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HANG TIME NEW JERSEY – The craziest thing about the Los Angeles Lakers’ struggles this season is that the Boston Celtics have been dealing with very similar issues. The two franchises with the most NBA championships have been this season’s two most disappointing teams.
At this point in the season, both the Celtics and Lakers are going through what may be the most adversity they’ve faced yet. Boston has lost Rajon Rondo and Jared Sullinger for the season. L.A. has been without Dwight Howard for the last three games and just lost Pau Gasol for an extended period with a torn plantar fascia.
Yet, both teams are playing their best basketball of the season. The Celtics have gone 5-0 without their point guard, while the Lakers have won six of their last seven.
So it’s a great time for these two teams to meet tonight (8 ET, TNT) for the first time. The Lakers, still three games out of a playoff spot, have more on the line. But the Celtics can move up a spot to seventh (avoiding the Heat in the first round would probably be a good thing) in the Eastern Conference standings and surely would love to knock off their cross-country rivals.
When these two teams met in Boston two seasons ago on TNT, Ray Allen made history by passing Reggie Miller for the most 3-pointers in NBA history. And on Thursday, we’re going to see another milestone for a man in green.
Kevin Garnett is six points away from being the 16th player in league history to score 25,000 career points. Garnett’s scoring average has dipped quite a bit over the last five years, but he still ranks second on the all-time list among active players.
Most career points, active players
| Rank | Player | G | PTS | PPG |
| 5 | Kobe Bryant | 1,210 | 30,834 | 25.5 |
| 16 | Kevin Garnett | 1,303 | 24,994 | 19.2 |
| 18 | Dirk Nowitzki | 1,075 | 24,427 | 22.7 |
| 21 | Paul Pierce | 1,073 | 23,479 | 21.9 |
| 22 | Ray Allen | 1,193 | 23,424 | 19.6 |
| 24 | Tim Duncan | 1,154 | 23,300 | 20.2 |
| 30 | Vince Carter | 1,034 | 21,750 | 21.0 |
| 37 | LeBron James | 735 | 20,279 | 27.6 |
| 42 | Antawn Jamison | 1,028 | 19,590 | 19.1 |
| 71 | Jason Kidd | 1,357 | 17,385 | 12.8 |
The 10 guys listed above have all scored in different ways. Garnett has been Mr. Mid-range, attempting 52 percent of his shots from between the paint and the 3-point line, the highest rate of the group.
Garnett has never been a traditional big man and has always attempted about half of his shots from mid-range. But over the last two seasons (strangely coinciding with his move from power forward to center), that number has been at 58 percent.
Of the group above, only Antawn Jamison has had a higher percentage of his shots assisted. Since the 1996-97 season (his second year), Garnett has been assisted on more than 68 percent of his buckets, by 101 different teammates.
Most assists to Garnett since 1996-97
| Player | FGM |
| Rajon Rondo | 878 |
| Terrell Brandon | 485 |
| Paul Pierce | 454 |
| Sam Cassell | 372 |
| Wally Szczerbiak | 370 |
Among the players with exactly one assist to Garnett are former Celtics Rasheed Wallace and Brian Scalabrine. TNT analyst Shaquille O’Neal had exactly four assists to KG.
Because he spent 12 seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Garnett has scored his most points against Western Conference opponents. The Lakers are currently fifth on the list, but could be third by the end of the night.
Kevin Garnett, most points by opponent
| Opponent | GP | PTS | PPG |
| Sacramento | 57 | 1,184 | 20.8 |
| Golden State | 55 | 1,137 | 20.7 |
| L.A. Clippers | 55 | 1,088 | 19.8 |
| Houston | 54 | 1,073 | 19.9 |
| L.A. Lakers | 55 | 1,072 | 19.5 |
