Kevin Garnett’s a notorious trash-talker in the NBA and he has the game to back it up. It’s this mental edge that probably has helped him become such a ferocious rebounder and stellar defender throughout his career. Sometimes KG has used his edge to fire up teammates (or make them cry), while other times he has used it to get under the skin of opponents. On Sunday against the Wizards, The Big Ticket decided to get inside the head of Wizards youngster, Andray Blatche, who had been lighting up Boston’s front court most of the game:
Blatche was noticeably upset and appeared to hold back tears as he explained his encounter with Garnett, which nearly got heated when Garnett approached Blatche and tried to wrestle the ball away from him. Blatche appeared to throw an elbow as Garnett continued to taunt him. Blatche later flung Garnett into a cameraman and sent him to the foul line for two free throws. Garnett smiled as he was helped off the ground. Reserve forward James Singleton said Garnett used his “veteran senses” to needle Blatche and get under his skin.
Blatche has been killing it (24ppg, 10.6rpb last 10 games) ever since he started getting regular minutes after the Wizards disbanded their team. He and JaVale McGee were having their way with the Celtics and Garnett up until the end when they blew their 11-point lead with six minutes left in the game. Garnett was actually held field-goal less but he kept Blatche from scoring in the final six minutes as the Celtics pulled it out. The Wizards easily had that game in hand but gave it away. Blatche also learned the hard way that he can’t get sucked into veteran head games — it costs the Wizards this time.
Celtics run past Wizards at end, 86-83 [The Washington Post]
Garnett got way in Blatche’s head [Pro Basketball Talk]
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