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

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.

Kevin Garnett Injury: Celtics Have Survived This Before

As the Boston Celtics await word on how long the calf injury Kevin Garnett suffered Wednesday night in Detroit will keep the veteran forward out, it bears noting that Garnett has missed quite a few games during his three-plus season in Kelly green. Garnett has sat out a combined 49 regular season games in three seasons, and missed 25 games toward the end of the 2008-09 season. He also missed the postseason that year, and as a result it was the only season of Garnett's tenure in which Boston didn't earn a trip to the NBA Finals.

But as Jeff Clark of SB Nation's Celtics Blog writes, the regular season absences haven't hurt Boston too badly.

A couple of years back when we lost Garnett (even though we didn't know we had lost him for the year yet) the rest of the team stepped up and played very well down the stretch.  Don't forget we were up three games to two on the Magic that year.  In addition, the team essentially took last winter off before rallying together for a run to the Finals.

The Celtics went 18-7 without Garnett in the regular season in 2008-09, and won seven playoff games (four against the Bulls, three against the eventual Eastern champion Magic). Boston also appears to have a deeper frontcourt these days, with Shaquille O'Neal playing effectively as Jermaine O'Neal and Kendrick Perkins recover from injury. Glen Davis has become a better, or at least more consistent, player since 2009 as well.

For updates on Garnett's injury, follow this StoryStream.

Kevin Garnett Injury: Celtics Forward Likely To Miss 'Some' Games

Kevin Garnett will undergo an MRI on Thursday to assess the severity of an apparent calf muscle injury suffered in the first quarter of the Boston Celtics' Wednesday night loss to the Detroit Pistons. X-rays on Garnett's leg came back negative, ruling out a fracture in the lower right leg. The Celtics have called it a muscle injury below the knee and above the ankle.

Paul Flannery of WEEI.com reports that Celtics coach Doc Rivers expects Garnett, the team's defensive linchpin, top rebounder and No. 3 scorer, to miss action. Garnett's recovery options, including potential surgery, won't be known until MRI results come back.

Injuries have kept Garnett from playing more than 71 games in any of his three full seasons in Boston. Garnett appeared in 69 games last year, missing time in December and January. Since Garnett was traded to the Celtics in 2007, Boston is an immaculate 169-58 when KG plays, nearly a .750 winning percentage.

Follow this StoryStream for the latest news on Garnett's injury. For more Celtics news and analysis, visit Celtics Blog and SB Nation Boston.

Kevin Garnett Has Calf Muscle Injury, Not Fractured Knee, As Boston Fans Breathe Easy

The entire Boston Celtic fanbase breathed a sigh of release as news came out that Kevin Garnett’s fear-inducing injury in Wendesday night’s game was calf-muscle related and not a fracture or knee injury.

A Celtics team spokesman confirms to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com that the injury is to KG’s lower right leg, not his knee and multiple folks are confirming the calf injury story.

X-rays had of course come back negative on the injury as well. And so now we wait for the overnight MRI results to confirm it. All in all, based on what they saw, Celtic fans have to take that news and run.

Kevin Garnett Injury: Leg X-Rays Negative After KG Leaves Game

Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett left Wednesday night's game against the Indiana Pacers with a leg injury. The Celtics have described it as a lower right leg injury, though he initially appeared to have hurt his knee. According to Comcast New England, Garnett was seen walking after having his knee X-rayed, and those X-rays were negative.

Garnett apparently hurt his leg while jumping to dunk the ball in the first quarter. On the way up, his right knee jolted upward awkwardly. After fouling Tayshaun Prince to stop the clock and hunching at center court for a spell, Garnett was surrounded by the entire Celtics team. He limped off the court and is described by CSNNE as having "hopped" to the locker room.

Garnett injured his right knee in the 2008-2009 season, which led to the power forward missing much of the Celtics' Eastern Conference Semifinals run. It was Garnett's first major period of extended time off due to injury since the 1998-99 season. 

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