When you think about Kevin Garnett, the first things that come to your mind are probably that contagious intensity, that aggressiveness, the way he left his heart on the court, especially on defence, slapping the ground, and banging his head against the stanchion. Yet, if you are one of those who believe the Big Ticket was one of the toughest guys in recent history or he was always up for a fight, like, for example, Ron Artest aka Metta World Peace, we need to clear the air.
If you dig deeper, you might be surprised to find that when push came to shove, KG actually wanted no piece of the action.
And as a guy who’s never been in fights myself, I can clearly recognize my type.
So, let’s take a look at some of those situations. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it.
Garnett vs Anthony Peeler
This is the first time I remember questioning Garnett’s toughness.
It’s Game 6 of the 2004 Western Conference Semifinals. The Timberwolves are up 3-2 against the Sacramento Kings.
Towards the end of the third, Anthony Peeler first elbows his former teammate in the sternum. Yes, of course it was a cheap shot. Also, at least when it comes to this situation, you won’t be 100% wrong if you decide against criticising Garnett - who fell down and stayed on the ground - for not reacting because such a hit can catch even the strongest guys off guard. Yet, what happened on the following possession is a little trickier. In an obvious attempt to retaliate, KG returns the favour to a far lesser extent. And not only did Peeler not back down, but also he even reacted more aggressively than the first time around. Elbowing KG straight to the chin, a shot that has become part of NBA crazy moments folklore.
By this time, should we even mention that KG wanted no part of Peeler? Instead, he was just jumping up and down a little and then standing, waiting for everyone to rush between the 2 and break up the fight.
KG vs Antonio Mcdyess
Look, Antonio McDyess was not a player known for being involved in brawls, instigating or any other stuff like that. But, boy, if you tried to pull some cheap stuff on him, chances were you would instantly regret it.
In 2007, the Pistons were playing KG’s Timberwolves. With the score tied at the middle of the fourth, McDyess pushed down Garnett’s teammate Mark Madsen. The Big Ticket, standing up for his teammate, gave McDyess, who was not looking, a mini-push, most likely saying something to him as well. When the Pistons big guy came closer to KG, Garnett threw the basketball at him, at which point McDyess snapped and looked ready to go.
And check out what happens. We have one guy rushing forward, and one backing all the way down the court. If it wasn’t for Garnett doing this backpedalling as fast as he could, or for the refs and other players who tried to de-escalate the situation, it doesn’t seem far-fetched to say that KG would have ended up in a world of trouble. You know things have gotten serious when Rasheed Wallace is the one trying to calm things down.
For number 3, we got his iconic and signature move where he puts his arms up as if he means no harm, buut actually does try to hit a player.
Let’s go back to the start of the 2010-11 season. The Celtics and Bucks are involved in a game that will likely go down the wire. With around two and a half minutes to go, KG dunks on Andrew Bogut and draws the foul.
This is where things get testy. KG clearly swings the elbow but his hands stay in the air like he meant no harm. The elbow didn’t connect, but Bogut knew what was up and reacted by catching the Big Ticket with his forearm. Expectedly, Garnett backs down and goes back behind the basket, pretending he had been minding his business all along.
A couple of seasons earlier, he had tried something very similar against LaMarcus Aldridge. This time, his elbow caught a little part of Aldridge’s head. Sure enough, Aldridge responded. This time, KG received a slap in the back of his head by the Blazers forward. Of course, KG didn’t turn around and proceeded to go to the other half of the court.
One of the biggest fake tough guy moments for me was this one against Dwight Howard.
Howard has never really been known as a fighter, rather as a jokester, so KG probably thought that he could punk him.
But Howard stood his ground and actually swiped at him. So this is the fake tough for me. With all the crowd in between Garnett was yelling and screaming, and doing all of this extra stuff.
0 Comments