett. Those questions appear to be answered. KG is back.
Garnett appeared in six of the team’s eight preseason games and averaged 12.7 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes of action, shooting a healthy 56 percent from the floor. That was all well and good, but Garnett distinguished himself by running the floor, taking a few bumps along the way and displaying his trademark explosive athleticism toward the end of the exhibition season with a few well-timed dunks.
With Garnett coming off his first major knee injury, it’s really quite remarkable to see where he is as a player. There were times early in the preseason when Garnett looked a little tired and stiff. Doc Rivers assured everyone that it was just natural rust and once he worked himself back into playing shape all would be fine.
The skeptic in all of us took note and watched closely. Sure enough, his legs and jumping ability slowly began to return as the October games rolled on and the old Garnett began to reassert his dominance.
That said, it would be a mistake to think that Garnett is ready for 36-40 minutes a night of the 82-game NBA schedule. Fortunately for him, and the Celtics, he doesn’t need to log those kind of minutes with the addition of Rasheed Wallace. Rivers can afford to monitor Garnett’s minutes and keep him in the 30-32 minute range over the course of the season.
Rivers has been most judicious about not overworking Garnett, but the Celtics suffered a noticeable drop in production last season when he was off the floor. That should change with Wallace around, but if we learned anything from the playoffs last season it’s that the Celtics are not a true championship contender without Garnett.
They need to have him healthy and ready once the playoffs start, which will be an ongoing part of the Celtics conversation throughout the winter. But Garnett passed the first test and appears ready to start the season with few restrictions.
THE BENCH IS SETTLED
Flash back to late May. With Glen Davis in the starting lineup and Garnett and Leon Powe in street clothes, Rivers cast a forlorn look down his bench to find Stephon Marbury and Mikki Moore staring back at him. Gulp.
Rivers’ bench options during the playoffs primarily involved Eddie House, Brian Scalabrine and a whole bunch of hope. No longer. Davis is back in a backup role where he can come in and provide energy and a jump shot for 18-24 minutes a night. House is House, which means a steady diet of catch-and-hop 3-pointers.
But the additions of Wallace and Marquis Daniels look like they will not only add scoring punch, depth and defense to the second unit, they also look like they will solve many of the problems the Celtics had before everyone started getting injured.
The two obvious names missing from the 2007-08 championship team were James Posey and P.J. Brown and while Daniels doesn’t quite offer the same package of skills that Posey had, he can do many of the same things defensively. That is, guard multiple positions.
Wallace, meanwhile, does many of the things that Posey did offensively, namely stretch the floor with his long-distance shooting ability, and he has the size that was sorely lacking without old reliable P.J. As an added bonus, Daniels appears to be the slasher that the Celtics hoped Tony Allen would be last season.
That gives Rivers a nine-man rotation, which is more than enough, but he still has Scalabrine to break out in case of an emergency and another backup big man with size in Shelden Williams.
The missing piece, as it was last season and the season before that, is a proven backup veteran point guard. In theory Daniels and House can handle the position but don’t count on too many opposing teams allowing them the luxury of bringing the ball up the floor without exerting pressure.
In each of the last two seasons Danny Ainge reached out and brought in former All-Stars, Sam Cassell and Stephon Marbury. In truth, neither was a particularly good fit, although Cassell did have his moments. It won’t be a good sign if Ainge has to go to that well again this season.
RAJON RONDO LOOKS TO BE IN A GOOD PLACE
Unlike his more celebrated teammates, Rajon Rondo
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