Rondo gives Celtics yet another weapon
2008 NBA playoffs
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Sunday's games
Analysis
- Rosen: Road woes continue for Celtics
- Rosen: Boozer comes up big for Jazz
- Goodman: LeBron has no help
- Rosen: Spurs make shrewd changes
- Rosen: Orlando puts on Magic show
- Kahn: Have Spurs met their match?
- O'Connor: Cleveland's crucial question
- Western Conference playoff central
- Eastern Conference playoff central
Photos
Video
Garnett's intensity and productivity are expected each and every night. Pierce's scoring prowess is a given. Allen's perimeter shooting has been a constant since he entered the league more than a decade ago.
But no one figured that Rondo would do this.
Rondo was a guy who couldn't shoot straight coming out of college at Kentucky. In addition, there were knocks on his character.
But Celtics architect Danny Ainge was blown away by his speed and athleticism. While many Celtics fans — including yours truly — were figuring that Boston needed a veteran floor general to form the final piece to a potential championship puzzle, Rondo has shown that he's been more than capable.
"In the second half of the season, he's been a lot more acceptant of his role," Garnett said. "A lot more of a general."
"We are as good as our point guard and leader," Garnett added. "Right now that's the role he's taken."
It sounds crazy, but Garnett is right.
The Hawks — and every other team the Celtics face this postseason — will dare Rondo to beat them.
Teams will leave him wide open from the perimeter and force him to make shots and decisions.
Rondo made them in his first postseason contest.
After the Hawks crept back into the game late in the third quarter to cut it to 11, the second-year point guard knocked down a wide-open trifecta that pushed it to 69-55. Then he made a deep step-back jumper from the right side and followed it up with a drive that took all the remaining life out of the young Atlanta team.
"That's the game plan with every team," Atlanta forward Josh Smith said. "But he beat us tonight."
"He played good basketball," Smith added. "No, he played great basketball tonight."
Rondo finished with 15 points, nine assists and not a single turnover in the 104-81 victory, but he didn't just do it on the offensive end. He also made Mike Bibby, who finished 2-of-10 from the field for a total of five points, look abysmal — nearly invisible.
It was Rondo's first postseason contest, but he wasn't the only one who shook off some pre-game jitters. Garnett has spent the past three seasons as a bystander during the NBA playoffs. Pierce hasn't gotten out of the first round in five years and Allen has been to the postseason just once in the past six years.
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| Rajon Rondo took Mike Bibby out of the game. (Elsa / Getty Images) |
None of the Big Three has won an NBA title — and they aren't getting any younger, either.
The always-intense Garnett admitted that he had to slow himself down when he was running the tunnel prior to the start of the game.
"It was like sticking your head out of the window at 140 miles an hour," Garnett said.
There's no reason to have to watch this three more times in the best-of-7 series. Sure, the 76ers pulled off a shocking upset against the mighty Detroit Pistons, but let's face it: These Celtics aren't overlooking anybody.
Pierce tried to put the Game 1 rout into perspective by recalling a 20-point victory over Indiana in the first game of a first-round series against Indiana in 2005.
"We wound up losing the series," he said. "But we took the first game for what it's worth."
Pierce didn't have a couple of running mates like Garnett and Allen back then.
The only reason the Hawks were even in this game for a while was because Pierce and Garnett spent the majority of the second quarter on the bench with foul trouble.
The Celtics have too many weapons — but Rondo is the one that can decimate an opponent.
"Our game plan was to make him make shots," Hawks rookie forward Al Horford said. "And that'll still be our game plan."
While teams may not have much of a choice, they may also live to regret it.
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