My
mother always taught me that “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” so I’m
trying to use that approach for the Boston Celtics as they enter game 2 against
the Atlanta Hawks without their all-star point guard, Rajon Rondo. Now, to
start off I’m going to say that I’m biased. Being from Boston I love the
Celtics, and Rondo is without a doubt my favorite player in the NBA currently.
So
when I first saw Rondo bump into referee Marc Davis during with 41 seconds left
in the game I freaked out. I didn’t know what the hell he was doing. After all
we were only down by 4 after playing like crap offensively for the entire game;
I mean we only shot 39% from the floor. But all that said we had a chance, and
Rondo blew it for us.
Or
did he?
Wasn’t
Rondo the only one who was keeping us alive that whole game? Wasn’t Rondo the
one with intensity, while players like KG and Pierce were living up to their
reputation of being at nursing home status?
How
can I be angry at Rondo for having emotion in playoff basketball? I want to see
my team fired up. Okay, maybe bumping the ref is taking it too far, but think
about it this way: how would you feel if you were taking the reins for your
team, and they weren’t responding?
Garnett started the first quarter
1-7 from the field, and his defense was almost as bad. Josh Smith, the man
Garnett defended had 22 points and 18 rebounds. Pierce went 5-19. Stiemsma
looked like he lost about 3 defensive rebounds. Avery Bradley went 4-12 from
the field. That’s not clutch numbers. That’s not playoff basketball.
Rondo had 20 points with 11
assists. He probably would have gotten 20 assists if people were hitting the
wide open looks he was giving them.
Watching
it up until the moment where Rondo snapped, everyone was on Rondo’s side for
that game. Everyone saw what he was doing. Rondo was the only one playing, he
got us back to within 4, and even when people like KG were starting to get into
it, he was still the guy with intensity. He was working to give the struggling
players looks to get their confidence back up.
And here’s the thing about the
Celtics, we love intensity. Do you know how KG starts every game? By standing
in front of the hoop, tying his shorts, while talking to himself, and banging
his head against the hoop. If you don’t think that’s odd, imagine playing a pick-up
game with someone who does that to begin the game. Just picture it.
And that emotion doesn’t die down.
Win or lose he is fired up for the entire game. This is a man who choked Bill Walker for the
Knicks after missing the game tying shot at the beginning of the season.
This is a man who stands
on the sidelines joking around during every big win at the Garden. Who
called a 27 point comeback against the Magic earlier this season a
“bar fight.”
KG wasn’t in a bar fight last
night. KG didn’t choke any players (though perhaps this is a good thing). KG
didn’t have that intensity.
The Celtics offensively are not
good team, our defense is our bread and butter. And defensively it all starts
with KG. We need him to be working in order for the rest of the team to be
working. Pierce is the captain, Rondo is the floor general, and Garnett is the
anchor.
And so what Rondo did last night is
hopefully beneficial to the team for the rest of the playoffs. Think about it,
he was the only guy out there who looked like he cared. He was fighting. So
what happens when you take away the leader of a team, the leader who almost
turned that game around for the Celtics?
Well it is going to fire up that
team. It’s going to get the players caring, that’s for sure. Rondo out for one
game gets us nice and pissed off for the entirety of playoffs, however long we
may be in it. And let’s face it, that’s how we want it. I can’t be angry at
Rondo, sure I’m bummed that he bumped Marc Davis, but I’m not angry at him for
him caring. Everyone is vilifying a man who is playing with passion during
playoff basketball. How about we get angry at KG for playing like Pau Gasol
last night?
Because at the end of the day
here’s the secret to our team: we can win one game without Rondo if we are
angry and have intensity. But we will get swept by the Hawks if everyone can
play, but no one cares.
--Mark Albano
For more optimistic thinking you can follow Mark Albano on Twitter @MarkAlbano11. Go Celtics!
