WE DODGED A BULLET!

Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said Thursday afternoon an MRI confirmed Kevin Garnett's injury is a strained right calf muscle and not related to his surgically repaired knee.

Ainge, speaking on Boston sports radio station WEEI, estimated Garnett would miss two weeks with the injury.


"It's actually the muscle just off the side of the leg below the knee," Ainge explained. "It's not anything to do with his knee, which is great news. He may be out for a couple of weeks, at the most. ... I think that's on the conservative side."

Garnett injured the muscle in the first quarter of Wednesday night's Celtics loss to the Detroit Pistons, leaving the game. He immediately underwent X-rays, which came back negative.

Ainge said when he saw Garnett hobble off the floor Wednesday night it reminded him of the game in Utah in February 2009, in which Garnett aggravated a knee injury that eventually needed surgery. But Ainge said this leg injury is much less serious because there was no pre-existing ailment in the area.

"That was a specific injury that he had [in 2009]," Ainge said. "KG had been playing with a sore leg for weeks before that Utah injury, that wasn't something that just happened. He had that bone spur on there for much longer before that Utah game."

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With Garnett out a couple of weeks, Rajon Rondo sidelined with a sprained ankle and Delonte West out with a broken wrist, the Celtics will have to lean on Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Glen Davis and others until they return.

"My biggest fear is wearing Paul and Ray out right now," Ainge said. "That's the temptation that [coach] Doc [Rivers] is going to have to deal with because of all these injuries. ... I think it would be hard to maintain the same pace we're playing at right now without Rajon and without KG. But this is an opportunity for other guys to step up and see what they can do.

"Doc is also going to have to be creative, and find different ways than how we're accustomed to playing, like he did the other night using Marquis [Daniels] at [point guard], which was very effective. Doc has a very creative mind."

Speaking Thursday morning on WEEI, Rivers said Davis would probably start in Garnett's place.

"It'll be a short rotation clearly. We don't have a lot of bigs left," Rivers said. "Right now we'd probably start Baby with Shaq and then you have [Jermaine O'Neal] come off the bench. From there you may use Luke [Harangody]. You may go with a smaller lineup with Marquis."

Like his players, Rivers thought the worst when Garnett's injury first occurred.

"The way he did it, I thought the knee or Achilles," Rivers said after the game Wednesday. "You've heard me say it before, an injury when no one is around, that's usually a severe one."

112288

If this truly is a muscle injury that KG can come back 100% from within 2 to 3 weeks, it could be a blessing for the Cs. Having him rest for that long could mean a fresher KG come June. Granted it certainly won't help the won loss record while he is out, but I'm looking for glimmers.

Bob,

I expect Glen Davis will rise to the challenge just as he has done quite consistently in the past year or so. I believe the main problem with life without KG will involve the bench.

Whether or not we recognize it, Glen Davis is now the bench leader. He has become the go-to guy if the bench offense sputters. He's the closest thing to KG the bench has as a defensive leader (obviously different skills but pretty dependable and effective).

With a bench squad of Semih (or maybe Jermaine), Davis, Quis, Nate and West, there's a mix of experience and inexperience...but the balance goes to experience—especially experience at positions where they can succeed. With a bench squad of Semih (or maybe Jermaine), Harangody (or maybe Jermaine), Quis, and Wafer, the balance switches to inexperience big time. There's virtually no leadership out there (although Quis will try anything). There's no semblance of order on offense and darned little of it on defense.

I'd go so far as to say that, right now, I think one of the keys to the championship involves how Glen Davis is used. With the bench, he become a weapon and leader. With the starters, he becomes a shorter replacement while the bench suffers greatly.

On the other hand, if one really searches for a silver lining, it could be that someone like Harangody will pull a Leon Powe or Glen Davis of a couple of years ago—using his practice experience to rise to the occasion. And hopefully we're just talking about two weeks anyway. It's not the worst thing for this team to have to go through a crucible or two during the season. So far, they've done a remarkable job of adjusting when necessary, and I hope it continues.

