One word: Shit.

I could care less the Boston Celtics lost tonight, 104-92. I honestly don’t care at all about that. Not even a little bit. I’m not even going to discuss the game, except one injury.

Because Kevin Garnett’s injury is far more important than a late-December game against the Detroit Pistons. Obviously.

First, let’s discuss the official reports. The injury was not a fracture, which is both good and bad. Good, because no bones are broken. Bad, because that means the injury is something else.

In this case, what does “something else” mean? The team reports the injury is not to Garnett’s knee. Officially, it has been labeled a “muscle injury to the outside of his right leg, below the knee and above the ankle.” Garnett has an MRI scheduled for tomorrow, which should reveal the full extent of the injury.

For now, the Celtics don’t seem too worried. In his postgame interview, Doc Rivers said, “I don’t think it’s that bad, so I’m not concerned. He may miss some games.”

I know I’ve ever been more relieved to hear the Celtics’ emotional anchor “may miss some games.” At first, all I thought was, “Shit, his season is done!” Next, I thought, “Fuck, if he’s done, there’s no way the Celtics win a title.” Finally, I thought, “If he misses this year, and next year’s a lockout, we might have seen the last of KG’s entire career tonight.” I almost cried, honestly.

I’m telling you, I had a pit in my stomach the size of a boulder. That’s what happens when Kevin Garnett injures himself, and especially when the injury looks so similar to his 2009 injury. Check it out:

Those two injuries look awfully similar, no? 

(Note: I am about to speculate. I am no doctor, but I did a lot of research and the following speculation is a partially-educated estimate.)

According to A. Sherrod Blakely, the muscle injury is directly below the right knee. His report was slightly different (and more detailed) than the team’s official report, which sounded like a kindergartener pretending to diagnose his friend. A “muscle injury to the outside of his right leg, below the knee and above the ankle”? Really? A comparison to that description would be if James Naismith had explained, “the free throw line will fall at some point between midcourt and the peach basket,” or if someone told you, “Bang a left turn after the third set of lights and before the ninth set of lights.”

Oddly enough, the injury, as Blakey describes it, is the exact same spot KG injured in 2009. In 2009, KG suffered a strained popliteus tendon, which was complicated by bone spurs that had bothered him all season long. The popliteus tendon, located directly below the knee, attaches the popliteus muscle to the knee. KG’s injury tonight was in very close proximity to the popliteus tendon, and looked almost identical to the ’09 injury.

Thankfully, KG, at least as far as I know, isn’t bothered by the same bone spurs he was in ’09. By “as far as I know,” I mean that the x-rays came back negative. If the Celtics are truthful about no damage seen in the x-rays, then it’s safe to assume KG has no bone spurs.

In ’09, KG’s bone spurs, according to Jackie MacMullan, were vicious. “The spur was so large it had to be broken into pieces to be removed,” MacMullan wrote. “In hindsight, his medical team concurred, it was amazing he played as long as he did.”

Of course, the Celtics claim the injury is muscular, which would further rule out the strained tendon he suffered in ’09.

If the injury is muscular, as the Celtics insist, the KG likely wouldn’t miss more than 3-4 months. The other muscles below the knee, besides the popliteus, are the plantaris, gastrocnemius, semimembranosus and plantaris. Damage to tendons or ligaments could be more detrimental, and more likely to require surgery, as “muscle has more tissue to help it sustain a resistive load.” If the Celtics are right about KG’s injury being strictly muscular, this is good. Even in the worst case scenario (of muscle injuries), I imagine KG would return ready for the playoffs.

Why do I even speculate when the Celtics don’t seem overly concerned? The Celtics are one team I don’t trust when it comes to injuries. They have taken the term “Belichickian” to another level. Remember back in 2009? We all thought Garnett would be back before the playoffs. Why? Because that’s what the Celtics led us to believe. They completely shielded us from the truth, which was that Garnett’s knee was worse than any of us knew, and that he would need surgery (and months of rehab, AND a year of being a shell of himself) before returning to normal.

If the Celtics were the Blazers, I could trust them. When Greg Oden injures himself, the Blazers tell you about it. When Brandon Roy is missing certain ligaments, the Blazers let you know. But if Oden had played on the Celtics, we probably would have heard he sprained his knee. And if Roy had played for the Celtics, they probably would have told us he was just bothered by a bruise. The C’s have a way of understating most injuries, a way of concealing the truth behind a veil of fibs.

All of which is why I’m not quite ecstatic to hear about KG’s muscle injury, which — if all the news is truthful — would not be the worst thing in the world. A muscle injury isn’t great, but it certainly beats the alternative. I can live with KG missing a few months, and then returning mostly healthy for the playoffs. What I can’t live with is a repeat of the ’09 knee injury, which could honestly end KG’s career.

