Kevin Garnett Injury: Celtic Will Miss Two Weeks With Calf Strain

Kevin Garnett will miss roughly two weeks of action for the Boston Celtics after an MRI revealed the forward suffered a right calf strain in the first quarter of his team’s Wednesday night loss to the Detroit Pistons. The Celtics announced the prognosis Thursday.

Garnett has missed 49 games in the past three regular seasons, including 25 in 2008-09. KG is currently No. 14 on the NBA’s all-time minutes played list, second behind only Jason Kidd among active players. Garnett has played 42,644 regular season minutes since his 1995 debut. He’ll likely pass Hakeem Olajuwon and Oscar Robertson on that list this season. He has also played an additional 3,755 playoff minutes during his tenures with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Celtics.

Boston coach Doc Rivers will likely rely on Glen Davis in Garnett’s absence. Big Baby started 16 of Garnett’s 25 missed games in 2008-09, and has been one of Rivers’ core bench players this season, averaging nearly 30 minutes per game.

Up front the Celtics also have Shaquille O’Neal and Jermaine O’Neal, the latter of which recently returned from injury but hasn’t made much impact. Kendrick Perkins is also expected back soon after offseason knee surgery. To help manage the bench scoring load, Rajon Rondo is expected to return soon, allowing high-octane Nate Robinson to return to a reserve role.

Boston has eight games scheduled over the next two weeks, the biggest of which is a showdown with the West leading San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, Jan. 5.

For more Celtics news and analysis, visit Celtics Blog and SB Nation Boston.