“The Fate of How Far We Go Lies on How Healthy Kevin Is”

Posted by Zach Lowe on Dec 23, 2009 49702 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2009%2F12%2F23%2Fthe-fate-of-how-far-we-go-lies-on-how-healthy-kevin-is%2F%22The+Fate+of+How+Far+We+Go+Lies+on+How+Healthy+Kevin+Is%222009-12-23+14%3A01%3A56Zach+Lowehttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D4970

That’s Paul Pierce talking today in the Boston Herald.

And he’s right. We know the drill from last year. He’d be right if he were talking about his own health, or that of Ray Allen or Rajon Rondo, but KG is the one with the recent injury history. And so Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge were absolutely right to sit KG because of soreness linked to a thigh bruise he suffered against the Grizzlies last week. There is no question about it. (And CelticsBlog brings up an interesting point this morning: It’s notable that the team sent Ainge to address the TV guys before the game. Anything KG related is important enough for the message to come from on high).

All of this makes the following fact more disturbing: KG waited at least a week to tell the team—or, at least, the coach of the team—that he was hurting. Here’s Doc in the Globe this morning:

Garnett had been playing with the injury since sustaining it Dec. 14 in a victory over Memphis.

“He said that’s where he got hit,’’ Rivers said. “And, of course, he hadn’t told anyone until, I think, today.’’

Kevin: Not OK! Not OK!! Listen, I get the pro athlete’s code. You come to work, you do your best, you don’t complain about injuries unless they are so bad that you’re actively hurting the team by playing. There’s a machismo to it. We saw this in the tunnel in Utah last season after KG first suffered his injury. He wanted to play, and he was ready to do so despite the pain. But it was just too much.

The time for machismo is over. KG has proven his toughness to everyone, dozens of times over. If you’re hurting, tell the freaking team.