| 11 May 2010
(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
Boston Celtics 97, Cleveland Cavaliers 87
So much emphasis and attention is put on the top stars of the league taking their games and their teams to the next level in the playoffs that we often forget about guys like Rajon Rondo.
Rajon Rondo has a major flaw. He can’t shoot. Even though we saw an out-of-nowhere display of wetness coming from his jumper during the H-O-R-S-E competition at All-Star Weekend in Dallas, he still has struggled with his outside jumper and his free throw stroke for his entire career. For most point guards, this is a major problem because teams can easily play off of this type of floor general and essentially dare him into taking low percentage shots in order to trick him into a pissing contest.
With Rajon though, that doesn’t work. Yes, he’ll take the occasional jumper to attempt to keep defenses honest but for the most part, he takes advantage of the room given to him as if he were a quarterback operating in a big pocket. With the space that defenders give Rondo, he’s able to give his superior quickness and speed a head start to symbiotically groove with his incredible handle on the ball. Once that happens, very few defenders have the quickness or the awareness to stay in front of him. He’s able to drive to the hole whenever he wants and either take fairly easy layups or set up his teammates left over from defensive rotations.
In the playoffs, he has been able to up his game to extraordinary levels. In 2008, Rajon kept his scoring average around the same while upping his assists from 5.1 to 6.6 in the postseason. In 2009, he matched Herculean efforts by Derrick Rose early in the first round battle with the Bulls and posted a triple-double for the series. He followed that up with more incredible production against the Celtics before bowing out in the second round.
In this post-season, Rajon has once again elevated his game into heights that his critics don’t want to recognize as a view of coming attractions. Not only is he shooting playoff career best percentages (46.8/38.5/76.9) but he’s also scoring when his team needs a bucket and setting up players better than any other point guard in the NBA. He’s been passing better than Nash, better than Deron Williams and even better than LeBron James.
In Game Four against the Cavaliers, Rajon took the mismatch of Mo Williams in front of him and threw down his fourth career playoff triple-double (for posterity’s sake, Larry Bird had 10). 29 points, 16 free throw attempts, 13 assists and 18 rebounds don’t even tell the entire story. Rondo played the point guard position about as perfectly as you can ask for. It didn’t matter if Mo Williams, Delonte West, Anthony Parker or LeBron James were going to stand in front of him; he was going to score. Rondo accounted for 56 of the Celtics 97 points all on his own.
It’s great to see superstars elevate to the legendary status in the playoffs but sometimes it’s even more fun to watch guys like Rajon Rondo put the rest of the league on notice that there is nothing you can do to slow him down in the post-season. He’s one very dynamic reason the Celtics have tied this series 2-2 heading back to Cleveland.
Why The Celtics Won This Game
Aside from Rajon Rondo deciding he was the best player on the floor in Game Four, the Celtics defense was pretty spectacular in the ways they contained LeBron James and stopped anybody from helping him out. Cleveland didn’t have much room to breath because the Celtics’ rotations coupled with the lazy play of the Cavs proved to be an advantageous combination for Boston. The Celtics forced 17 turnovers, allowed just 40% shooting from the field, 19% shooting from three and were helped out by the Cavs missing 10 free throws. They got back on defense on the rare occasion that the Cavs actually grabbed a rebound and only gave up seven fast break points. The Celtics were active in a way that reminded me of the early rounds of the 2008 title run.
Why The Cavs Lost This Game
Did the Cavs even care about winning this game? There was not much effort on the court as shown by the 47-33 rebounding ass whooping they endured. This team looked quite content with just taking back home advantage in the series and didn’t seem to care that they could have played their butts off and taken a commanding three games to one lead in the series. Instead, they got their split after Game Three and didn’t want to risk… well, I don’t know what the hell they would have risked. They simply didn’t want to fight for this game.
Heading Into Game Five
The Cavs have showed a lot of laziness during this series. And even as poorly as they’ve played while Orlando shines on the other side of the Eastern Conference bracket, they still have home court advantage in two of the final three games of this series. To show they mean business and can win a title this season, they have to come out with a lot of fire in Game Five and blow the Celtics out of the water. That doesn’t mean they have to win by 20 but they DO have to set the tone early and come out with a ton of energy. I think they do it.
Prediction: Hard for me to go against the home team here. Cavs win
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