(Picture from pendletonpanther.com)
After tonights overtime loss against the Magic (a game that should have been handily won by the Celtics, might I add), I have three thoughts about the future Eastern Conference Champions. The first being that the Magic don't stand a "fighters" chance to make this a compelling series. If they don't lose this next game in Orlando, I'd be surprised. The Celtics played about as bad as they could in the first half and were only down by four. The Rajon Rondo we are all used to seeing in the playoffs, was still in the locker room having a slam dunk contest with Nate Robinson when the ball went up. As was Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, who came out of the gate flatter than Paris Hilton's chest. No wonder Jameer Nelson finally scored more than four points. I guarantee Rondo will watch that film and see how abscent he was for most of the context. You can be he will correct his inability to take control of the paint faster than you can say "Larry Legend".
The second thought is, when was this team of Zombies fed an antidote that allowed them two more months of super human strength? I mean really? Kevin Garnett had half a knee all season, Doc Rivers looked like a lock to quit after the year ended, and Paul Pierce looked like he played one to many purposeless game.
The third is more of a statement to The Big 3. Your wheel chairs are being pushed, and are going to continue to be pushed, by Rajon Rondo. Period. He is a bigger superstar right now than every single one of you. Winning a title this year wont be based on how well Allen's shooting. It wont be based on Garnett's emotional leadership on the court. It will be on the shoulders of the young kid from Kentucky that everyone had a problem with just two years ago. It is all on how well Rajon Rondo can slice, dice, cut, and butcher the Lakers.
In a guard driven league, Rajon Rondo has gone from the bratty little brother of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett, to the bachelor of the year. He has gone from the cover of At Home with Rachel Ray to the Cover of GQ . He has launched his name out of the "top 10 point guards in the league" talks, to one of the three best point guards in the NBA and possibly Celtics history. He has dominated the playoffs while giving the Magic and the Cavaliers so many problems that it ultimately got one coach fired (and talks about Stan the Man will happen too). He has proved that he is worth every penny of the contract the Celtics were so scared to sign him too. He has proven that Derrick Rose does not have the clear cut lane, that most people thought he had, to be the best point guard in the East.
As a Bulls fan, it hurts me to say this, but I enjoy watching Rajon Rondo play (especially when Rose and Rondo play against one another). It excites me knowing that in the next ten years, Rose and Rondo will create a point guard rivalry that won't be matched by anyone in the NBA (add in John Wall to that mix too).
Rondo is a special kid.
You know that antidote I joked about in the opening paragraph? Rondo is it. He has put the tick back in the hearts of the big three. He is a human AED.
He has consistently gotten to the rack during the Celtics run to the NBA Finals, which is the most important things to do in playoff ball. He creates space, creates mismatches, and creates so many problems that even some of the best point guards in the game simply cannot stop him.
That's just talking about his offense. He also leads, arguably when healthy, the best defensive team in the league. His length and speed adds so much to his game. Even when he gets beat (which does not happen much), he can reach around and poke at the ball, which more times than not, ends up in the hands of a "Big Baby" Davis, or Kendrick Perkins.
In the words of Nelly, he gives "your point guard fits".
I'm going to look ahead here, but there is no way on God's green, green Earth, that Derrick Fisher can stay in front of him. Rondo will break his brittle, old bones. If the Celtics get the same Rondo they have had the entire playoffs, I think they will beat the Lakers again.
Rondo being the key to that championship.
You figure, if Rondo beats Fisher for two straight games, Phil Jackson will be forced to play the young, inexperienced, triangle breaker, Shannon Brown. This might seem like an upgrade, but look at the bigger picture. Brown was supposed to be the "GUY" to take the keys from current Laker point guard Derrick Fisher. He was supposed to be a super-athletic facilitator of the triangle offense; as well as the fifth scoring option behind Kobe, Pau, Odom/Artest, and Bynum.
That has yet to be seen. In fact, at times, he seems to take the keys and lose them. When he's playing for Fisher, it seems to make Bryant extremely uncomfortable on offense. He has not stepped into the role Fisher has filled for so long. If he were in a run and gun type offense with an Amare Stoudemire, Brown is your guy, but making smart decisions and getting the ball into Gasol's and Bryant's hands consistently, is his biggest problem as a Laker.
Let's say the Celtics win a quick game in L.A. because Perkins, Baby, Garnett, and 'Sheed get into Pau's and Bynum's grill and rattle them. Kobe tries to go through them, as he has been told to do most of the playoffs, but it's not enough and they lose.
What will Kobe, pissed off, then do in game 2?:
A. Listen to Jackson and go through Pau and Bynum again?
B. Shoot as much as possible, ignoring Pau in a game two loss?
I'm betting on B. He will try and do it all by himself. He has the ability to win a game all by himself, but if Ray Allen, or Paul Pierce can even his scoring out, it will be for nothing.
And why did this all happen?
Rajon Rondo.
Of course this is a fantasy (for now), but Rondo has a bigger impact than just scoring baskets and getting to the rim in a series against the Lakers. Rondo is a difference maker, a class act, and a tremendous talent. He is a squirmy, bug eyed SUPER STAR, that will, in the end, lead the back from the dead Celtics, to their second championship in three years. Yeah I'm calling it now, and yeah I could be way off, but this Celtics team has put it together in the playoffs and have shoved a giant middle finger that bares their 2008 Championship ring on it, in our faces.
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