daddyfatsax wrote:
No kidding right? There's no way in hell they are in the ECF without KG. Not even close.

daddyfatsax wrote:
I knew that someone would comment on that. Did he not miss a critical jumper? Has he not missed a few critical jumpers at the end of critical games? He plays hard and effective all of the time but he still cannot get it done in crunch time. Kevin Garnett was always my favorite player on the Wolves but it always irritated me that he couldn't hit clutch shots. None the less, don't call me ignorant for a simple observation. He is lucky because his team won despite the fact that he missed that jumper, just like he did the other night when Ray Allen tipped that rebound in order to clinch game 5. When the game is on the line, he either needs to knock down those open jumpers like he does the rest of the game or just not take it at all.

College Wolf wrote:
I agree 100%, but he still cannot hit clutch shots at the end of games.

mwithers wrote:

Ok... but without KG there would be no \"crunch time\" for him to fail in, because they would have already lost the game(s). It's quite the Catch-22!

College Wolf wrote:
That is all well and good. But he needs to hit those open jumpers at the end of games if he is going to take them. He is such a great passer, why not pass to another shooter. As far as it being a catch-22, it isn't considering that he could just stop shooting jumpers at the end and rely on one of the other two \"superstars\" on that team. With all do respect, it's only a catch-22 if you do not have any other options.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe he went 2 for 3 in the last 6-7 minutes of the game. I remember him nailing the shake right/shake left/shake right fadeaway on Ben with about 5:00 left, and then he raced down the court after someone for Clev. missed a 3 and put in a layup with like 3:30 left. I would like to see him do more in the crunch too, but don't make it sound like he completely disappeared and/or was clanking shots right & left. He had 2 key baskets in the latter stages of the game, when things were getting tense.

BonK wrote:
Which is why I couldn't muster up the energy to post a response. In the \"crunch\" KG has done much better than some may indicate (BY the way, when does crunch time start?). However, out of the maybe 6 games that have been close, KG didn't hit EVERY shot in the clutch so he's labeled a coward. I will, however, say that in maybe 2 of those games he was trash down the stretch. In at least 2 he was superior in the clutch, and then probably in 2 of them (like last night) he was average, hitting some, missing some.

See, what a waste of my time. This will fall on deaf ears.

BTW, Lebron was terrible down the stretch. He missed several of his clutch shots....Oh wait, that doesn't matter, it's what he DID do that made him amazing.

daddyfatsax wrote:
Garnett is really good. But, when the game is on the line, when there are only one or two shots left in the game and the other team is within one or two possessions, all shots are important. That is crunch time. And the times that KG has found himself wide open for 15-20ft jumpers during this time he has taken and missed them. You can tell he is getting mad at himself. It is not falling on deaf ears as I have the utmost respect for KG and think he is a great player. That is just his biggest flaw. He needs to give the last shots to Pierce or Allen because he has issues making them.

daddyfatsax wrote:
I agree with you on the Lebron thing...he missed clutch free throws down the stretch...that could have made the difference...

In fairness, KG made a clutch shot in game 7 and shot more than I thought he would down the stretch...he also came up with some nice rebounds as well...see I can give credit to him when it is do...I might actually hear more than you think...

Always a spirited conversation daddy!

BonK wrote:
How on earth did you get that out of what I said when I said straight out that he missed a few critical shots in the last few possessions of certain games? This is getting rediculous when I cannot come on here and voice a negative opinion regarding a player without it being blown way out of proportion. I have no problem with KG, he just has problems hitting jumpers in the last few possessions of critical games. Just like when he was with the Wolves. It's true, get over it. Even CW admitted that much. He needs to correct it, that is all I am saying.

Basically, he was lucky that his team didn't lose those games because if the Cavs would have gained possession and scored on the other end off of those critical shots, the Celtics would probably be out of the playoffs. If Ray Allen hadn't tapped that rebound, the Cavs would have scored on the other end and therefore taken the lead and most likely the win in game 5. That would have taken away the homecourt advantage.

Wow... KG4LVP with something nice to say. Good for you, I am impressed!

mwithers wrote:
I guess we have different definitions of \"crunch time\". I view crunch time as the last 5-7 minutes of a Game 7, while you view crunch time as the last couple of possessions. Fair enough, my apologies for putting words in your mouth. Although by your definition Lebron is awful in crunchtime, as he airballed a layup with less than 20 seconds left, and passed to Pavlovich the possession before that (and missed a 3 with less than 10 seconds left).

We all know KG isn't a player who very often takes over stretches of a game. It doesn't matter if it is crunch time or any other time. His style of play is that he tries to make plays to get the best shot he can for someone on the offense. Most elite players have stretches of the game (be it crunch time or other random times) where they basically take all the shots. That isn't KG's game. Should it be?

The supposed glory of KG's pairing with Pierce is that he can now stay in the role that he plays so well without everyone freaking out that he needs to take 10 shots in the last 3 minutes or be accused of ducking the spot light.

If Paul sucks it up the last 3 minutes when it is his job to take a high percentage of the shots the C's lose. If KG doesn't move the ball around like a PG in the post and hit his jumpers the C's lose.

It also doesn't help things that the C's have an offense built around the fact that Ray Allen is a star versus being completely washed up and useless.

BonK wrote:
The difference being that Lebron has hit many crunch time shots in his career and KG hasn't.