Sam

Luke can hit shots similar to Baby and may have to be Babys backup,I see him finding his stroke and confidence and stepping up.

cowens/oldschool wrote:Luke can hit shots similar to Baby and may have to be Babys backup,I see him finding his stroke and confidence and stepping up.

cow,

It would fill me with such glee if our twelfth man is able to come in and play like a 6th man. I'm not counting on it, but it would make me estatic. As I've said, I've liked what I've seen of Luke so far.

I think Sam's points are well-taken. Our bench leader was Baby. He doesn't have the experience of JON but he was the emotional and statistical leader. While we may replace much of his output with Luke and JON and Semih (or maybe play more small ball with Von Wafer coming in to shoot), that's still not the same as leadership.

For the bench to thrive, it will need a leader. It's going to be interesting, over the next couple of weeks that KG is out, to see what Doc's mind comes up with to compensate and who steps up to become the interim leader on the bench.

bob

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All

Just gotta wonder how much of a bullet have we dodged?

None of us know beyond what is released to us and not saying it's our business BUT. I am usually given to be an optimist but given the past I am not taking this as a minor injury/deal. As I pointed out once I see footage of him moving about in light workouts I'll just wait and hope that it is a 2-3 week window. Hopefully soon we'll see the real talc tosser back where he needs to be!

beat

Guy's, Luke is no power forward. He does not have the size 6"7" nor the body. His Game is on the outside.

Just a paragraph on him from EXPRESS DRAFT

Though Harangody has made some changes to his game, his biggest weakness from an NBA perspective remains his lack of athleticism. The hard working forward certainly took the draft process seriously last summer, shedding some weight and improving his mobility to a degree in the process, but the strides he made still leave him severely lacking compared to the average NBA power forward. Extremely strong, but very undersized at just 6-6 without shoes, and without a great wingspan (6-10) to compensate for that, Harangody may not have the type of physical tools that would allow him to translate his production to a much smaller role at the next level. While that certainly limits his NBA upside, it may not exclude him from having the opportunity to make an impact as a role player.

SO I WOULD NOT GET PUMPED UP WITH THE KID AS TAKING BABY'S POSITION AND THRIVING. I hope I'm proven wrong...but we all have to be realistic.


112288

112288

Don't think it's going to be a Wally Pipp moment do you?

beat

Beat, Hope not!

112288

Hi,
Well, this season looks more and more like the last one.
The good sign is that the injuries hit early. I really hope that everybody's back by the beginning of March, plays through June and gets 4 wins in the Finals. Only after that we can relax.
For now, without KG the defense will suffer. No matter how much hustle BBD brings with him or anyone else, there's no substitute for KG.
But let's look on the bright side. All "benchers" will be tested in real fire. So, Doc and DA will know who's who.
Also, I hope Doc, despite the short roster, won't rush RR into the game.

AK

I still think Luke can play the 3,but right now we may need some scoring from the bench and Luke has a stroke,sometimes you have to take it wherever you can get it.

When Luke comes in, which is very infrequent, his energy helps that second
unit, he has proved to me that he could contribute if necessary. No one is saying that he should be playing 25 minutes, but from what I have seen, if needed, he could spell PP for a spell. I really wonder what their long range ideas are for him. They haven't sent him to the D=League, so they must think
he can contribute somewhat.

Luke has a high basketball IQ, I don't think there can be any doubt about it. You see him already making switches on defense quickly, you already see him going to his spots on the floor on offense despite the complexity of our offensive playbook (which Bradley has obviously not grasped yet) and you see him somehow always being around the ball.

Everytime I've extolled his virtues I've also included a major caveat about his lack of athleticism. This may, in fact, end up being his NBA Waterloo. Nevertheless, we've all seen players who compensate for their lack of athleticism with smarts and grit: Bird, Ford, Oakley, Mullin, Phil Jackson and Silas just to name a few. Bird, clearly, wasn't quick enough to play 3 and yet I think he did ok, right? We've also seen players that have NO athleticism and a lot less smarts who hang in there and contribute just based upon their grit, singular advantage and the team's needs; Kite and Ilgauskas come to mind.

bob

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I agree, Luke is a #3 small forward and can give PP a spell which is the best position for him.

