PERPETUITY: TIME TO STEP UP, KG

This was, so far, Kevin Garnett’s watershed moment––his biggest, most memorable victory in 13 brilliant years. Yet there he was, just quietly crossing midcourt with his head bowed, his right hand draped over his sweat-soaked faced and dreary eyes. There was none of his trademark chest-thumps, none of his angry invective-laden diatribes, none of his ferocious roars.

Just one serene, surrealistic walk to the waiting arms of his teammates.

This was the biggest win of KG’s life, one that sent him to the NBA Finals for the first time in his career, yet after the game, he was devoid of his usual exuberance, short of his iconic energy. Known to celebrate wins with an intense, often belligerent routine of violent chest-pounding, finger-pointing, and intermittent––usually profane––screaming, Garnett was uncharacteristically placid, strangely silent, surprisingly at ease.

Perhaps being four wins away from a championship has that effect.

Kevin Garnett can add "champion" to his already impressive resumé. But can he get past Kobe and the Lakers?

But to get four wins, he and his Celtics will have to beat the now-oh-so-mighty Lakers, led by arguably the greatest coach in league history in Phil Jackson and inarguably the best player in the world today in Kobe Bryant.

Yes, Kobe Bryant is the best player in the world today, and in a ways, he is every bit the player that Kevin Garnett isn’t, especially in the fourth quarter or when the game is on the line. While Kobe relishes the pressure of a give-and-take fourth quarter, KG seems to abhor it; while Kobe thrives in close, cardiac games, KG seems to wilt in tight, down-the-wire finishes; while Kobe wants to shoot when the game is on the line, KG seemingly just wants to pass it.

So as KG looks across the Boston parquet on Friday for Game 1, he will see that the biggest obstacle standing in the way of his quest for a championship is that man wearing No. 24 for the purple and gold: Kobe Bryant. And if KG is to win his first ring, he will have to be the player that Kobe is––or at least half the player Kobe is––when the game is up for grabs.

Simply, Kevin Garnett has to be the best player on the court for the Celtics when the game is on the line just as Kobe will be the best player on the court for the Lakers. Mamba, no matter how good the C’s defense is, will score when it counts most; KG, if he so desires can do so, too, because the Lakers––their much-improved defense notwithstanding––has no one, absolutely no one, who can hang with The Big Ticket.

After 13 years of blood, sweat, tears, and frustration, KG is now four wins away from a championship. But to get it, he'll have to prove that he can play big down the stretch.

Ultimately, this series will be decided by the former MVP, Garnett, and the current MVP, Bryant. The world knows what Kobe can and will do in this Finals. He has long wanted to carry his own team to a title, and he will surely not disappoint now. KG is the enigma of this Finals. He has waited for this chance for 13 long years, and now, that chance is here. What he makes of this chance will determine whether the Celtics will hang banner No.17 or not.

Long vilified as a superstar who shrinks during the grandest of games, Kevin Garnett has a chance to rectify most of his endgame mistakes by doing what pundits say he can’t: deliver in the clutch. If he can do so for at least four games, all will be forgiven. He will be a champion––vindicated, validated. Those forced, fall-away jumpers down the stretch will be forgotten. Those shots he didn’t take in the fourth quarter will be disregarded. Those silly endgame blunders will be ignored.

It’ll only take KG four games of greatness––just four games.

But Kobe Bryant, otherwise known as the greatest player alive today, stands in his way. He, too, wants to have four games of greatness. And he will––the Boston leprechaun be damned––step up to the plate and deliver.

Will Kevin Garnett do the same?

The ball is in KG’s court now.