Rondo Leads Celtics To Tenth Straight
By bpaul
Rajon Rondo is a boss. This was one of the comments I made during our live chat during tonight’s game. Rajon Rondo is quickly becoming one of my favorite Celtics to watch. The guy is turning into a superstar right in front of my eyes and I love every minute of it. The things he does, from stopping on a dime, to making the people around him better, and his recent addition of a knock down jumper, makes me wonder how good this guy can really be.
Tonight Rondo was the clear x-factor, Rondo scored 16 and handed out 14 assists on the night. Rondo once again stepped up to the challenge of taking on one of the league’s best young poing guards, Derrick Rose. Rose did score 19 points on the night, but Rondo limited him to 42% shooting. Again, Rondo clearly had the advantage in this matchup between the two young guards.
A balanced effort from the Celtics, along with solid second half defense, led to a 106-80 victory for the guys in green. The Celtics move to 19-4 on the year, and grab the best record in the league after a Lakers loss to the Jazz tonight. This is the 10th straight victory for the Celtics and it moves them to 11-1 on the road this season.
Tonight’s game was physical right from the get-go tonight. It all started with 8:32 remaining in the first quarter when Rondo drove to the lane for what seemed to be an easy basket. That was until Mr. Miller (Brad Miller) decided to stick his arm out and take Rondo to the ground. It was a very dirty play and Miller, rightly so, got called for a flagrant foul.
The Bulls did stick around with the Celtics during the first half, keeping it within eight at the half. The Celtics used a 13-2 third quarter run to distance themselves from the Bulls, and they never looked back. The blowout victory gave guys like Giddens, Tony Allen, Lester Hudson, Shelden Williams, and Brian Scalabrine a chance to play some quality minutes in the fourth quarter.
Besides great play from Rondo, the Celtics also got a balanced effort from the rest of the starters. All five starters ended up in double figures. Paul Pierce looked as if he was going to have a 30+ night tonight after scoring 8 of the first 10 points. He ended up cooling down and finishing with 14 points on the night, a solid effort for the captain. Pierce also gave me a slight heart attack in the third quarter when he went down with what seemed to be a shoulder injury. Thankfully he returned after the timeout and played during the next possession.
Kevin Garnett also had a solid night tonight scoring 12 points on 6-8 shooting, while grabbing 10 boards for a double-double. Kendrick Perkins and Ray Allen had 10 points each tonight. Perkins was on the receiving end of many of Rondo’s 14 assists.
The Celtics also got a great effort from the bench tonight. Rasheed Wallace and Eddie House both dropped in 15 points on the night. Rasheed continued to increase his production inside tonight, as he dominated Joakim Noah whenever he got the chance. You could call this game a break out game for Eddie House, besides the fact half of his points were during garbage time. Eddie was 5-15 from the field, and 3-10 from behind the arc.
Overall a great team effort for the C’s tonight. They did not let the Bulls catch them by surprise and did what they should have done to them. A 20+ point victory is exactly what the doctor ordered. On to Memphis as the Celtics try to push the winning streak to 11.
Picture via Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images