Is the “this is a muscular injury, and an MRI will be administered tomorrow” news good? No, not at all. As Doc Rivers said, “You’ve heard me say it before. Injuries when no one’s around are always severe ones.”

But the Celtics don’t seem convinced the injury is overly severe, and — for now, at least – I’m willing to hesitantly believe them. Maybe it’s because I want to believe them, or maybe it’s because I think they’re actually telling the truth. I can’t tell.

Either way, I have my fingers crossed. The Celtics season could be decided tomorrow in a doctor’s office. I’m queasy just thinking about it.

Two amigos... Just kidding.

I care more about this year’s Survivor season than I care about the Garnett-Villanueva feud. And I haven’t cared about Survivor (not even a little bit) since the very first season, when Jervis was voted off and the nine- or ten-year old me cried tears of frustration and confusion. (Note: I didn’t really cry. I don’t want you to think I was THAT big a wuss.)

But the Garnett-Villanueva spat does nothing for me. I’ve been done with it for quite some time, since Garnett apologized to George Karl and showed that, yes, Garnett actually has compassion for real cancer patients, just not for cancerous basketball players.

That said, I doubt Garnett forgets. Actually, I’d bet my new laptop and my entire life savings (admittedly, not much) that Garnett holds a grudge with Villanueva. Even if Garnett actually said the comments (I’m still undecided on whether he did), he despises Villanueva for tweeting about them. You know what they say — what happens on the court stays on the court. Wait, they don’t actually say that? Whatever. Nobody else ever voices trash talk to the media, or through Twitter, and so Garnett holds Villanueva in disregard for staining his public image.

And if Garnett didn’t actually say the comments? If Villanueva is lying? Then KG’s grudge against Villanueva is tenfold, and his hatred completely justified.

Either way, if I’m Charlie Villanueva, I would hate to see KG’s wrath tonight. Garnett’s a lot like Fluffy, the three-headed monster who guarded the sorcerer’s stone in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. If you played sweet music in Fluffy’s vicinity, he would fall asleep, and you’d have a chance to pass by him and get the stone. But as soon as the music stopped, Fluffy became a vicious, flesh-eating beast. Villanueva should have played sweet music in Garnett’s vicinity, and then he’d have a chance. But he blew that chance by voicing his comments, and now Garnett’s a vicious, flesh-eating beast focused on nothing but defending the sorcerer’s stone — err, I mean, focused on nothing but getting his team a win, and in the process humiliating Charlie Villanueva.

There are other interesting aspects of tonight’s game, of course. There’s the always interesting “the Celtics almost traded Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen for Rip Hamilton, Rodney Stuckey, and Tayshaun Prince!” angle. Then there’s the “Jesus Christ, Joe Dumars destroyed this once-proud franchise” angle,  which goes hand in hand with the “Ben Gordon and the aforementioned Charlie Villanueva make far too much money” angle. I’m starting to enjoy the “please, Celtics, no January swoon!” angle, even if it’s not quite January, although the “how do the Celtics keep winning with three regulars on the shelf?” angle’s probably played out.

Which is how I settled on the “I’m willing to bet my entire life savings (aka a dollar or two) that KG destroys Villanueva tonight” angle.

If things don’t work out as planned, well, you can always blame my jinx.

Charlie Villanueva maintains Garnett called him a cancer patient

I hate even bringing up this story. It’s old news and I don’t even care about it anymore, regardless of what Garnett said. When Garnett apologized to George Karl after the Nuggets game, the door to the “cancer patient/cancerous” comments should have been closed.

But it wasn’t, and some of you still probably care about this stuff. So I’ll share it with you, even though I could care less myself. (Boston Globe)

“I stand by (the Tweet), it is what it is, but it’s over,” Villanueva said following this morning’s shootaround in Auburn Hills. “It happened in November. I will do whatever it takes to win a ball game. But I’m not the type of guy who’s going to go out there and make things up. I said what I said. It is what it is. Move on. The truth as told. That’s all I’m worried about. I said what I had to say and it’s over with.” ….

“I think he’s a tremendous player. He’s somebody in my younger days that I looked up to. I respect him as player.”

In other words, Villanueva said he doesn’t respect KG as a person. Which is fine, because the respect (or rather, the lack thereof) is mutual.

Villanueva told the Detroit Free Press he’s treating tonight like an average game.

“I’m not worried about him, man,” Villanueva said after scoring 25 points. “It’s just another game.

“I’m just going to go out there and play and not going to worry about it.”

Villanueva probably should be worried. I can imagine Garnett is out for blood, and — just ask Joakim Noah or Andray Blatche — that doesn’t normally work out well for his opponents.

Paul Pierce is “the most confident person in the world”

Tony Allen, speaking to Dime Magazine, discussed Pierce’s unfailing confidence. Some might even call such confidence “cockiness,” but I digress.

