Rondo has dazzled fans w/ his ball fakes and ability to get to the rim almost at will – when he’s on his game.

Rajon Rondo – Game 2, 2010 NBA Finals Highlights & Background

He tends to disappear every few games, but overall his impact on the game is easy to see. When Rondo plays well, the Celtics generally win. Case in point last night, where Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett – two of the “Big 3″ – scored a combined 16 pts on 4-16 FG shooting. The Lakers featured three 20-pt scorers in Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, but couldn’t overcome the efforts of Rondo and Ray Allen (the aforementioned Shuttlesworth).

Dominant on Both Sides

It’s not just Rondo’s ability to push the tempo of the game w/ his ball-handling and his aggressiveness to the rim, but he also continues to showcase his skills on the defensive side** of the ball as well. Highlighted by his “from-behind” block on a Derek Fisher 3-pointer late in Game 2 of

The stats clearly support Rondo’s effort on the floor as well, as evidenced by his triple-double last night featuring 19 pts, 12 rbs and 10 asts. At 6′ 1″, Rajon Rondo is the last player on the floor you expect to corral 12 rebounds and in a match-up featuring nearly three 7″ footers in  Bynum, Gasol and Lamar Odom, I’m sure you would not have guessed that Rondo would lead both teams in total rebounds in Game 2.

*Rajon Rondo finished 4th in Assists per game for the 2009-2010 NBA season. (Source: NBA.com)
**Rajon Rondo led the NBA in Steals per game for  the 2009-2010 NBA season. (Source: NBA.com)

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They were losing home games and generally didn’t look like they had it all together to get anywhere in the playoffs. To be honest, I expected them to get knocked out in round 1 or 2 at the latest. Yet, here we are at the end of May and the Celtics have (& had) a chance to move on to the NBA Finals w/ another win over the Orlando Magic. Sure, the Magic played well in Game 4 last night to save their season, but Rajon Rondo was virtually a “no show” and I don’t expect Boston to give up another game.

This Celtics team, made up of some old veterans and few younger players, are on the cusp of reaching the Finals to face either the Lakers or the Suns – Lakers are favored, but only have a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals. With KG, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Rasheed Wallace and Michael Finley in tow, this would appear to be a dying team, but they’ve really stepped it up vs. tough competition (Cleveland & Orland0).

Give these old timers some credit for getting this far and continuing to push their bodies to the next level. In all seriousness, I love these guys – I love watching them play the game. No disrespect for calling them old, but at the same time I remember them on other teams from way back – Allen w/ “Big Dog” Robinson and Sam Cassell on the Bucks, Garnett as a rookie w/ the T-Wolves, Rasheed ballin’  w/ Isiah Rider while Jermaine O’Neal rode the pine and Michael Finley making the highlight real w/ his dunks in Phoenix. I don’t go back terribly far, but far enough to have seen all of these guys come full circle.

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Cleveland’s Lofty Expectations

The Cavs went out and made several moves in an attempt to bolster their NBA Title hopes, including getting a big body in Shaquille O’Neal to slowdown Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic. At this point, they may not even reach the Eastern Conference Finals, where Dwight and the Magic await them after sweeping their 2nd consecutive playoff series.

Prior to the trade deadline, they went out and acquired a solid small/power forward in Antawn Jamison for virtually nothing – they got Zydrunas Illguaskas back (he was the primary piece traded for Jamison). Looking back, you wonder if the other options for Cleveland would have been better – Amare Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer (maybe not), etc.

'Tawn -"This is all your fault" Shaq -"It's never about me."Photo: Greg M. Cooper/US Presswire

Cleveland has clearly  had the best team (on paper) and throughout the regular season as they led the league in wins and clinched homecourt advantage in the playoffs & NBA Finals (if they were to make it). LeBron was the league’s MVP and most prognosticators had the Cavs in the NBA Finals – winning their first NBA Championship.

Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, the Celtics stand in the way of their broader plans to continue forward. Led by 3 potential Hall-of-Famers in Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, along w/ rising superstar Rajon Rondo at the point and a solid group of bench contributors, the Celtics have played well en-route to the series lead.

LeBron James Last Game in Cleveland?

The biggest question facing the Cavs after the embarrassing loss to Boston on their own home floor, is if their leader and 2-time MVP will return to Cleveland next year or walk to another team this summer as a free agent. The effort given by his Cavalier teammates certainly didn’t help the campaign to keep LeBron in Cleveland, especially when they’ve pretty much done everything possible to build a championship team around him.

