I love these guys. In the biggest game of the Celtics season, KG and Rondo came up huge. For all the mewling about Lebron James' elbow or where he's going to play next year, KG and Rondo have been great all series.
1. Boston is incredibly deep. Even when they're not firing on all cylinders they DNP guys like Daniels and Robinson most nights. Daniels might be the top scorer on this current Wolves roster if that tells you anything. Pairing Rondo and Allen is a really smart move. They're the best defensively and the most electrifying to watch.
2. Rondo is far and away the best PG in the East. This really can't be debated anymore. The kid's b-ball IQ and effectiveness are through the roof right now. He's been the Celtics best player for the past two years IMO.
3. KG is coming back into form. I personally think the "demise of KG" was pretty overstated, as Doc was limiting his minutes significantly. That and his injury was going to take time to heel. When he's on, he gives Boston an excellent chance to contend. He was brilliant in this series, and especially in tonight's game.
4. Perkins is a beast if he can stay out of foul trouble. The guy gets his hands on so many balls during the course of the game, and he can single-handedly guard every Center in the L without needing help.
5. If one of Ray or Pierce shows up along with these things, this team is tough to beat. So far Pierce has been a lump, and that clear out, isolation ball he keeps calling for is a young man's game. To me he's been the biggest disappointment of the season and post-season, even though he'll still come with some big shots.
The Cavs raced to a gaudy win total during the season, but are you really gonna bank on the likes of Antawn Jamison to do some serious heavy lifting in the postseason? I thought Anthony Parker looked putrid for most of the series, and the Cavs overplayed Shaq. Anderson Varajao and Hickson smothering KG were their best bet, and they didn't do it enough.
Imagine for a moment if Garnett was in his prime, playing with a young, emerging Rondo? He would have a shelf full of titles by now, that's for sure.
What happens to Lebron? I could care less. The media attention surrounding his next locker room will encompass the rest of the offseason, but credit the Celtics for winning this series. They played like champions.
2 comments:
This so much I agree with.
"...Rondo falls back when he needs to, and asserts himself however the team needs him to. That can lead to all-out domination, or game-management, or some odd combination of the two. It's an advanced, aggressive version of the point guard instinct that somehow registers less impressively, and consistently, than master craftsmen like, say, Stockton or Steve Nash.
Rondo might well be a new kind of pure point guard, one marked not by his ability to set the terms but to adapt and adjust within the game situation. That may also be his greatest strength and his ultimate weakness, since you have to wonder how this strange skill fares once you take away support (note the word choice) from the likes of Garnett and Allen."
-Bethlehem Shoals.
I'm through defending the guy. His play does all the talking needed.
Post a Comment