Do you think KG makes a big impact on the defensive side?

Not anymore.

DD

 

Of course he does, more so than anyone still left in the playoffs.

His defensive rotations and pick and roll rotations are the best in the league, and only biased opinions (Like DaDa here, will dispute otherwise). He is an elite defender, and the best backline communicator in the league. No one calls out picks and directs the defense better than Kevin Garnett...

Daryl Morey being absolutely in love with the guy should tell you something...


DM went as far as to call him, "undervalued" in 2008...

(Edit) Oops! I see what you did there! What say you DD? :grin:

 

Explain?

He's a best defender at his position, bar none!

 

lmao, when has he not?

 

I think one play in the Magic finals absolute highlighted how awesome KG is on D. Jameer nelson was trying to get by his man and Lewis set up a pick to help. KG used Lewis to shield him from Nelson's view then suddenly jumped out in front of him in an angle that sandwiched Nelson between KG, another Celtics player and Lewis who was setting the pick and had his back turned to Nelson.

KG is so good he can freelance while still keeping tabs on his own guy. Having him there is like having an extra guy on the court...as long as he doesn't lose it all and start going down on all fours.

 

He was, but now he is slow to slide either left of right and doesn't jump well.

DD

 

This

he is still an above average defender probably, but he is a shell of his former self.

 

In his younger days he was the best team defender and the most versatile defender I've seen. Now, with his limitations, he is still a beast and the best PF defender but he definitely can't hang with the little guys anymore and can't jump high enough to really bother the big, big guys.

He sorta lucked out by facing three soft, jump shooting PF in the playoffs so far. I think Gasol is going to give him some problems but he is going to absolutely eat Lamar Odom's lunch. Odom will be a non-factor in the series because of KG.

 

Yes. You never know when he'll crawl up on you and snatch the ball away.

he be like.. yoinks
and you be like.. nooo

 

KG missed the playoffs last year and the C's D regressed greatly and they were knocked out the PO's in the 2nd rd by ORL... this yr KG (former DPOY 08) is bak and their D is reminiscent of the daunting and overwhelming D bak in 08 and they beat the same ORL (minus Hedo and Rafer but core still intact) with similar great D.. KG in the linuep theyre championship contenders and a great defensive team once again which led to their resurgence bak to the finals.. KG is like everything to the C's as far as championship aspirations, stats can be vastly misleading the intangibles cant be measured by numbers, which in most cases are more important

 

and i was like... lol

 

So who's better?

 

he's the 2nd best defensive big man in the game to me after dwight howard. so yes, he makes a huge difference.

him dominating jamison is a huge reason why they beat the cavs.

and the reason the celts are in the finals right now.

in his prime, he was arguably the best overall defender i've seen. he did everything defensively, even guarded the premier perimeter scorers from kobe, tmac, and lebron. which big man does that?

 

nice to know you haven't watched the playoffs.

 

Exactly.

 

KG is not the same as he used to be. He is slower. But he has a high BB IQ and when he isn't injured he still is an ELITE team defender. He is long and covers a lot of ground. Great with PNR defense. For the Celtics, KG+Perkins at the 4/5 are elite defenders.

KG's effectiveness is exactly why Morey wants Bosh. Not saying Bosh is as good defensively as KG, but he is above average and is a very good team defender and would work well defensively and offensively with Yao.

 

Of course KG isn't as good as he once was. He was arguably the best defender of his generation. Now he is just damn good. How many other bigs can bang with Howard and be versatile enough to chase the Lewis types on the perimiter and play great help/pick-n-roll D?

 

I think you can compare the build and size of Bosh and KG, maybe a little on offense, but everything after that all comparisons come to an abrupt end. Bosh has almost no similarities to KG defensively, except size and athleticism. Even with that, KG is still a few inches taller and might be better athlete. Also, a really good defender, especially in the mode of say KG or in few years the kid with the Thunder (Ibaka) do not necessarily need a big center or another great defensive player to wreak havoc on other team's offense.

- KG was far greater competitor than Bosh has shown so far. This was only KG in his first five to six seasons. In his first five to seven seasons, KG had a similar cast to current Raptors. I'm pretty sure KG in his prime could take the Raptors to playoffs and even win a few games.

- If Bosh is a very good team defender, then there are alot of great team defenders out there, while he would be heralded as such. He's is an ok team defender at best, and at worst fairly mediocre. I really do not think Bosh is capable go guarding four positions of players, unless his game drastically change. He could, but he does not as far as what he has done in Toronto.

- He lacks KG's BB IQ and toughness (the whole go get em mentality). KG is one of those rare players you see in NBA history as a defender who just about shut down any type offensive player he is going against, he could slow down back to basket centers and power forwards; he could take one and shut out speedy forwards or athletic demons playing on the wings; and sometimes the otherworldly guards. He's in that same category with Hakeem Olajuwon; Bill Russell; Dennis Rodman; Bruce Bowen; and Scottie Pippen. With Bosh, I doubt he could even become 5% of that.

- I actually think they are about even on offense, but KG was also a slightly better passer and post player.


http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&p1=boshch01&p2=garneke01

It's funny, too, because Bosh is one of the players KG has given alot of trouble, too.

 

Anyway, Garnett is a huge reason why the Celtics are so great defensively. He's the rottweiler of the defense. He's the defense's spirit, its ignitor. He still moves very well and stays in front of his man, he contests almost everything and uses his reach and length to his advantage ... of course he's a step slower, but he's still a phenomenal defender and probably the primary reason why Rondo is, too, such a great defender since he has more room to gamble knowing KG will protect the paint.