The Heart In Kevin Garnett by Jeffrey Epstein
As a child, Jeffrey Epstein kept hoping to grow taller, he did not. Unfortunately, he suffered from the so called “no hops” the white man condition. In one of the last competitive basketball games he enjoyed he gave up 6 inches and 80 pounds (Jeffrey is quite skinny) to the opposing teams center. After the center got demoralized by the defense, he said good by to the league. Jeffrey Epstein has heart, so feels he’s entitled to write about exhibitions of heart in sports.
I first saw Kevin Garnett and the Fabulous Forum, then home of the Los Angeles Lakers. This was the point in time when KG is still young and is doing his portion in a ten year contract that guarantees his huge income in the league. He was stuck on the Minnesota Timberwolves, a dog of a group. In this point in time, he would have been excused for mailing in some games. However, he did not. On the night I saw him the Lakers took over from the opening tip. It was obvious who is gaining the game even before half-time. KG played as well as he could, each and every moment of the game. The man has heart.
The heart is something that cannot be described. Once it kicks in, it pushes one to do things that appear out of the question. It may be powerful but it can be temperamental and delicate at the same time. Dennis Rodman comes to mind. I saw him in one of the very first games of the season he played on the Lakers as coached by Kurt Rambis. I had great seats and I witnessed something truly special. From the beginning of the game it was Dennis who dominated, but he never took a shot. It was a wonderful view. A few weeks later, I went to another Laker game. The Lakers and Dennis were not pleased with Kurt’s training thus the unimpressive year. Right before your eyes you can see the heart fade away. From that point onwards, Dennis was a mere mortal.
Going back to Kevin Garnet. It is hard to comprehend why the MVP went to someone else rather than to KG during his first year playing for Boston. He place heart and toughness and work ethic and defense into the Celtics. He changed the tradition and the locker room of the business. That is one hard to find player. The year after that he was seriously injured and he wound up looking forward to next year and next season. He was not in great shape and he did not look so excellent during that year. But my perception is that if it had been any other person, they would have taken the year off for more rehab. You could tell KG was discouraged at his physique for letting him down. He was pissed that sheer determination was not enough to overcome his physical restrictions. And here we are, the beginning of a new season and he has the hops and the range of movement and the pace and quickness that were lacking all last year. Jeffrey Epstein believes it will be fun to watch and see how far heart take him this year.
