Last year, the Celtics won the NBA title thanks to their big three: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Allen is the team's shooter and smooth veteran; Pierce is the all-everything perimeter star; and Garnett is the unselfish, intimidating post presence. Together, the three -- even though they're aging and a step slower than when each were in their primes -- form a fearsome side.
Garnett also served another role. Has the Celtics' team leader, their emotional center, the guy whose stare will literally burn your corneas. Don't look Kevin Garnett directly in the eye. The will to win emanating from his very being is enough to cripple a full-grown adult. Always avert. Avert!
If the aging Celtics plan to repeat, they will need Garnett in full force. According to Doc Rivers, that's not going to happen:
Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers says there is a strong possibility that Kevin Garnett will miss the whole postseason. The All-Star forward has missed most of the last two months with a strained right knee. He had been recovering with an eye towards the playoffs, but Rivers said he had to shut Garnett down at practice Thursday morning and "there's no way" he could play right now.
Before this, Garnett was supposed to limp his way through the playoffs, or perhaps return after the Celtics' first-round series against the Bulls. If he is truly out for the entire playoffs, the Celtics are screwed. Their chances are more crippled than the last person that stared into Garnett's ray-of-death eyeballs. We told you to avert.
Eamonn Brennan is a Chicago-based writer, editor and blogger who keeps a mirror with him all the time, just in case he sees Kevin Garnett. You can also read him at Yahoo! Sports, Mouthpiece Sports Blog, and Inside The Hall, or at his personal site, eamonnbrennan.com. Follow him on Twitter.
