No Foolin', KG and Ainge Out for the Playoffs

April is now the cruelest month for Celtics' fans. Not only is All-Star Kevin Garnett out for the Celtics' 2009 play-off run but word is that Celtics' General Manager Danny Ainge suffered a heart attack as well.

I'm really not sure which is more surreal. On one hand, Celtics' GM Danny Ainge is only 50 years old and a former 3-sport athlete who is still in great shape for his age. On top of that, he is a Mormon who doesn't smoke or drink alchohol, yet after falling ill the other night, they found out that his artery was 100% clogged!

On the other hand, we were told all along that Kevin Garnett was going to be fine. His injury was mild and he could have come back sooner but that the Celtics were just giving him more time to be safe. They said he was going to be back for the last week of the season but since the playoff seed was solidified they thought starting up again in the playoffs would be the best just to get a couple extra days of treatment. Now Coach Doc Rivers tells everyone that he saw KG in practice on Thursday and there is no way he can go in the playoffs and probably will need surgery after the season!

Much like last year's injury to Andrew Bynum, Laker players and their fans were told repeatedly that Bynum would be ready for the play-offs until it was finally declared that he was done for the rest of the season. Now Celtic fans are left with a lot of questions. With the best medical expertise at their disposal, how is it that Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge didn't know how serious KG's injury was and who really gained from this non-disclosure? Their players? The opponent? Certainly not the fans who have all year for another successful playoff run and now must pray for a Willis Reed-like apearance late in the play-offs by Kevin Garnett.

As Rick Pitino once said, "Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish aren't going to be walking through that door"...And now neither will Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett, so it appears that the Celtics and their fans will need a lot more than the the luck of the Irish to repeat as World Champions this year.