Paint lessons from Garnett

He helps O'Bryant with low-post play

WALTHAM - The potential candidates to replace P.J. Brown as this season's veteran force off the Celtics' bench continue to diminish. Brown became the latest to pull out of contention by confirming his retirement this week.

That leaves the Celtics, who host the Washington Wizards tonight, with youthful backups for Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins.

But Garnett is taking proactive steps toward improving the low-post play of reserve center Patrick O'Bryant.

Following a two-hour practice yesterday, Garnett gave O'Bryant up close and personal advice, which ranged from footwork and positioning to motivation through physical contact, as they battled for entry passes from assistant coach Clifford Ray.

"My game is not perfect, by any means," Garnett said. "But I do work hard on it and I try to spread it, and get guys to incorporate that same detail.

"It looks aggressive. I guess my style is very straight to the point. But if you ask Patrick, Baby [Glen Davis], even Leon [Powe], when I'm talking to you it's very passive and conservative and not as aggressive as it looks. The finishes and explosions, they all have to be aggressive to have the impact at which I'm trying to get them to understand. It can be aggressive at times, but what I'm saying is actually kind of soothing and conservative, and it's not like I'm trying to bite your head off. I'm trying to get you to do what I'm showing you.

"When you are finishing, nine times out of 10 it's in a crowd and it needs to be an aggressive finish."

If so, Garnett was being extremely passive-aggressive with emphatic dunks and defending as he tried to convince O'Bryant to be assertive and demonstrative near the basket.

"A lot of it is mental," said Garnett, who was wearing a wrap on his right leg. "If you want to work on things, I'm in here every day. I have a bit of a cold, but I'm in here. My leg is messed up, but I'm in here. So, if those guys are willing to work hard, I'm here."

Garnett said he spent extra time training as a young player with former Celtic Kevin McHale and former teammates Tom Hammonds and Sam Mitchell in Minnesota, and drew inspiration from Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon.

"Kevin said, 'If you want to get better, then show me,' " Garnett said. "Sam used to say, 'If you want it, then you'll work on it.' They are in the back of my mind and carried me to this point.

"We all need to work on every phase of the game. Kevin McHale would grab me and we would go through footwork on the post countless times, and I've been able to acquire some of that knowledge. Now it's my turn as a vet to try and instill this in some of the younger guys. Whether they want it or not, I'm here to give it to them. At the end of the day, it's whether they want to be better players and get better.

"Ask anyone who worked with me, I never had a problem staying in the gym countless hours. I was always infatuated with the ability to get better, I always watched Michael and Olajuwon and guys with what I call go-to moves, moves they are comfortable with and had the confidence to go to that move and hit the move and tell you about the move. I was always infatuated with how you work on something so well, from footwork to confidence, and how it builds confidence to where you can go out there and display it. There is nothing like going out there and showing off your art, nothing like going out and showing people what you work on, seeing if your stuff actually works. That's the beauty of working hard, is when you see the results."

Brown told the New Orleans Times-Picayune this week, "I'm officially retired. When you've been doing something for 15, 16 years, and you know in your heart it's over, it's a little hard to say that word [retired]. There's still some interest out there. I'm reading the Internet and reading the papers and there's rumors floating, but I won't return. I'm moving on. I'm looking forward to the next chapter in my life. Boston and a couple of other teams [asked]. But like I told everybody, I'm officially done. My career is definitely over."

Celtics coach Doc Rivers was not surprised.

"He told us that, but we don't believe him," Rivers said. "I'm hardheaded. I've heard that before. I think it's official, but I'm still going to check. I'm good at making people change their minds - my wife married me. We missed P.J. in the locker room as well as on the floor. He was just as valuable to Leon and Baby in the locker room.

"We believe if we don't make a trade we can win the championship. Our improvement has come from within - our young guys have played another year and are better. They are clearly better players than last year."

As for O'Bryant, the only newcomer currently with the Celtics, Rivers said, "He's just not ready yet. He's working on it, and he's making improvement. He's very young and it takes time. That's why I push him."

Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at f_dellapa@globe.com.