Garnett Suspension Could Bring Out Emotion Celtics Need To Succeed

There are many different ways a Celtics fan can look on the bright side when it comes to Kevin Garnett’s suspension. One way would be to say that Garnett’s not very good these days anyway, and replacing some of his minutes with the younger Glen Davis could bring out the Davis we saw in the playoffs last year.

But that’s a specific bright side. In terms of the big picture, the Garnett suspension could finally be the flame that ignites some real passion in a Celtics club that’s played lethargically through most of the season.

Jeff Clark of Celtics Blog writes about emotion today and suggests that the suspension could be a blessing in disguise.

Now momentum doesn’t always carry over into the next game, but sometimes it can. If you have it, you never want to get rid of it. And now we learn that Garnett won’t be with the team when they take the floor on Tuesday. By all measures, that could be a very bad thing. Even in his advanced age he’s still a very, very good defender and a matchup problem for other teams to account for. Oh yeah, and he’s still the emotional (there’s that word again) leader of the team. With that said, who’s to say that the team doesn’t turn around and push even harder with him out? They might use “The Skirmish” and the suspension and Q’s petty comments to drive them to demolish the Heat in game 2. You just don’t know with this stuff.

One way or another, this beats the general malaise that plagued the team in the second half of the season. The playoffs are everything to this team. Perhaps to a fault. They need to push themselves with that emotion right up to the same edge that they might fall off of if they push too hard. Finding that delicate balance is the best hope this team has of advancing and reclaiming their place among the game’s best.

I guess we’ll see Tuesday. I doubt the Celtics suddenly flip that switch emotionally, but stranger things have happened.