“He’s never down,” Allen said. “He’s the most confident person in the world. I saw games where he went 3-for-17 and pretty much shot us out of the game. But he always had the confidence and the mentality to say to himself, ‘You know what? Those odd shots that I missed? I guarantee that I won’t miss them next game.’

“Then the next game he comes out and probably has 35. The way he deals with consistency and how he practices to be prepared, it’s almost like he has the right to be and has the confidence…He has the right to be selfish because he’s a winner and he definitely knows how to win. That reputation that he had, you have to know him in order to judge him. He’s definitely one of the most confident players that I’ve competed against or that I’ve known.”

Tell us something we don’t know, Tony.

In other news, I hate thinking about Tony Allen. It brings back memories of all the headaches and broken remote controls in my recent past.

Breaking news: Shaq’s a funny dude

Pierce steals water from courtside fan

In flu season, this can’t be healthy.

Linking to myself

In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been writing for CelticsBlog in addition to my Celtics Town duties. Today, I tackled Marquis Daniels’ ability to match up well against opposing point guards. Especially when he’s playing alongside Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. In the process, I described my thoughts about Daniels.

Anyway, before I lose ALL my readers with this absurd tangent, there’s a point to my Prison Break talk. In the episode I watched last night, an FBI agent discussed his drug habit with a former addict, Sara Tancredi. The FBI agent used tranquilizers every day, and Tancredi told him something like, “You must feel like you’re walking under water all the time.”

Since I’m a Celtics freak, that quote made me think of one person: Marquis Daniels.

No, I’m not accusing Daniels of a tranquilizer addiction. Of course not. But you have to admit: compared to his teammates and opponents, Daniels often seems like he plays basketball under water. It’s not that he’s lazy, because he’s not. It’s not that he’s unathletic, because he’s not. Daniels just plays basketball at his own pace. Some people sprint; Daniels glides. Some people celebrate big plays; Daniels stays completely stone-faced. Some people possess another gear to drive by opponents; Daniels just patiently saunters by.

Lastly, vote Celtics Town as Sports Blog of the Year

Just go to the link and vote for www.celticstown.com.

Despite a broken wrist that will keep him out for at least a few more weeks, Delonte West seems in good spirits.

“You know what, I wanted to be frustrated,” he said. “I wanted to be sad for myself. I just couldn’t. I looked up at the sky and I laughed with the lord. I said, ‘There must be something that I’m missing, somewhere where I’m not getting it. That’s when you’ve got to slow down and open your eyes up to everything around you, and that’s what I’m doing.”

Rather than become frustrated by his tough luck, West remains focused on today.

“Every day is a championship to me,” he said. “I’m going to try to get the best possible outcome out of each situation, and at the end of the day, I’ve won. I’ve won a championship. Each day you’re building for the main goal — that’s there, the championship is in my mind. But I’m not looking that far. I’m looking at today. How can I get better for tomorrow? Tommorrow, get better for the next day. So when the championship comes, I’m going to be well-prepared.”

West suggests you should never underestimate his heart.

“Just when you think I’m done, and you’re going to get a ten-count on me,” West said, “I’m standing up for the eight count. You can’t never count me out.”

Nate Robinson, who received six stitches last night after getting accidentally Zinedine Zidane’d by Mike Dunleavy, should play tonight against the Detroit Pistons. Methinks Robinson could have returned to last night’s game, but Marquis Daniels was in video game god mode. (Boston Herald)

Robinson’s eye was swollen afterward from the numbing agent. He plans to play tonight against the Detroit Pistons, however.

“I don’t remember what happened,” Robinson, who finished with eight points and four assists, said. “I just remember the blood and running to the back.

“I’m tough. It ain’t like I never had stitches before. It’s nothing. I guess I get a little bit of sympathy from the ladies, so I’m good. I’m good.”

Robinson also noted that he felt sick during the game, and “almost pulled a Willie Beamen.” After shooting 2-15 against the Orlando Magic, I would feel sick too.

In other injury news, Rajon Rondo participated in certain live portions of the Celtics’ practice Monday. Still, Doc Rivers “pretty much ruled out a return tonight against the Pistons,” according to the Boston Herald. Most likely, his return will come Friday against CP3 and the New Orleans Hornets.

'Qusiy took advantage of his former team.

These are the nights when Marquis Daniels reminds you of his ability. When he methodically slithers inside the defense, poses matchup difficulties for anyone unlucky enough to defend him, and looks like he should be a front-runner for Sixth Man of the Year.

Tonight, I would even say Daniels took over the game. He was the main reason the Celtics shook off an ugly first quarter (and a few ugly minutes in the third) to beat the Indiana Pacers, 95-83.

