Rajon Rondo has been suspended two games by the NBA for his altercation with Kris Humphries against Brooklyn on Wednesday night. It can be argued that Rondo’s suspension was too severe, or maybe not enough, but either way the Celtics will be without their All-Star point guard.

This means Rondo will miss Friday night’s game against the Portland Trailblazers and Saturday’s game with the Milwaukee Bucks. Losing their offensive catalyst will be a detriment in the short term, but could this prove beneficial for the long haul?

Boston’s offense heavily relies on Rondo operating at a high level and distributing to the rest of his teammates. At times this reliance becomes a hindrance, with opponents keying on Rondo and forcing others to create for themselves. This has been a problem for some players.

Paul Pierce remains a good isolation player, while Jason Terry and Leandro Barbosa can go off the dribble, but after those three; no one else has shown the consistency to score without Rondo’s assistance.

Losing Rondo will force certain players to step up. Most notably is Jeff Green. He’s a microcosm for the Celtics’ season to this point, inconsistent. The potential is there for Green, evident by his 17-point outburst against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Green’s problem since college has been his level of aggression. Being forced to score in Rondo’s absence could be the on-switch to Green’s season.

There is also the possibility that this will bring the Celtics closer together as a unit. Chemistry has been a problem on both ends of the floor. One of the strengths to Boston’s playoff run last year was their ability to play for one another. A situation with their backs against the wall can bring this team together like last year.

Rondo’s willingness to protect his teammate may be the moment defining his emergence as a leader. Some look at the point guard’s outburst as immature or selfish, but it may also be the display of a captain’s birth.

With so many fresh faces on the roster, those newcomers can’t help but notice the Celtic way of operating. Just as Rondo had Garnett’s back, this will force others to stand up for their teammates in similar situations.

It will now be up to Rondo, when he returns, and the rest of the Celtics to fulfill the message sent by the shove to Humprhies; they cannot afford to be pushed around anymore.

Could the Celtics lose their next two games without Rondo, dropping them to below .500 and sending panic waves throughout the fan base?

Possibly.

Come playoff time, could this moment be looked back on as turning the Celtics from fringe contender to legitimate championship threat?

Yes.

The first quarter started out like everyone expected a tough closely fought game. The Celtics tried to keep the pace of the game slow but the Nets and Deron Williams really kept pushing the ball up court to get quick shots. Once the shots kept going back and forth, the Nets got a little hotter and Williams really found his teammates for open shots piling up four assists. The Nets were ahead at the end of the first quarter with a 28-20 lead. The Celtics got six points from Garnett and only two assists for Rajon Rondo.

The second quarter, the Brooklyn Nets really took charge and Andray Blatche really showed up to play the game. Whether it was finding teammates open or just making shots. C.J. Watson, Jerry Stackhouse, and Reggie Evans also added points for the Nets and really increased their lead into double digits and even stretched their lead to 21 points at one point.

Nov 28, 2012; Boston, MA, USA;Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo (9) emerges from a scrum with the Brooklyn Nets after having his jersey torn off during the first half at TD Garden. Rondo was ejected from the game. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-US PRESSWIRE

Now the one thing everyone will talk about it the incident close to 30 seconds left in the second quarter. A hard foul on Kevin Garnett by Kris Humphries really lit up Rajon Rondo. Rondo didn’t like the foul, so he got into the face of Humphries. Well it took a few words and the pushing began. It was essentially court clearing, as the players on the court for both team rushed to the fight and it gave a dramatic pause in  the heated game. Humphries and Rondo were ejected. Gerald Wallace was ejected because he received a second technical foul on the altercation. Garnett was also given a technical foul. At half, the Nets were up 51-38.

Video of the Brawl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u3hldYeN5M

It took a halftime for the crowd to get a little-less restless, so the game continued. Deron Williams looked to score the ball more and like the first quarter it became a game where both teams exchanged baskets. Garnett, Pierce, and Brandon Bass looked to help the Celtics without their star point guard. However the Nets were too difficult to manage and huge threes by ageless wonder Jerry Stackhouse kept the lead steady for the Nets. The Nets after the third quarter held a 70-55 lead.

