Jan 24, 2013; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo (9) brings the ball up court during the third quarter against the New York Knicks at TD Banknorth Garden. The New York Knicks won 89-86. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Dear Rajon,

How we miss you so. It seems like just yesterday we were all preparing for you to take over the lead for this team. We were ready for the future–ready for Rajon to lead us to the promised land.

Then, on that day, that awful, dreadfully cold January day we found out that we lost you. January 27th is now regarded as the day that uncertainty took over. We thought you were fine–we thought it was just the hamstring.

When we found out it was more, we were left heartbroken. We lost our map and were left with no direction. There was no North, South, East or West–only forward. That’s all we could do.

We didn’t know what was in our near future. Was this the end of the Garnett era in Boston for certain? Were Paul Pierce’s days as a Celtic numbered? These were all questions that we were anxiously awaiting the answers to–most of them are still unanswered, honestly.

We didn’t know how our future would look in the long term or the short term–some even thought that we were better off without you after a few quick wins. Oh, how wrong they were, Rajon. How wrong they were.

We found that out in the playoffs where the Celtics team that needed to be freed from you so much couldn’t complete a post-entry pass against the New York Knicks. This same team that could barely muster up 90 points with you certainly could not do it without you when the game slowed down even more.

On a team that yearned for offensive consistency, you were the most consistent threat. You were the bandage that slowed the bleeding, and when you fell off the wound completely reopened. There was only  a quick fix, but it couldn’t be stopped–only slowed.

Look, your flaws have been well documented over the past few years. You aren’t a great shooter–though you have improved your midrange game immensely. You only make your free throws 65% of the time and sometimes, you can be a bit crazy. But you are still our point guard.

You are the cog that makes the offense go–11.1 assists don’t manifest by osmosis. Your turnover to assist ratio was almost 3-1 and taking into account how much you dominate the ball, quite frankly that’s amazing.

You are one of the most enigmatic players in the association currently. No one else can endear himself in the hearts of fans while destroying children in a game of Connect 4.

You are the future of this Boston franchise in one way or another. Every year your name will likely be thrown into trade conversation just as it was this year. But you should know that, as fans, we have your back. We appreciate you for what you are even if that is a flawed, yet skilled, and very quirky point guard.

You may be the antithesis of today’s average NBA point guard, but what does that mean if you are productive? Your skills provide merit in your role–you don’t need to be something that you aren’t.

At the end of the day, Rajon, you are all that we have and there doesn’t seem to be much better on the horizon. Hopefully the organization can get some decent pieces around you in the very near future so we can watch you compete for championships again.

As I’m sure you already know, there is nothing like playoff Rondo or national television Rondo. Who else can have nearly a triple 20 game  on the highest level of basketball? Who else has 20 assist games and comes out of them with a sense of angst and dissatisfaction? You are a point guard among point guards–a player among players. You are special no matter what anyone says and you need to be appreciated.

May 3, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics small forward Paul Pierce (34) during the second quarter in game six of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

There has been a lot of speculation about what is going on with this Celtics team and their relationship with Danny Ainge. Ainge had already come out and said that he exp-ected Doc Rivers back and would allow things to simmer for a bit, but there’s still speculation that Rivers may want out and both Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce could be let go.

Ainge came on WEEI radio to clear some things up about the Celtics’ offseason. In the interview he talked about the shape of this team, Paul Pierce, Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett, Rondo’s rehab and even Leandro Barbosa. Here are a few quotes from Ben Rohrbach, a blogger for WEEI:

Ainge on Stephen A.’s rumored Doc feud: “I think I have the best coach in the NBA, and I’m not the least bit tired of hearing his voice.”

— Ben Rohrbach (@brohrbach) May 9, 2013

Ainge on Rondo: “So far, he looks good.” (Also commented on Barbosa. Hmm. Wonder if he’s coming back?) — Ben Rohrbach (@brohrbach) May 9, 2013

Ainge on KG: “I’ll touch base w/him some time next week. … He needs time to chill and contemplate his life. I do anticipate KG will play.” — Ben Rohrbach (@brohrbach) May 9, 2013

Ainge: “We’re more than 1 player away unless it’s a great player. It’ll be tough to become a championship team from where we are.” Ouch.

