Garnett becomes center of attention
The Celtics came into Game 3 against the Heat on Friday needing another big effort from Kevin Garnett. And their request was more than answered as the big man went for 24 points and 11 rebounds in a 101-91 victory that cut the Boston series deficit to 2-1 heading into Game 4 on Sunday.
Now playing center, Garnett is fulfilling a prediction his old coach, Flip Saunders, made 17 years ago.
"It doesn't surprise me," said Saunders, now working as a consultant to the Celtics. "It's interesting. I told KG when he came in the league at 19 that we were going to make him a small forward but that he would become an all-pro player as a power forward and that he would finish his career as a center.
"It doesn't surprise me how Doc (Rivers, the Celtics' head coach) is using him with the players he's with. He's very efficient, and other centers don't want to go out and guard him. Kevin Garnett in his career is probably one of the top three shooters from 15 and 20 feet in the league. In Minnesota, he was in the top two or three every year. That's his shot. But a lot of centers, they're not used to going out and guarding that shot. It doesn't surprise me that he would have that kind of efficiency."
According to Saunders, Garnett's move to the middle might have come right away if he'd gone to college for a year instead of coming straight from high school.
"If he had gone to college, he probably would have then gone into the pros as a center, sort of like the Anthony Davis kid (from Kentucky) is going to do now," said Flip. "You would have looked at him more as an inside player rather than as the multi-purpose player that he is.
"He's going to go down as the most versatile player to ever play because he can play any position offensively and he can guard everybody. In Minnesota he would switch off and we would guard point guards. He could guard centers, he could guard anybody."
