Kevin Garnett is hurt and he knows it. There's not sugarcoating it this time. Garnett can't play.

"In the past I've looked at some of my injuries as 'I've been hurt,'" Garnett said. "This is an injury."

In a rare occurrence, Garnett addressed the media before the Boston Celtics - Los Angeles Clippers game on Wednesday night. He sat down at the podium to offer an update on the abdominal strain that he suffered on January 25 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The injury may not sound as severe as a broken bone or torn ligament, but that doesn't mean it doesn't impair Garnett's everyday life.

"You don't know how many movements are affected throughout your core in your abdomen area -- everything from coughing to sneezing to laughing and moving around to tossing and turning in the bed at night," he said, adding, "I'm learning the hard way, at least through this injury, that the core is everything."

Garnett admitted that in the past he has been able to "manipulate" his injuries through extra tape, padding, or ice. This one is different. Garnett has sat out the last five games and has not set a timetable for his recovery, which leaves his return to Minnesota on Friday night in doubt. There is too much at stake this season to make any rash decisions.

"The doctors want to make sure I'm smart and I'm not doing anything heroic, as they put it. They want to make sure that I'm healthy," he said. "We have another half (a season) of basketball to play and that's the priority here. So I'm trying to be honest and push myself like I always do, but at the same time be truthful and up front to how I'm really felling."

It's hard to imagine the same player who won a game against his former team by throwing his body on the floor to protect the ball is looking forward to something as simple as running.

"Just to give you all a little bit into my life, I did my first couple of leg lifts laying on my back the other day and that was huge, huge, huge, huge, huge progress for me," Garnett said. "I'm able to do multiples now. Running has been started so I'm excited about that. I've been trying to bring energy like I always do in a whole other way, in more of a chilling way if you will, give my insight to the guys and all that. So I'm still trying to be a presence. I make my trips, I work out every day, and hopefully I'll be back soon."

The next time Garnett is seen during a game will most likely be on the court. There's an explanation for his absence from the Celtics bench.

"One, because I don't wear a sports jacket," he said with a smile and a wink. "Second, sitting on the bench and knowing that there are probably ten steps to the scorer's table to check in wouldn't probably be the best thing for the NBA, especially with me."