The Boston Celtics Waste Rajon Rondo’s Triple Double In Loss To Philadelphia 76ers
Apr 4, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Elliot Williams (25) guards Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo (9) during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Boston Celtics fans, it’s true story time.
One of my worst fears is that I will oversleep and be late for work – I honestly have to triple-check my alarm clock every night. Sometimes I even have dreams about this, such as the winter morning when I woke up and insisted to my girlfriend (who amazingly suck around long enough to become my wife) that it was so icy outside that my alarm clock had frozen and that I was now late for work. Even when she insisted that I had just been dreaming, the nightmare was strong enough that I spend a solid 2-3 minutes trying to snap out of the dream world.
Yep: nightmares are powerful, which is why I am certain that, as I sit here and type this, I am actually still in the middle of one, a bad dream in which the Boston Celtics lose to the Philadelphia 76ers 111-102 at home in the TD Garden. This dream sure seems real, but given the sheer ridiculousness of the situation – a Rajon Rondo-led team losing to a 76ers squad that just finished going 0-for-26? – I’m convinced this is nothing more than a bad dream. Soon, I will wake up in my bed, shake off the pixie dust, and come down stairs to check last night’s scores to discover that THE BOSTON CELTICS ACTUALLY LOST TO THE 76ERS.
Seriously – could this season just end?
Up until Wednesday night’s loss to the Washington Wizards, I have been focusing on how competitive the Celtics play, and how this is a great thing for the young core of Kelly Olynyk, Jared Sullinger, and Phil Pressey to be around. Then, Boston got whacked by the Wizards, followed by a deep-sixing from the 76ers, neither of which are great things for young players to be around. So much for being competitive! The front office must have given Brad Stevens the directive, “Just make sure you lose. No more near-wins; you’ll knock us out of the first five in the draft.”
Apr 4, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo (9) controls the ball during the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
I know Rajon Rondo managed to notch his first triple-double since returning from his ACL injury (11 points, 16 assists, 11 rebounds), and he was finishing at the rim in the manner that we are accustomed to seeing from him, but Rondo’s performance only makes watching a game like this even more unpleasant. If your team gets that kind of effort from your point guard and STILL cannot beat a 76ers team that is 17-59 and fresh off a 26-game losing streak, you might as well start the ball boys tomorrow, because that’s the antithesis of Celtics pride.
With Rondo getting tomorrow night’s game in Detroit off, maybe the Celtics should just start Phil Pressey, Kelly Olynyk and then . . . whoever else gets their name drawn from a hat. Olynyk and Pressey were the only Celtics to have a positive +/- tonight (and remember, Olynyk was the ONLY Celtics player who could make that claim against the Wizards), and have earned the right to log some major minutes, since no one else is getting results. I would rather watch some rookies make mistakes but play hard than what I have seen the last two times out. It’s just a thought!
Make sure you check back in with us tomorrow as I prepare you for the second game of this current back-to-back!