Kevin Garnett is expected to miss 1-2 weeks with inflammation in his injured left ankle.
Garnett initially injured his ankle in Wednesday’s loss to the Hornets, but he played through the pain in Friday’s loss to the Mavericks. The prospect of playing with the injury in back-to-back games kept Garnett out of Saturday’s clash with the Grizzlies, but when the pain did not subside, the team decided to re-evaluate Garnett’s injury.
“A lot of things can cause inflammation,” said Danny Ainge, president of basketball operations. I think everyone has a little bit of inflammation this time of year. KG, we need to get him fresh anyway.”
At this point in his career, the 17-year veteran knows the importance of entering the playoffs with a clean bill of health. Head coach Doc Rivers echoed those sentiments on Monday.
‘‘If you mean that he’s not going to play this year, no, I don’t worry about that,” said Rivers, when asked if Garnett was going to be out long term. “But can he miss four or five games? Yeah, that’s possible.’’
Garnett has suffered from ankle inflammation in the past, but bumps and bruises shouldn’t be surprising for a player who has stuck around for 17 years. His last tweaked his ankle in 2010, but he didn’t miss any time with the injury. Even so, Rivers said he’ll err on the side of caution if he has a say in determining when Garnett can return to the court.
“Whatever they decide, if they give me option of, ‘You can play him every third game or give him two weeks’ rest,’ I can tell you right now, I’m going to say two weeks’ rest — if it’s my decision,” said Rivers. “They usually never leave it up to me, but if it was my decision, that’s where I would go. Because at the end of the day, I want him right and I don’t want him half-right.”
The Celtics currently sit as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, and it appears likely that the team will clinch a playoff berth while Garnett is on the sidelines. The regular season ends in exactly three weeks, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Garnett sit out until the final few games of the season to ensure he is fully healthy and well conditioned for the playoffs.
Dr. Silverman comments
How many times do I have to see these careers and franchise successes and failures balance on teetering ankles?
Kevin Garnett has been plagued by the insidious “left ankle inflammation” for over a decade, Why haven’t team doctors been able to fix what is causing the notorious “inflammation”?
In recent seasons, reports claimed that the Celtics were resting Garnett towards the end of the regular season to keep him healthy for the postseason. This was seen as a way to minimize wear and tear on his aging body. While he may be aging, the ankle will continue to be a problem until it is properly addressed. While resting the ankle does not exacerbate the problem, it also doesn’t solve it.
He is out again with ankle inflammation, and team doctors said nothing of concern was revealed on an MRI. The problem here is that ankle instability isn’t diagnosed by MRI, it is diagnosed by clinical exam. The MRI is only useful for detecting further damage. During an MRI you have to hold still for 45 minutes, but there isn’t a problem when Garnett is holding still. He’s in pain when he is moving!
In my office I use an Ultrasound to help patients see what is going on in their ankle. Similar to when the device is used to look at a baby inside the uterus, this Ultrasound shows the ankle moving out of the joint.
It’s too late to fix this before the playoffs, but Garnett still has two years remaining on the contract he signed in February. I believe he can be productive in his final years if he has his ankle properly addressed this offseason.
Related source: ESPN, RotoWire.com
