Kevin Garnett has been troublesome to the Trail Blazers, both with his play on the court and his talking. Or shall we say taunting. In fact, the last time the Blazers played the Celtics, in Boston, Garnett got down on all fours and mocked Jerryd Bayless late in the game.

I’m not sure this is the game when it’s going to happen, but at some point, somebody with a Trail Blazer shirt on is going to respond to this guy. And in a physical way. I can just feel it. At the very least, someone is going to have to send him a message, even if it’s just in the form of a very hard, but clean, foul.

(By the way, Anthony Peeler was once a teammate of Garnett and knew exactly how to handle him when his team met the Timberwolves in the playoffs one year. Remember this? Garnett didn’t know whether to spit or go blind.)

Portland coach Nate McMillan isn’t the kind of guy who will tell his players to go lay one on Garnett. What he’d rather have is for his players to stick it to Garnett where it hurts the most — on the scoreboard. But don’t take that to mean he’s told his players not to respond to Garnett in some way — with words or actions.

“I won’t tell them not to respond,” he said. ” You can’t put your tail between your legs. But the important thing is to just play. Talking is one thing, but you’ve got to play.”

People always talk about teams taking on the personality of their head coach and I think that’s happened in Portland, where the Trail Blazers don’t complain, they play hard and do things the right way — just as McMillan did as a player. But one thing is missing and that’s McMillan’s physical toughness. Trust me on this, as a guy who watched him play a lot of times, Nate McMillan took no guff from anybody.

And at some point, his players are going to have to pick up that physical toughness trait. When they do, they’re going to be a better team, not only against Kevin Garnett but against everyone else.

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Here, thanks to commenter Larry, is proof. At least partial proof, but you can’t see much of it. So a guy can get down on all fours and crawl at a Portland player like a dog, then get in the same guy’s face after a hard foul and taunt him — and not be fined? Exactly what is that about, NBA?

“I’ve never seen anything like that in my life,” Mark Jackson said on the ESPN commentary.

And seriously, the next time the Blazers play Boston, somebody’s got to make some sort of statement with a hard foul on Garnett. It’s great to say you’re going to laugh it off or ignore him but the guy’s not showing you any respect at all and someone’s got to get his attention. At some point, doesn’t an elbow have to be thrown? Or can’t you at least hammer him on a shot attempt? This is enough to make you appreciate hockey, where you can take care of things like this.

Yeah – I’m old school. But come on — the guy’s just begging for it. You wouldn’t let that stuff go unanswered at any level in any sport. In baseball, acting that way toward an opponent would get you a fastball in the ribs, if not the noggin. In football, you’re taking a chance on receiving a nasty crackback.

If Garnett doesn’t get fined for it, the league has no balls. And I’m not talking about Spauldings.

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People are already making fun of the accurately nicknamed “Big Baby” Davis, sobbing and sulking on the Boston bench last night after being screamed at by his teammate, Kevin Garnett. It’s just one more incident that gives you some insight into Garnett’s personality. Of course, most of the country probably believes what we saw in the nationally televised game Friday night was just one more example of Garnett’s sterling leadership. Tough love, is what one of the commentators called it.

Yeah, right. In most cases, that kind of stuff is not leadership. It’s just a guy being a jerk or it’s some sort of act, showing everyone how powerful he is. And Garnett — who comes off as a borderline psycho and a bully – is good at that. Of course, he’s always excused because he’s a great player. But understand, losing your temper and embarrassing teammates in front of standing-room-only crowds and a national television audience is not leadership. It’s an ego running amok.

When I look around at great leaders, in sports, business or politics, I don’t see a lot of people behaving like this maniac. As great as he is as a player, I bet he’s a real handful to coach. If an opponent doesn’t pop him in the nose one of these days, a couple of his teammates will. If body language is any indication, it looks to me as if most of the guys on his team are tired of his act, too.

Ladies and gentleman, the measure of what a great competitor you are is not how much you scream, yell, growl or snarl. You can compete just as hard with a mask of stoicism. You can compete just as hard with a smile on your face. People used to understand that. Fans and competitors alike used to respect the quiet dignity of the likes of Bill Russell, Jimmy Brown, Oscar Robertson or Joe DiMaggio. That was the standard. Now, because they don’t make a public spectacle of themselves during a game, those guys would probably be accused of not caring.

Again, this makes me look like a cranky old timer. Maybe. I think it merely means I value civility. And I worry that when kids watch Garnett pull this junk on television and is praised for it, we’re creating a whole bunch of mini-Garnetts, who can’t wait to get out on the field or court and belittle their teammates in the name of leadership.

Spare me.

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Kevin Garnett has been selling wolf tickets now for several seasons. He stalks around basketball courts all over the country, acting as if he’s an unchained tiger ready to bite someone’s arm off. He never stops talking, trying to intimidate everyone in his path — officials, players and even, in some cases, his own teammates.

Man, I’m sick of watching it. In the old NBA I grew up with, someone would have put a stop to it a long time ago. I don’t think the guy is anywhere close to being as tough as he thinks he is. But in the league the way it is these days, who would know? You can’t really do anything to call his bluff. I mean, you can’t breath on anybody without getting suspended.

In the old days, Maurice Lucas is fond of saying, you could punch a guy in the face and get fined $50. Man, in the case of Garnett, who among us wouldn’t chip in?

And while Lucas continues to recover from a nasty illness that’s kept him off the Blazer bench this season, I’m fondly summoning up a picture of Luke, in his prime, on the floor giving the stink-eye to Garnett. Man, the first time Garnett got out of line, he’d see a beast coming at him. I’ve seen this thing, folks, and it was a frightening sight to behold.

Garnett, trust me, would want no part of Maurice Lucas. He would be a very quiet, well-behaved young man on the nights when he played against the Portland Trail Blazers.

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I got up this morning and felt bombarded with hype about tonight’s Trail Blazer game against the Boston Celtics. Yes, it should be a fun game. Yes, Portland has a better chance to beat the Celts than it did last season, when it got punked not once, but twice.

But a little perspective, please.

It’s one game. ONE GAME. If you beat Boston tonight, Blazer fans, it doesn’t mean you’re better than the Celtics. It doesn’t even mean you can “play with them” on a regular basis. If you lose, it doesn’t mean you’re worse, either. And nothing that happens this time of year is indicative of what may happen later on in the playoffs. Again, it’s just one game out of 82.

Boston was blown out by Indiana earlier this season. That doesn’t mean the Pacers are favorites to win the East. Hey — I know, I know — you’re going to say this is some kind of gauge of where Portland is right now. Maybe. Maybe not. I guess if you win, you would want to say that. And maybe to a lot of fans, that’s what this game is — a can’t-lose opportunity.

If you win, you say you’re up there with the elite teams. If you lose, oh well — nobody expected you to win, anyway, and you just move on. That’s a little too pragmatic for me.

After so many years of covering the league, the thing I learned is that you never need to get too carried away about anything that happens before the calendar turns to a new year. And you don’t worry too much about one game.

Enjoy the game, though. It’s fun to watch two good teams play. But don’t go in figuring that there’s a whole lot at stake. You can’t prove much in a December game.

It’s still a very long season and your best friend is always perspective.

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