If the Celtics win Game 6 in Boston, James will have potentially played his last game as a Cavalier in Cleveland. He could visit them next year as a member of the New York Knicks (unlimited strippers at Scores in NY) or perhaps another team willing do ANYTHING  to sign him, but his days trying to lead the city of Cleveland to a championship may be within one game of coming to an end.

I'm LeBron James bi*#$ - I gotta make the Finals

Game 6 Reaches Epic Proportions

Game 6 between Boston and Cleveland has officially reached epic proportions – not because it’s going to be the greatest game of all time – but because it could swing the power in the Eastern Conference dramatically on July 1st, the first day of free agency. James isn’t limited to an Eastern team either, but with Kobe Bryant already cemented in Los Angeles, the only market big enough to handle LeBron James is the New York (or Jersey) area.  Other teams would benefit from his presence, but he’s got so much more advertising and sponsorship dollars in NY that it would be stupid to pass up. That is, of course, unless James really does want to win a championship, because the Knicks are far from contending from the playoffs at this point.

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Preview courtesy of Stu Holdren @ NBANoise

Key Additions:
Rasheed Wallace (free agency)
Marquis Daniels (free agency)

Key Losses:
Leon Powe (free agency)
Gabe Pruitt (free agency)

The Breakdown:
If you are a Boston Celtics fan, you should be excited for this season. The Celtics have returned all of the key components to the 62-win team of last year. A team that, even without Kevin Garnett in the playoffs, competed admirably and was still a threat to win on even given night. Just having Garnett back in full form would be enough for me to put the Celtics among the East’s elites, but Boston was far from complacent in the offseason and actually added talent to their star-studded roster.

Boston Celtics 2009-2010 Preview (media)

The most notable addition, of course, is Rasheed Wallace. If/when he plays alongside Garnett in the frontcourt, it may be the longest, nastiest, versatile and talented frontcourt tandem in the league (not to mention two of my favorite players ever). Boston center Kendrick Perkins has proved his value in this league, and is one of the good young bruisers in the post – and he’ll get his. But, a ‘Sheed/KG frontcourt will cause some real problems for opposing defenses. Given both of their shooting abilities, they should be able to extend opposing big men outside of the lane. I know that Wallace and Garnett have both lost a step or two, but lumbering bigs pulled out to the perimeter will be at their mercy. It should also open up post opportunities, cutting lanes, and higher chances for grabbing offensive boards. But more than anything, I like the addition of Wallace as a piece of frontcourt insurance. With an injury to either Garnett or Perkins, Wallace will be able to integrate himself seamlessly and the Celtics can move on without missing a beat.

The addition of Marquis Daniels is also a stellar piece of injury insurance for the Celtics and should be a solid addition to the rotation. Daniels had the most productive season of his career, and thrived when Mike Dunleavy was out of the lineup injured. He was able to average nearly 14 points and 5 rebounds a game, and was the Pacers’ most valuable player outside of Danny Granger. At 6′6″, Daniels also brings some necessary size off the bench and even has some experience playing the point. His versatility will make Boston that more dangerous and able to exploit matchup advantages.

Aside from Boston’s stockpiled talent, the Celtics are one of my favorites to win the East just because of their team approach to the game. They are always willing to make the extra pass on offense, and they work together tenaciously on defense. The biggest question is how long the championship window will be open for Boston. They are aging, and are certainly more prone to injury – but given their superior depth the Celtics should have an opportunity to contend for an NBA championship for the next two years.

The Prediction:
I would be shocked if the Celtics don’t make it to the Eastern Conference finals, and I would give a healthy Boston team the edge over both the Magic and Cavaliers to make it to the Finals.

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Glen Davis Winning Shot – 5/10/09 vs. Orlando Magic

Click here to view the embedded video.

In a game the Celtics appeared to have a leg up throughout, the Magic made a comeback late and even took the lead w/ about 11 seconds left.  The Celtics called timeout and lined up a play for anyone not named Davis.  Unfortunately, the Magic defense was overplaying Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, who all would’ve been a better choice that Glen “Big Baby” Davis.

With about 2 seconds left, Pierce, w/ no clear shot of his own, fed the ball to Davis on the baseline.  Without hesitation, Davis rose and launched about an 18-footer  that swished as time expired… Celtics win, Celtics tie series 2-2.

Clutch shot for a reserve, but give the guy credit for doing his job.  During the interview following the intense playoff game, Glen Davis told David Aldridge that he practices that shot all the time and he was prepared for it.  Aldridge’s leadoff question directly suggested Davis was not an original option the Celtics would’ve normally considered, but Davis took the question in stride and kept his composure.  Can you imagine how Ron Artest would have responded to a similar question?

