This is the fourth piece in a series of articles that will look at each individual player on the Minnesota Timberwolves’ roster heading into the 2015-16 season. See the links at the bottom of this page for previous players previewed.
This coming May, Kevin Garnett will be 40 years of age.
Garnett is not the oldest player of the Wolves roster this coming season, either — Andre Miller is two months older. It’s safe to say that Garnett is no longer “The Kid”, on the Wolves or any other roster.
After Minnesota brought Garnett back before the trade deadline last season he only played five games for the Wolves before shutting it down for the season. He then signed a two-year deal with the Wolves over the off-season, assuring that he will be in a Wolves uniform for two more seasons.
We all know that Garnett is no longer a big-time contributor, or, at least as measured by counting stats. The Kevin Garnett lore keeps fans loving him, whether or not he plays well. Garnett is easily in the top-three for all-time Minnesota sports figures, and it shows.
With Garnett slowing down as a player, how will his 2015-16 season turn out? What can we expect from KG?
Defense
We’ve known Garnett to be an elite defender throughout his career, whether for the Wolves or any other team he’s played for.
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I think we should still take Garnett as an elite defender going into 2015-16. Even without his formerly elite jumping ability, his length still helps with contesting shots both on the perimeter and near the rim. Add in his understanding of defensive concepts and vocal leadership, and Garnett is an extremely valuable defender.
Garnett will never be afraid to get physical on defense, which with his age could cause a problem at some point, but quite frankly you’re never going to tell Kevin Garnett to stop being physical. He doesn’t know how to do that.
Along with Garnett being a great defender, he is still an unbelievably good rebounder. He has the length and the nose for the ball to pull down eight or nine rebounds per game this season.
Offense
We can’t expect 2003-04 Garnett numbers anymore, that much is clear, but his 2014-15 season wasn’t exactly awful. Sure, he only played 47 games last season between the Nets and Wolves, but his per-36 minute numbers were actually quite good: 12.2 points and 11.8 rebounds.
Garnett was a little underwhelming in terms of shooting percentage, however, as he did shoot three percentage points below his career average. The most surprising thing was his below-average shooting percentage from short-mid-range, were he has been superb at throughout his entire career.
Despite a below-average close mid-range, Garnett shot above-average from deeper mid-range shots, which he has also been very successful his whole career.
Uncoachables
No player wants to win more and no player will work harder than Garnett. Despite his age, he’ll come into camp in shape and ready to play at a high level — it’s just what he expects from himself. That’s something that’s uncoachable. You can’t coach a guy to work hard; it’s just something that’s ingrained in you.
Along with that, many are worried that Garnett will be injury-prone because of his age, and that’s fair. Injuries happen in the NBA, and sometimes they are unavoidable. But Garnett takes incredible care of his body and he’ll be on the court as much as possible.
Lastly, he’ll be the Wolves’ leader. Towns has already referred to Garnett as his mentor, which is amazing and it’s something that we’ve come to expect from Garnett. It will be no different this season with Garnett being the team leader both on and off the court.
Overall Outlook
To wrap-up, let’s talk about numbers.
I think he’ll average nine points and nine rebounds over 65 games. An 82-game season is out of the question and not necessarily because of health issues but to rest, much like the Spurs do with Duncan and all their older players.
We won’t see a 2003-04 MVP Garnett, but we’ll see some glimpses that will remind us of those days in 2015-16.
Other Player Previews:
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