To beat me, you're going to have to kill me.

If you’re an opposing fan, it’s easy to hate Kevin Garnett. He’s loud, obnoxious, and set on getting under his opponents’ skin any way possible.  Somewhere inside KG’s bald head, there’s at least one or two screws loose.  Not in a bad way, but he’s just wired differently from everybody else.  He breaks down in tears due to long losing streaks, swears repeatedly for three days at a time, and — from the standpoint of fans rooting for another team — is about as likable as a porcupine with its needles firmly entrenched in your cheek.

But, if you follow the Celtics, you have to love the guy.  Passion emanates from his body, dripping off him like sweat.  He plays with the ferocity of a caged lion, and getting him to take a day off is like convincing Craig Sager to wear a normal suit.  There is nothing in Kevin Garnett’s life, it seems, that matter more to him than winning basketball games and championships. (Boston Herald)

“Whatever Doc (Rivers) needs me to do,” said Kevin Garnett. “I told him if I have to die out there on the court, that’s what it is.

“Postseason play is all about giving everything you have, and I’m no exception to that. It’s just good to know that 82 games are out of the way and everybody’s suited up and booted up for this right here. This is what you play for, right here.”

It reminds me of Rocky IV.  “No, maybe I can’t win. Maybe the only thing I can do is just take everything he’s got. But to beat me, he’s going to have to kill me. And to kill me, he’s gonna have to have the heart to stand in front of me. And to do that, he’s got to be willing to die himself. I don’t know if he’s ready to do that. I don’t know.”

Can the Celtics exceed other teams’ intensity, just like the old days?  Is KG the only one willing to die out there tonight?  Can they pull it together in time to make a run at banner eighteen?  Only one thing is certain:

We’ll find out very soon.