KG the Clown

Clowns are obvious caricatures.  They're supposed to look ridiculous because, well, that's the whole point.  They look ridiculous because it is intended to mirror their performance.  Pulling an endless thread of multi-colored fabric out of your mouth, piling into a car with your gay clown friends, and shooting water of the plastic flower attached to your lapel.  All of it is absurd, but the humor crime fits .  It's supposed to be ridiculous.

So what happens when absurd behavior doesn't fit?

KG has always been an overly intense player.  He has always talked more shit than anyone else on the floor, and for the most part, people have never really taken too much offense to it.  Like crazy Epic Beard Man, it was best to just let him spew his crazy monologue rather than get in his way.  But unlike crazy Epic Beard Man, you couldn't just ignore KG hoping that your headphones would cause his psychotic specter to vacate your perceptual landscape leaving you comfortable in your stable worldview.  He was a force that had been pretty much unstoppable for the last 13 years and even as a young buck, he still demanded respect, and most importantly, attention with this play on the floor.  KG's maniacal ramblings always seemed to fuel or at least complement his play, and so no one ever really had a problem with it... You know, for the most part.

KG the spaz was in line with this spastic, yet effective play on the floor.

In 2010, KG is currently experiencing his worst year since his rookie season.  His totals for points, rebounds, steals, and blocks are all well below his career average, and with respect to blocks and steals, his current numbers are actually worse than in his rookie season.  He currently walks with a limp that appears to have no intention of ever going away as long as he continues to play on his gimpy knee.  But the motor that charges his tongue still appears to be running strong.  Less and less does KG resemble the intimidating, productive presence that he used to be, while more and more, he becomes a contradiction.

KG is still a spaz, but his play is no longer spastic, nor entirely effective.

And just what are the implications of this situation?  What happens when formerly tolerable actions become intolerable?  Not just for the actor, but for those in his troupe, as well?

The Celtics are no longer a title contender.  They are competitive and a trip to the Eastern Conference finals could not necessarily be considered a surprise.  A trip to the NBA Finals would indeed be a surprise, but not the Conference Finals.  However, watch when a team beats the Celtics.  It's not just another win.  It's a celebration.  Bench players are tossing around the stink eye and punk rookies are not content to simply let the scoreboard do the talking.  With the Celtics, it has become personal for every other team in the league.  In this case, winning isn't about playoff position, but pride.

And just where does this emotional impetus come from?  Beating a champion?  The Celtics won the title almost 2 years ago.  Beating a contender?  The Celtics are in 4th place in the East.  Do teams celebrate in the same way when they beat the Jazz or the Nuggets?  Probably not.  But those teams do not have a a waxing star on their roster whose primary use these days is the production of verbal garbage to fling in any direction he sees fit.  Like an aging war veteran, used to mowing down enemies thanks to his heavy artillery, now left unarmed and mentally compromised, KG roams the court like the lion that he once was, shrouded in makeup and grotesquely over-sized clothes, never coming to terms with his reduced billing beneath the big top.

It would be funny, only if it were not so sad.