Amazing Not Happening in Boston

He heard the question from ABC's Michele Tafoya, pondered it, removed his cap, cocked his head skyward, then shouted the line that defined not only his career but the Boston Celtics' return to NBA prominence. "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!!!" screamed Kevin Garnett, motioning to the banners and the heavens before breaking down and weeping in a friend's arms last June.

Alas, it took only 10 months to realize what suddenly isn't possible: the idea of the Celtics repeating as NBA champions without Garnett. That fatal twist is assured after a series of staggering events Thursday, when it became clear that the team's emotional leader and defensive force will miss the entire postseason with knee problems. With Garnett, the second championship in a potential dynasty run was possible. Without him, the Celtics can't beat LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals, a rude awakening that has New England in mourning -- what, six titles involving three teams isn't enough this decade? -- and may have contributed to the stress levels of general manager Danny Ainge, who is said to be "recovering nicely" after a minor heart attack.

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Before he was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital, Ainge was asked if the Celtics could repeat without Garnett. "No," he initially replied, before pausing and adding, "It would be a difficult task."

So much for the shamrocks, the leprechauns and the lingering lucky cigar smoke of Red Auerbach. The Celtics may win a series or two because of their two proud veterans, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, and the emergence of Rajon Rondo as a productive point guard and defensive raven. But what would have been a colossal chore with Garnett -- overcoming the suffocating home-court edge owned by LeBron in Cleveland -- now is a pipe dream. The Celtics had enough trouble last spring with a healthy Garnett, needing all seven games to eliminate the Atlanta Hawks and Cavaliers in whatever they're calling the new Garden these days. They'll have to march on knowing they've allowed 7.5 more points a game this season when he isn't manning the middle -- a stat that turns to a whopping 16.8 points a game against playoff teams. They like to boast about their 18-7 record without Garnett, but against playoff teams, they're a mere 8-5.

I hate to do this on the eve of a compelling postseason, with the league's Kayne West video airing in heavy rotation. But you can pencil in LeBron and the Cavaliers in the East and Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in the West. Sorry, but Amazing isn't happening in Boston. Such is the devastating impact of a strained tendon that sidelined Garnett for a month and appeared to improve, only to buckle again when he leaped for a rebound in late March. Anything is possible, all right, including serious knee injuries to irreplaceable superstars.

"It's not official that he's out for the entire playoffs, but it's official as far as I'm concerned," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers, a realist. "I just don't see how. I hope I'm wrong, but I just don't see it."

"I'm devastated for him," Allen said. "This is the time of year you've been waiting for."

A shocking development, this is not. Anyone watching the Garnett drama stumble along in recent weeks knew something wasn't right. While the Celtics were releasing regular wishful-thinking updates, there were no credible signs that his right knee was improving. Every time they suggested he was ready to return, he didn't. Thursday morning, after it was known that the Celtics would play the Chicago Bulls in the first round, Rivers scrutinized Garnett as he ran at the team facility. When the leg kept locking up, the good Doc recognized that he had to protect Garnett from himself and preserve the knee for the future. "He has done everything he could do to get back on the floor, but you could tell he was trying to mask that there was pain," Rivers said.

"If he can't get through biking and working out without swelling and his leg locking, I don't know how you can play in the playoffs. This was an honest run today, and (he) couldn't make your way through it. The guy's a warrior, you see him try to mask his way through it. But after 20 minutes of running, I don't see it. There's no way he can play."


Earlier, on WEEI radio, Rivers was asked how Garnett took the news. Quite understandably, he had left the facility without speaking to the media. "He was frustrated. He was mad at me, mad at everybody. Then he understood," Rivers said. "He put up a fight. He's really frustrated, but that's Kevin. That's why we got him, because he cares so much."

In practice gyms across the league, all activity stopped when the Garnett news spread. If the celebration was loudest among Cleveland fans -- who are beginning to believe that their painful streak of sports misfortune (The Shot, The Drive, The Fumble, The Jose Mesa, The This, The That) finally is over -- a certain MVP-in-waiting remained subdued Thursday. "KG has to do what's best for him. He doesn't want to do something that can hurt him for a long period of time," James said. "The team may be a little bit down, but they still have a lot of veteran guys."

The news immediately gave hope to the Bulls, a recent upstart whose bad season was salvaged by a trade-deadline deal that brought scoring forward John Salmons and center Brad Miller to Chicago. Wednesday night, the Bulls didn't shower themselves in glory when they blew the No. 6 seed with a no-effort home loss to an eliminated Toronto team. Things got worse afterward when several players gathered around a locker-room TV to watch the end of the Philadelphia-Cleveland game, which would determine their new seeding. By the time the game finished in overtime, only veteran guard Kirk Hinrich remained. Didn't the others care? "We just kind of laid an egg," Hinrich said. "We had an opportunity, and we didn't take advantage of it."

Asked about the Celtics, Hinrich sounded defeated, saying, "It's going to be a huge challenge. They're a great team. We're going to have to play near perfect. Nobody is expecting us to win. We have to stick together as a team." But suddenly, when the Bulls reported to work in the morning, they had new life. They almost didn't want to believe their good fortune.

"Kevin could say all of a sudden he feels better and wants to play 20 minutes," said coach Vinny Del Negro, who struggled in his first season but arrived in the playoffs anyway. "We'll prepare for both ways just to cover our bases. That's the smart thing to do. They have a very, very strong team so there's a lot to worry about, not just Kevin."

Said point guard Derrick Rose, the impending Rookie of the Year: "Knowing him, he'd play if his leg was broken. We still have to think he's going to play."

When they see Garnett on the bench in street clothes, the Bulls had better realize the assignment remains difficult. Rose will be a pillar in the league for the next 15 years and will make easier forays to the basket without Garnett, but he has no idea what's about to hit him in Rondo. The Bulls will win a game or two at home, but Pierce, in particular, will be the mismatch that sends the Celtics to the next round. If the second-round opponent is Orlando, the instant concern is whether Superman Dwight Howard, without Garnett to bother him, will average 100 points and 50 rebounds a game. But the Magic have their own injury issues and nightly-effort concerns and have yet to prove they can transfer regular-season success to the playoffs. So, Boston won't be officially dead until they show up in Quicken Loans Arena, known as The Q, where the only question will be: Cavs in four, five or six? Until then, they'll try to muster resilience, toughness and hope.

"If you get to the last game and hoist another banner, the adversity makes it that much sweeter," Allen said. "We've got to find that formula. So we look forward to it."

"I think we're going to be fine. We have some mentally strong guys, very tough guys," Rivers said. "We'll be ready, I can guarantee you that."

But that is all he can guarantee. Because Amazing is happening in either Cleveland or L.A. this season, with eight weeks of LeBron-Kobe comparisons, Charles Barkley rants and Kanye videos awaiting us.