the open man

I guess I've mentioned 6 or 8 times on here that Kevin Garnett is my favorite basketball player. Probably ever. I don't even know that much about him. But I get the sense that he is a righteous man in almost every way. And I think that righteousness reveals itself in how he plays ball. He may not be the ultimate 'winner' -- the guy who will get pissed, take over a game and destroy the opponent all by himself. He's more of an "I'm excellent every day, all day, forever" kind of dude, which is interesting because he is also one of the most intense and competitive players in any sport. But rather than score 35 a night, even when that is the thing that would benefit his team the most, he chooses to spread the ball around, clinging to the probably naive belief that the open man is the right man to take the shot, no matter his name, no matter his salary, no matter his ability. The sad thing is that in Minnesota, that open man was never good enough and kept getting worse. But Garnett kept looking for him, encouraging him, believing in him. Trusting that more help was on the way. It was only in the last couple of weeks that he realized help wouldn't arrive until it was too late, until he was no longer good enough to use it.

You could probably legitimately criticize him as an athlete for this openheartedness; I choose to applaud him. He plays the game the way he lives his life: with a love and respect for his fellow man. Every time I hear him speak, I can't help thinking: there is a person of tremendous depth and humanity.

Now, in Boston, the open man is going to be Ray Allen. When it's not Ray Allen, it's gonna be Paul Pierce.

And on some nights, the open man is gonna be KG himself.