112288

.....couldn't have said it better myself bob,hes got a toughness/grittiness that I already have seen.

Regarding Harangody being too small to play PF, I think he has a fair shot of being a positive contributor in limited minutes. Two other examples of players who are too small come to mind:

-- DuJuan Blair, 6'5.25" without shoes (http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/DeJuan-Blair-5049/). He does have a longer wingspan than Harangody but is similar in his level of athleticism and has been a solid contributor for the Spurs.

-- Glen Davis, who at 6'7.75" (http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Glen-Davis-420/) fills in capably as an undersized backup center.

Outside

OUTSIDE,

You cannot compare Big Baby's body to Luke. He's 60+pounds heavier and twice as broad.

Small forward...yes!

112288

112288,

The similarity is that they are/were considered too short for the position. That is the main knock against Harangody. He's 240 pounds, which is adequate for a backup PF. Two PF examples:

-- JJ Hickson, 6-9, 242
-- Taj Gibson, 6-9, 225

They're not too light to play PF.

Outside

Outside,

I see your point but Luke is listed at 6'7" with sneakers on so he really is 6'6" and 3 inches shorter then the guy's you listed and he is not as athletic as the guys you listed.

112288

112288,

That's the whole point -- there are examples of guys who are too short or not athletic enough for their position yet still find a way to be positive contributors. Perhaps Harangody is one of those guys. He displays the intangibles needed to compensate for the height/athleticism deficit.

Is it guaranteed? Of course not. But he could be a capable backup PF while KG is out. If he demonstrates that it practice, I'd expect Doc to give him a chance to do so in games.

Outside

Whats the alternative?

We got Davis, O'Neal and Harangody that can play PF right? Maybe they could dig up Lasme from whereever they hid him but they would have to cut somebody then right?

Good comparisons, Outside. If Glen Davis plays primarily with the starters in KG's absence (a virtual certainty), his defensive strengths and overall leadership will be a real loss which would be almost impossible to replace in a hopefully short span of injury time for KG.

The bench will also miss Glen's ability to be an offensive thread from both inside AND outside. This is an area in which Harangody could potentially help a lot. He has played only 48 minutes. But I've noticed that he's been very consistent during that small sample of playing time. He's much like Scal in that he has great instincts for being in the right place at the right time.

By the way, in short minutes, Luke ranks second on the team only to Shaq in offensive rebounds per 30 minutes of play—well ahead of Glen Davis. His shooting percentage of 52.9% is five points better than Glen's.

Moreover, a player doesn't perform in a vacuum. Some guys just mesh better with certain combinations than others. While Harangody could not be expected to become an overnight leader, he's a really good "mesher." I watch him filling open spaces to space the floor, making the right picks, swinging the ball, and consistently executing the fundamentals of not only basketball in general but also of Doc's system. He doesn't seem at all lost on offense the way guys like Bradley, Wafer, and even Nate often do. The things Luke does, he does with confidence and no sign of rookie tentativeness. And that's without getting consistent minutes on the floor. Talk about discontinuity!

As the various bench players struggle to find some semblance of cohesion without Davis and West, Harangody would not rock that boat. He'd fit in, as best he could, where needed. And he does possess great shooting skill and a superb knack for offensive rebounding. So maybe his defensive assignment would score more points than as if Glen were guarding him. But who's to say that Luke would not provide compensating benefits—both with his personal output and his ability to enable his teammates?

Sam

Rather shift JON to PF.

112288

Shifting JO to power forward might be great if Shaq could play 30-35 minutes at center. But, as things stand right now, the Celtics need two starting centers to split the time and another center to play with the bench.

Sam

Sam wrote:Shifting JO to power forward might be great if Shaq could play 30-35 minutes at center. But, as things stand right now, the Celtics need two starting centers to split the time and another center to play with the bench.

Sam

sam,

Bingo. Unless Semih can give us 25 minutes consistently, we can't just let JON move to 4 because Shaq can't handle all those extra minutes over the rest of the season and the playoffs. When Perk comes back, assuming he's even near his playing ability...

bob

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