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Most of the action is in the Eastern Conference, where the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls are trying to see if they can go into overtime every game of the series.  The Celtics came in as the favorite (#2 seed), but quickly found out that Derrick Rose & the Bulls are not push-overs.  Boston is lucky to have a series lead right now, especially considering they are missing Kevin Garnett and now Tony AllenLeon Powe.  Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo have played pretty well and they appear to be headed to the 2nd round.  The Bulls still have something to say about that, however, and will attempt to tie the series tonight in Chicago to force a Game 7 match-up.

The Boston-Chicago Game 5 earlier this week featured a questionable hit/slap by Rondo on Brad Miller, which was only called as a 2-shot foul, and likely cost the Bulls the game.  Many are questioning whether or not Rondo should’ve received a flagrant foul – giving the Bulls the free throws and the ball.  Sure, having the ball after Miller missed both FT’s would’ve given them a chance, but Rondo is freakin’ tiny and he “made a basketball move” resulting in no suspension or additional implications.

Further complicating the judgment on the Rondo hit, was Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard receiving a 1-game suspension for elbowing Samuel Dalembert the same night.  Howard deliberately swung the elbow and connected w/ Dalembert’s head, but the refs didn’t see the contact and only assessed Howard a technical foul – he finished the game w/ 24 pts & 24 rbs in the victory.  Had he been ejected from the game, as is standard in that situation, the Philadelphia 76ers may have won the game and gone up in the series.  In addition, Howard would’ve been out of the game and could’ve avoided elbowing his own teammate in the head (Courtney Lee) and losing him for possibly the entire playoffs.

The Miami Heat/Atlanta Hawks series figures to get a bit more testy after Josh Smith missed a showboat thru-the-legs dunk and the Hawks’ announcer dogged on Dwyane Wade.  These two teams have fought hard to be where they’re at, but Atlanta may have given Miami the motivation it needs to come back and win the series (ATL leads 3-2).

The Western Conference, on the other hand, looks tame compared to these playoff series.  The Denver Nuggets blew out the New Orleans Hornets en-route to the 2nd round for the first time in Carmelo Anthony’s young career.  The trade for Chauncey Billups has already proven to be worthwhile in so many ways.  The Lakers handily defeated the Utah Jazz in 5 games, as did the Dallas Mavericks over the Spurs.  The only remaining series is the competitive, back & forth battle between an experienced/defensive-minded Houston Rockets team and the young/upcoming Portland Trail Blazers team.

I am definitely looking forward to the 2nd round of the NBA playoffs – many great match-ups and a definite uptick in intensity across the board.  If you don’t bring your “A” game to the table, you go home… (ala the Hornets).

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Without Kevin Garnett, the Celtics are severely lacking in the middle and on defense.  This was quite obvious, as Derrick Rose tied a rookie record for points in a debut playoff game w/ 36 pts.  He also added 11 assists in the overtime victory, as the Bulls lead Boston by one game now.  Ray Allen was horrible, shooting less than 20% on the day and missing a game-tying shot w/ 1 second left in OT.

Tyrus Thomas, much maligned during the season for his consistency, came through in the overtime hitting several outside jump shots.  Not what he’s know for, but you take what you can get in the NBA Playoffs.  Joakim Noah dominated the boards, finishing w/ 17 rebounds to lead the young & hungry Bulls team.  They did not act like a 7th seed, but Rose in particular acts much older than his age on the court.  As he discussed after the game, he’s not afraid of the challenge and believes he can play his game against anyone.  Can’t beat real confidence.

Lebron James and Co. had the Pistons at home and it was clear throughout the game that Detroit cannot stop the Cavs.  Cleveland shot close to 60% in the first half and continued getting their way in the second half as well.  The Pistons, who were matching shot-for-shot in the first half, went a bit colder in the second and fell behind more & more as the game wore on.  Cleveland leads the series 1-0 and I doubt anyone would be surprised if the Cavaliers sweep Detroit and move on the the next round.

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With the playoffs looming only weeks away, the East is a three (3) team race to the NBA Finals – no disrespect to the Detroit Pistons or Atlanta Hawks, who are good, but not great this season.  I’m not ready to write off the Lakers or other Western team from winning this year’s championship, but they have their work cut out for them.  The road to the NBA Championship still goes through Boston, while Cleveland and Orlando are close behind.

