KG is The Man, but not The Main Man

Kevin Garnett. 11 time all-star, defensive player of the year, first ballot hall of famer, and most likely a champion for the first time in 2008.
Sure, he admittedly played poorly in Game 5. "Like garbage", he said. His foul trouble made his play tentative and he spent too much time on the bench, especially with Perk out of the lineup. He's averaging 17 points and 13 rebounds in the Finals. Slightly better than his regular season average of 19 points and 9 rebounds if you agree that 4 more rebounds outweighs the subtraction of 2 points. In LA though, he's averaged only 14 points and 12 rebounds.
We can compare any of his numbers to many of the great Celtics of the past and they'd measure up with the best of them. But maybe not with the VERY Best of them. Certainly the names that come to mind first are Bird, Russell, Havlicek and after these finals Pierce.
The problem is that Celtics fans and basketball fans in general expect Garnett to carry the Celtics to the promised land as Paul Pierce seems to be doing and as the very best professional athletes most often do.
But that's not what Kevin Garnett does. KG has never done that. KG will probably never do that. He is one of the most intense players in the league and there's no doubt that that intensity, drive, and focus has turned this franchise around in ways that Celtics fans only dreamed of.
Let's not make the mistake though of wondering why he doesn't finish a game or series like Bird, Magic, or even (Cedric) Maxwell could do. The kind of player who told you they were going to bury you, then when out and buried you, and then told you how they buried you when the game or series had ended. For whatever reason, it's not in him. That's not to say he doesn't trash talk and intimidate on the court. He's one of the all-time greats at that. But it's why some yahoo Celtics fans didn't want him, because he "never won anything".
Understand though that he's more like McHale than Bird, like Pippen than Jordan, and like Worthy than Kareem or Johnson. He's really the perfect fit on this team. Pierce as the captain, The Truth and the Main Man. The guy who wants to take that last shot. That feeds off of the chance to put the dagger in the heart of the other team and break their will.
KG is a perenial all star and great defender. You usually know what you'll get from him every game. But let's not ask him to be something he's not. Let's appreciate him for what he's done for this team, this franchise and all of the Celtics fans of yesterday and today.