The Big Ticket just got cashed out for the rest of the season.

Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers announced on Thursday that Kevin Garnett will not be ready for the start of the playoffs this weekend and could miss the entire postseason due to a lingering knee injury.

Garnett injured his knee back on Feb. 19 and has missed time ever since except for a four-game stretch where the Big Ticket returned.

Without KG, Boston should have no problem getting past the Chicago Bulls in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs, but a possible 2nd round matchup with the Orlando Magic and Dwight Howard could spell trouble.

Of course you shouldn’t put anything past the Celtics when it comes to injuries during the playoffs.

How can we forget Paul Pierce and his acting job last year during Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

The Cleveland LeBron’s can start packing their bags for Los Angeles as we speak.

Boston Celtics forward and MVP candidate Kevin Garnett will not participate in the NBA All-Star game next weekend in New Orleans and has been replaced by Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace.

The Big Ticket was the leading vote getter in the NBA All-Star Ballot with nearly 2.4 million votes.

Garnett has missed the last seven games with an abdominal muscle strain, which hasn’t slowed down Boston any (5-2 in his absence.)

While LeBron has the gaudy stats (30.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 7.3 apg) and Kobe is leading the Lakers to a possible NBA Finals appearance, no player has made an impact on a team like Garnett’s arrival to the Celtics.

His statistics (19.2 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 3.8 apg) are the lowest they have been in 10 years, but Garnett’s impact is felt primarily on the defensive end.

Boston is #1 in nearly every defensive category including opponents points per game (89.0) and opponents field goal percentage (42.0).

Could we see a Lakers vs. Celtics NBA Finals?

This Los Angelino hopes so.