Kevin Garnett wasn't bullish on the Boston Celtics before the start of the season and he isn't taking it back.
Alongside former Celtics teammate Paul Pierce during an episode of SHOWTIME Basketball's "KG Certified: The Ticket & The Truth," Garnett was asked to address a previous prediction made before NBA's opening night on Oct. 18.
"I'm looking at it on paper," Garnett told Pierce. "When I looked at the 76ers on paper, the 76ers and the additions to that team looked unbelievable. ... And that's what I was gaging (the Celtics) with. And then on top of it, having Giannis (Antetokounmpo) and (Khris) Middleton and all those guys back -- Middleton ain't even back, you know? So I'm looking at the league like that. If they didn't have Rob Williams to clog the middle, I don't know if Al Horford was healthy."
While Garnett stuck by his stance with the Celtics five games into their 2022-23 campaign, Pierce wasn't seeing eye-to-eye.
"I just don't get it," Pierce told Garnett.
"Well, it's not for everybody to get," Garnett replied.
Garnett added: "I told you. The Rob Williams piece outta that was a big question mark for me. Who was gonna fill the five? I didn't know Malcolm (Brogdon) was gonna come in here, I didn't know they flow was gonna be like this. They actually got a deeper bench this year. ... For that, I had to see it first. I never said they wasn't a top team. They just wasn't a top-four team. That's what I said."
To Garnett's credit, the Celtics have the needed return of Williams in the frontcourt, as evidenced by allowing 120-plus points to opponents in three consecutive games, including 132 points -- the most allowed -- against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. A loss that featured not one, but two 41-point showings from Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert.
While Garnett's prediction may not be the most green-teamer friendly, he isn't wrong. The Celtics, while dominant in their final stretch during the regular season last year, benefitted heavily from some circumstances that setback their opponents. Whether it'd be Middleton's absence during their Eastern Conference semifinals battle or some highly questionable final-minute shot selection from Smart in a do-or-die Game 7 against the Miami Heat on the road -- the Celtics' luck ran out when Banner 18 was on the line against the Golden State Warriors.
