By Justin Powell
ProBasketballNews.com
I’m willing to admit when I’m wrong.
After a string of awesome movies in the mid to late '90s, I thought Kevin Spacey could do no wrong. That opinion obviously has changed.
In the music world, I was convinced the whole boy band thing was a complete joke, and no talented artist would ever come out of that debacle. Although it feels weird to say it, I’m liking what Justin Timberlake has been doing recently.
As for basketball, before this season, I told a lot of people I wasn’t sold on the Boston Celtics.
I knew they’d be better than last year, obviously,
and I knew they’d be a playoff team, but I didn’t
even expect them to win their division. I was all
about the Toronto Raptors.
My main concerns about the Celtics were their
lack of depth and lack of a true point guard.
(I knew Kendrick Perkins would be mediocre
at best at center, but with Kevin Garnett in the
staring lineup, I didn’t think that would matter
too much.)
Just past the midway point in the season, my
questions have been answered. The Celtics’
bench isn’t incredible, but it has a few guys who
can play -- especially Eddie House and James Posey.
But the big key is that Rajon Rondo has been spectacular at the point. He’s not the Timberlake of the Celtics, but he’s a heck of a lot better than Lance Bass or any of the other guys from N*SYNC (whose names, thankfully, I don’t remember and have no desire to look up).
Rondo’s numbers (9.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.82 steals per game) aren’t all that special, but his play goes beyond a box score.
Boston has been one of the best defensive teams in the league this year, and there are two main reasons for that -- Garnett and Rondo.
Garnett is an obvious one. He’s had the reputation of being a tenacious defender throughout his career, and this year is no different.
But Rondo’s defense is just as impressive.
He’s been billed as a defensive-minded player since entering the league last season, so it’s no surprise he’s doing well on that end of the floor, but the energy he brings every play is surprisingly vital to the success of the team this year.
The Celtics play a lot better when Rondo is on the court -- an average of about 3.8 points per game better. That’s a better mark than everyone on the team except Garnett and Paul Pierce. It’s more than three points better than Ray Allen’s average plus-minus rating.
Just like Garnett, Rondo is a player who gives maximum effort every time down the court, and his teammates feed off that.
Watching him get up in the face of the guy he’s guarding each night, it’d be tough not to play as hard as possible if you were one of his teammates.
He’s pesky, he’s physical, he creates a lot of turnovers, and he’s athletic enough to recover from his defensive mistakes. If you’re playing against him, the word that best sums him up is “annoying.”
On the offensive end, he’s not asked to do all that much -- don’t turn the ball over and get it in the hands of one of the big three.
He’s been doing that well, and he’s doing even more when the opportunities present themselves. Some teams (Orlando, for instance), have defended the Celtics by relaxing on Rondo and using their point guard as a help man. Rondo has made the Magic pay every time, putting up excellent numbers in each of the three games between the two teams this year -- scoring 18, 23 and 15 points in those three contests.
Rondo still needs to improve his jumper a little to reach his full potential, but he’s got blazing speed and can get into the lane on almost any defender. He doesn’t always make the best decisions once he’s in there, but he’s getting better at that, and he’s young, so he still has room to improve in that area.
Defense will be critical in the playoffs, and with guys like Pierce and Allen -- who excel more on the offensive end of the floor -- Rondo should be a key factor once the Celtics get that far.
Despite a 13-0 record against Western Conference teams this year, I think Boston still would have problems against San Antonio or Phoenix in the NBA Finals, if that’s the matchup.
But I do think the Celtics match up well with Detroit (especially with Rondo guarding Chauncey Billups and Garnett on Rasheed Wallace), making Boston the favorite to come out of the East.
I know, that’s not saying much considering the team’s impressive record to this point, but it’s still a huge leap for me after my opinion of the team before the season.
Just don’t expect me to say anything positive about the Backstreet Boys anytime soon.
Justin Powell is the assistant editor of ProBasketballNews.com. He can be reached at pkmpowell@yahoo.com.