Here are my team reviews, in no particular order:

Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland isn’t new to championship discussions, having reached the Finals and suffering at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs during one of their many “odd” year championships.  Superstar Lebron James is this season’s MVP without a doubt and has the Cavs on pace for the league’s best record this year.  Of course, James has more help this year w/ the addition of guard Mo Williams and the relative health of the other contributors.

The Cavaliers can be dominant on both ends of the court, so they have to be looked at as a serious contender.  They can shutdown Boston’s Big-3 if needed and can likely withstand a tough defensive opponent to grind out a 7-game series.

F/C Ben Wallace was recently lost due to a freak broken fibula accident, but he isn’t expected to miss the entire playoff season and will likely factor into their playoff run.   Fresh off being waived by the Thunder, forward Joe Smith was signed to help bolster the frontcourt and give the offense an added perimiter shooter and post defender.

Overall chance at winning… 3 to 1

Boston Celtics

Boston is the defending champ so they go in as the favorite once again.  With a potent offense, improved point guard play from Rajon Rondo and a decent supporting cast, the Big-3 of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett can carry the Celtics to another NBA title.

Health is an issue w/ this team, w/ KG recently going out of the lineup for several weeks.  While he should be back to playing shape soon and be fine for the playoffs, the Celtics will likely lose homecourt advantage in the playoffs due to the injury.

Paul Pierce has been mostly quiet this year, but consistent.  He is a proven scorer who can take over a game at any given time.  This year, he seems to be allowing Allen to shine a bit more, as well as Rondo, who’s speed and athleticism can also take over a game at times.

Boston’s bench is not the same as last year, but they have signed Stephon Marbury (yes that one) to help shore up the second unit.  So far, so good, but only time will tell if this was a good move by Ainge & Co.  The Celtics also picked up Mikki Moore, which could end up being the difference maker… he can play defense and score when given the opportunity.  With the Kings, he was a 5th or 6th scoring option and he needs to be more like the 8th or 9th.

Overall chance at winning… 2 to 1

Orlando Magic

The team that is probably the most overlooked in the Eastern Conference, Orlando could surprise people once the playoffs begin.  They have a solid defense and a potent offense, including one of the best 3-pt shooting squads in the league.  That latter is not necessarily a good thing, considering the old saying that “you live and die by the 3″.

Leading up to the All-Star break, the Magic were performing very well – leading to 3 All-Star representatives.  Some would argue that guard Jameer Nelson was not an All-Start, but that’s neither here nor there.  And of course, Nelson was injured and missed the game.  This led some to believe that the Magic had lost their chance to advance far in the playoffs.

The acquisition of Rafer Alston for virtually nothing several weeks ago has pushed Orlando right back into the playoff mix.  A pass-first poing guard, Alston brings a level of excitement and playmaking that Nelson didn’t necessarily lack, but he was looking to score more as the season went along.

The Magic are led by the new “Superman”, Dwight Howard, who is leading the NBA in both rebounds and blocks, which should lead to a Defensive Player of the Year award for the 23 yr old.  On the wings, Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis lead a devastating 3-pt barrage that typically leaves other teams scrambling to keep up.  Several supporting players have stepped up and played well, including Courtney Lee, Michael Pietrus and others.

Overall chance of winning… 6 to 1

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We’ve got a full recap over on our sister-site, at http://nbaweblog.com/. Go check it out!

Of course, you can find a full selection of 2008 NBA Championship gear at the NBA Store:

You can also shop for Celtics jerseys and apparel below (thru Amazon):

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Facing the L.A. Lakers in an epic Game 1, things looked bad for the Celtics in the 3rd quarter when Paul Pierce had to be helped off the court by teammates.  As the Lakers took the lead and appeared to be taking advantage of Pierce’s absence, the G/F re-emerged from the locker room to a standing ovation and helped lead his team back into the lead late in the 3rd quarter.

Boston’s defense was superb in the 2nd half, limiting the Lakers and stifling Kobe Bryant.  Kobe finished the game w/ 26 pts, but was 9-26 from the field, largely in part to the defense of Pierce and a few other Celtics role players.

The benches played a huge difference in Game 1; unfortunately for the Lakers, their contribution was virtually nill.  On the other hand, the Celtics got great contributions from Sam Cassell and PJ Brown, two veterans obtained late in the season to help Boston get to this point.

Kevin Garnett struggled w/ his shot late in the game, but came up w/ a monstrous comeback dunk late in the 4th quarter.

Photos from the 2008 NBA Finals – Game 1:

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