— Ben Rohrbach (@brohrbach) May 9, 2013

Ainge on Pierce: “We love what he’s done for us, but ultimately we have to do what’s best for us. I think he has a lot of ball left in him.”

— Ben Rohrbach (@brohrbach) May 9, 2013

Those are some pretty interesting quotes to say the least. It sounds like he’s interested in bringing Leandro Barbosa back–he’s using Celtics’ facilities to rehabilitate. It sounds like if Doc Rivers is willing to return then he’s more than welcome in the Celtics front office. That’s pretty good news there.

Ainge thinks that Garnett will play somewhere this season–he didn’t say whether or not it would be in a Celtics’ uniform. You have to imagine that he’s taking the same stance with Garnett that he is in Pierce.

He said that the Celtics have to do what’s best for them–if that’s letting Garnett and Pierce go then so be it. Looking to improve this team is Ainge’s job and if he’s willing to part ways with those guys to do it then we have to ride with him down that road.

As Ainge said, the Celtics are not one player away from being a contender again. This is a flawed roster and he knows it. Anything to do to improve it should be on his agenda this summer.

Ainge is going to have a lot of work to do. We can fall back on these quotes to see if he stays true to everything that he said in this interview. The interview is here if you’d like to take a listen yourself.

Apr 28, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo (9) on the court before the start of game four of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs against the New York Knicks at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics don’t have a lot of hope to win this series, even after winning yesterdays game. History indicates that the Celtics will lose after falling behind by three straight games. Playing an opponent over and over again makes it harder for you to get into a groove for a four game winning streak.

The Celtics haven’t been able to score against the Knicks’ defense. They’ve only broken the 80 point barrier one time in the series and that was their only win. They haven’t been able to execute their halfcourt offense at all even though they’ve been defending well enough to win some of these games.

If Rajon Rondo were playing there’s no question that he would be a factor in this series. Rondo only scored 13.7 points per game, but he averages 11.1 assists–still a league-leading figure. The Celtics haven’t been able to push the pace on a consistent basis in this series and Rondo would’ve fixed that. He’s one of the best guards in the league at controlling the tempo of things even with no jump shot.

If you recall the last time the Celtics and the Knicks faced each other in the playoffs two seasons ago, Rondo defeated them by pushing the ball up the floor and scoring it rather than dishing it. This is certainly a different Knicks team with different philosophies, but one thing hasn’t changed–their transition defense and offense is still bad.

If Rondo was playing he’d also be able to fix the problems that the Celtics have had with post-entry passing and passing in general. The best entry pass player that the Celtics have right now may be Paul Pierce–the player who they routinely try to post up. We’ve seen the Celtics try multiple options at point guard and none of them have worked. Avery Bradley hasn’t been a good option at the point guard spot and Jason Terry wasn’t an offensive threat before last night’s game.

The Celtics have struggled to create any shot outside of the post and with no good passing, its difficult to generate offense. They could use Rondo’s paint penetration to develop easy looks for Kevin Garnett and Bradon Bass as they did in the past. Boston has tried so many different options on the ball and none of them have panned out.

Their easiest way to generate offense is through transition opportunity, but the only player who’s particularly good at that is Jeff Green. Relying on Green for your offense in transition is sketchy at best because of his limitations with his left hand. Its easy for the defenders to get to one side of him and shade him to the left. That disrupts his dribble and his finishing ability at the rim.

You’ve got one decent trailer in Paul Pierce on the fastbreak, but with him being on the ball for a majority of the plays the defense is going to key in on him. Transition offense is a better alternative to their halfcourt offense, but it isn’t better by that much.

Rondo would’ve changed the outlook of this series dramatically with all of the things he does well. He’s fallen off as a defender is recent years because of how much he gives on the offensive end, but with his keen passing sense and the ability to initiate the Celtics transition offense, this series would’ve been far more of a competitive one.