Thanks to the magic from Ainge and the crew, tomorrow will be a nationally televised game! Rajon Rondo and the Dallas Mavericks will be headed to TD Garden to take on the Boston Celtics in their first match-up since the trade. The game will be streaming on NBA TV, and also will be available to all the nameless sketchy sites that I watch our games on.
Dec 20, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Rajon Rondo (9) warms up before the game against the San Antonio Spurs at American Airlines Center. Rondo plays in his first game for the Mavericks. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Tim Macmahon, writer from ESPNDallas.com, has a good article up about Rondo and why he is “excited” about playing in Boston Friday night. Rondo said he might even shed a tear like Paul Pierce did when he came back, “Hopefully I won’t be too emotional, try not to cry a little bit, but I’m very excited to go back,” Rondo said. “Those fans are amazing there. If I do , hopefully the camera isn’t on me too much. I’m going to try to blink a lot.” This isn’t the first time someone from another team says we are the best fans! Gerald Green, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and more have all said that our fans are loyal, smart, and root for you despite the hard times. Does everybody remember when we applauded the Boston Celtics in a loss against the Miami Heat in the NBA Playoffs???
Rondo also added that he misses the Beantown fans, “That’s where I started. That’s where I got molded. That’s where everything happened for me. The best years are still ahead of me, but I was an All-Star four times, won a championship in Boston. I can’t thank the fans enough,” Rondo said. “Even when we were losing 18 in a row the first year, the fans still showed a lot of support. They came to every game. When I was out on the streets, they didn’t kill me or heckle me. It was always supportive. They’re true fans. They’re not fair-weather fans, when you’re losing, they’re gone. They ride it out and be a Celtic for life.”
We miss you too Rajon! I don’t really want to go on about how awful I think Danny Ainge has done with the trading of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Rajon Rondo, but we all know we got the short-end of this deal. Rajon Rondo was our captain, our leader, and his teammates miss him. It’s evident in our offense, our defense, and until last night’s win against the Sacramento Kings, it was evident in our record(2-5 since Rondo left). I just want to let Rondo know that we do miss him, and we are very sorry that Ainge let you go for mediocrity to be honest.
BUT, I digress – Rajon Rondo has been playing very well since becoming a Dallas Maverick. He has played in six games, he has been averaging 13 PPG, 8 APG, and 5RPG. Dallas has been 4-2 in that span. Not bad numbers to start, considering Rondo is on a whole different team, a different offense, and they are all working on getting comfortable with one another. Despite his statistics being a little down since coming to Dallas, you had to expect that. He has veteran and star-type talent on this roster, he is part of a winning culture now, and players like Dirk, Parsons, and Ellis will surely take up a lot of possessions.
One of the more interesting things I found when taking a look at his games, is that he is really making an effort to score the ball in Dallas vs. Boston this year. Doc Rivers said that the Celtics play their best basketball when Rondo is looking to score versus pass, and I think he was right. Either way, Rondo’s early stint with Dallas has been a success so far and I really hope he gets to compete for a championship this year! Checkout some of Rondo’s best highlights as a Maverick so far –