The fourth quarter began with the huge jump-shots by Barbosa and Terry to help cut the lead to ten. However like the first and third quarter the same exchange of baskets kept the lead around the ten to fifteen for a majority of the quarter. Joe Johnson was crucial for the Nets to maintain the lead. The game then just got easy for the Nets, as all they had to do was just run the clock. The Nets go on to win 95-83

It was evident that the Celtics, in order to compete with the elite teams, will definitely need to have Rondo on the court. Rondo needs to be mature enough to know that is team needs him on the court. His emotions have been destructive before and could really hurt him and his team if outbursts like today happen in the future.

April 10, 2012; Washington, DC, USA; Injured Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard claps from the sidelines against the Washington Wizards in the second half at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 93-85. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

The Magic may now be sitting on the best offer yet, though, and it was available back at the trade deadline as the wrestled with whether or not to deal the three time Defensive Player of the Year.  Brook Lopez, MarShon Brooks, Kris Humphries, and three first round picks are being dangled in front of Rob Hennigan, the 30 year old baby faced GM of the Orlando Magic.

There are a lot of reasons Hennigan should take this deal.  First off, Brook Lopez is one of the best young big men in the league.  He is not Dwight Howard, and he’s not even Andrew Bynum, but he is still capable of attracting double teams and being the focal point in an offense.  He’s averaged near or over 20 points per game for two of his first three full seasons in the league, and we can throw out last year because it was an injury laden disappointment for Lopez.  Lopez will keep paint clogged and open up three point shots for the sharp shooting Magic squad.

Lopez doesn’t rebound well, but that is where Humphries comes in.  Humphries is double double machine and grabbed 11.0 rebounds per game last year while also scoring 13.8 points per game.  Humphries’ rebounding prowess allows Lopez to be lazy, and that’s fine.  The Magic can count on Glen Davis, Ryan Anderson, and even rookie Andrew Nicholson for rebounding, while Lopez does the scoring.  Davis even proved himself to be a capable scorer in the playoffs, putting up 19.2 points per game in the first round loss to the Indiana Pacers.  With Dwight Howard out, Davis showed the Magic have a capable starting center, and putting Davis on the court with Lopez could give teams a lot of problems, if we’re to assume Glen Davis’ performance in the Playoffs wasn’t a total fluke.

Lastly, MarShon Brooks was second in the NCAA in scoring two seasons ago and showed he is going to be a big time scorer in the NBA, as well.  Brooks is capable of getting off a lot of shots fast, and is a very strong “gunner” type.  His senior year at Providence, he averaged 24.6 points per game and as an NBA rookie he put up 12.6 points per game.  Over time, he could develop into the fringe all star type of player and dynamic scorer that could shine alongside Lopez and whatever other pieces the Magic are able to assemble.

That’s not even to mention possibly the best part:  Three first round picks.  First round picks are the best way to retool a franchise and the Nets’ picks should be relatively decent, no worse than middle of the round, because I don’t think that even with Howard aboard they will be an elite contender.  Deron Williams and Dwight Howards surrounded by a lot of trash isn’t likely any better than the teams Howard has already been playing with, but don’t tell him that.  If the Magic were able to net middle of the round picks with those three selections, in addition to the mass of talent they are already assembling, they could become contenders themselves.

That is, after all, the point of this trade, or any trade.  The Magic don’t want to send themselves back to Square One.  Rich DeVos is in his late 80s and wants to see the team win a title before he leaves the globe.  This type of move would allow that, without hindering the Magic’s flexibility moving forward.

There’s a lot of other things the team must do:  re-sign Ryan Anderson, find a capable point guard (assuming they let Jameer Nelson walk), and perhaps most importantly find a good head coach, after firing Stan Van Gundy, who was unarguably the most successful coach in Orlando Magic history.

For now, they’ll be smart to mull this offer from the Nets over really well, aware that it could be the best they’ll receive.  Sometimes patience isn’t rewarded.