Rondo to the Rescue Again

The stat line doesn’t jump off the page: 11 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists.  We have seen Rajon Rondo attain triple-doubles in the past, many on much bigger stages.  Amazingly a 10 assist game has become ho-hum for the budding superstar.  But make no mistake about it, the Celtics would not have clinched the season series with the Heat today without Rondo.  

The Celtics seemed to be lacking the energy they have typically brought to big games this season.  Assigned the task of setting a tempo and dragging his sluggish teammates along with him Rondo completely turned the game around in the pivotal third quarter.  He came out aggressive offensively to start the half, which Doc Rivers has been begging him to do.  On their first four possessions of the quarter Rondo drew a shooting foul, assisted on a Kendrick Perkins bucket, and scored on a fast break layup while drawing the foul.  The fact that he missed two of the three free throws was irrelevant; the tone had been set for the half and the rest of the Celtics followed his lead.  All in all Rondo notched 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in the quarter.

             

As significant as his contributions were on the offensive end, Rondo may have put his biggest stamp on the game on the defensive end of the floor.  He garnered the most attention for his defense on LeBron James, but he was all over the court.  He did an excellent job of pressuring the ball in the backcourt and forced the Heat to get into their offense later in the shot clock.  He seemed to spend the majority of the quarter on James, but he could be seen chasing Dwyane Wade, Mike Miller, and Eddie House around at different points as well.  His efforts took Miami out of their rhythm, as Boston exploded for a 20-3 run out of the locker room on their way to a 35-18 advantage in the third.

             

The Celtics hold a 3-0 advantage over Miami in the season series.  They now possess the trump card over the Heat in any tiebreaker scenario for home court or seeding come playoff time.  The Heat had to feel confident coming into the game, having won 8 straight and knowing they had a vulnerable team on a 2 game losing skid staring back at them.  Playing with 7 available bodies (Nate Robinson was only able to give them 5 first half minutes) and an ailing and banged up Paul Pierce (0-10 shooting for the game), the defending conference champs had every reason to fold and limp into the All-Star Break hoping to regain their health and swagger.  Instead their all-star point guard willed them to victory and showed Miami that the road to the Finals in the East still goes through Boston.


P.S. Credit to Teddy Sellers for the blog name 

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