Kevin Garnett Looking to Slow Antawn Jamison

It’s one of the key matchups in the Celtics/Cavs series, with KG hoping to do to Jamison what he did to Michael Beasley in the previous series. From the Boston Globe: “The Miami players believed Beasley could exploit Garnett with his athleticism and ability to take the slower Garnett off the dribble. But that advantage never materialized, and during stretches of Game 4, Garnett looked dominant and Rivers allowed him to log a season-high 37 minutes as he aided the Celtics’ rally. In Tuesday’s fourth quarter, Garnett canned two jumpers during a 6-0 run that increased the Celtics’ lead to an insurmountable 12. After the second shot, Garnett sprinted down the floor, pumping his arms slightly as if he had just crossed a major hurdle of his resurrection. He would much rather discuss team defense or laud his teammates for their efforts in the Miami series, but his offensive improvement will be an issue against Cleveland. Jamison is going to have to come out and guard Garnett as he stands 18 feet from the basket. And the Cavaliers may have to double when Garnett gathers a Rajon Rondo pass in the post and ponders his next move. That may not have occurred even three months ago. But that confidence is there and Garnett, silently, will look to exploit his matchup with Jamison, just as he did with Beasley. ‘I wasn’t even focusing on how I was scoring the ball, my focus was on Beasley and Haslem and now it’s on Jamison,’ he said. ‘It should be a good matchup. I have a lot of respect for what ‘Twan’ has done in this league.’’’