Unfortunately, these are also the nights that make you wonder why. Why doesn’t Daniels do this every night? Why can’t he always provide such a threat? Why does he often fade into the background, rather than making such a severe impact?

I’m barely going to discuss those answers, mostly because I’ve discussed them in the past. (Put a markedly smaller or slower guy on Daniels, and he’s a major threat. Put a player his size and speed on Daniels, and he’s not nearly as productive. If Daniels were seven feet tall, I’m entirely convinced he would have been one of the premier low-post players of all-time. Unfortunately, he’s a post player in a small forward’s body.) Daniels was able to erupt tonight because he saw a favorable matchup. Every once in a while, Daniels sees a defender he can easily work out. His eyes light up, his passiveness washes away, and Daniels becomes a nightmare for opponents. Like tonight.

But more impressive even than Daniels’ offense, to me, was his defense.

The only reason the Celtics get away with a Daniels-Allen-Pierce backcourt is Daniels’ ability to keep quicker PGs in front of him. That ability seems odd, because Daniels always seems like he’s idling. His gas pedal rarely pressed very forcefully, Daniels slowly coasts around the court, like a middle-aged man out for a weeknight jog. He almost never seems quick, even for a small forward. And then he defends Darren Collison, a blur with the ball, and keeps him in between his knees the whole time. (Pause.)

You see, Daniels travels at his own speed. There’s a calmness and pace to his game, which usually hide the quickness he displays while defending the league’s quicker point guards. Yet when he needs to, Daniels breaks out another gear. Let’s call it the “I desperately need to be quicker than normal, because otherwise Collison will blow right by me every time” gear.

While Daniels was a catalyst, he wasn’t the only Celtic who brought it tonight. Kevin Garnett didn’t exactly scorch the nets, but he didn’t need to. He was everywhere defensively, disrupting everything Indiana tried to do. There was one possession when Roy Hibbert desperately tried to post Garnett on the blocks. Sorry, bro. Not happening. Garnett fronted him, denying Hibbert the ball. Hibbert tried again to establish position. Again, not happening. After a third attempt at good position, Hibbert finally gave up. But Garnett’s defense wasn’t done. Danny Granger drove to the hoop, and Garnett contested the shot. If I’m not mistaken, he also grabbed the rebound. Try again, Pacers. This ain’t last year’s Garnett.

Paul Pierce, as Pierce tends to do, gave the game what it needed. After picking up two quick fouls, Pierce re-entered the game early in the second quarter. Seeing that Nate Robinson was not doing a very good Rajon Rondo impression, Pierce became the primary playmaker. He threaded a pass to Glen Davis for an easy layup, then proceeded to score seven straight points himself. One of the buckets was vintage Pierce, posting up a smaller defender at the elbow and making the defender his puppet. Is any other player better at making smaller defenders pay? (And no, Marquis Daniels isn’t quite at Pierce’s level.)

Avery Bradley won’t get much credit for a good night, but actually kept a smile on my face the whole time he played. Bradley’s offensive game (wait, what offensive game?) still needs work. He’s hesitant, and doesn’t yet make instinctual moves. But defensively, and hustle-wise? Yes, please. There was one play when Bradley hounded T.J. Ford, forcing him to aimlessly dribble 20 or so seconds off the shot clock. There was another play when Bradley hunted down a rebound with ferocity, and another when he missed a shot, scampered after his rebound, and got fouled on a reverse layup attempt. Bradley still lacks any type of polish whatsoever, but he plays SO hard. Hustle alone doesn’t make a great NBA player, or else Brian Cardinal would have been an All-Star. But Bradley’s got impressive heart, and if he plays as hard as he did tonight, he’ll impact every game he plays.

Von Wafer played decently, Nate Robinson continued his recent struggles, Ray Allen was silently Ray Allen, and Shaq keeps compiling fouls like they’re worth something. Glen Davis was the 2010 version of Glen Davis, and Jermaine O’Neal logged more fouls (3) than points and rebounds combined (2). Let’s hope he’s just taking some time to get his ‘C’ legs (see what I did there?).

For the Pacers, I still have a soft spot in my heart for James Posey (and Jim O’Brien, and Walter McCarty, but most definitely not Vitaly Potapenko). Also, one more thing: when Josh McRoberts played for Duke, if you told me he was going to start for an NBA team in 2010, I would have told you, “Yeah, only if the NBA expands to a 70-team league.” But he’s actually halfway decent, and it’s weird. As a Blue Devil fan, McRoberts was somewhere between “ridiculously disappointing” and “the most over-hyped recruit in Duke history.” Now, he’s a high-flying white boy who lives to attack the rim.

But no matter how improbable McRoberts’ NBA success (can I call it that?) has been, this night will remain Marquis Daniels’.

If only Darren Collison could defend him every game.