Once in a while, the insane ramblings of Celtics uber-homer announcer Tommy Heinsohn shine some light on an otherwise overlooked fact. Keep in mind, the guy has thought ever scrub, bum and hobo that has suited up for the C's the past few years were sure-fire Hall of Famers but I have to say that he is right about at least one current player: Rajon Rondo is a stud.
In his rookie season (last year), Rondo showed flashes of brilliance as he could seemingly do everything on the court (save for making a non-layup shot). That has all quickly changed as the kid can hit a jumper now and seemingly get to the basket at will. Entering this season, he was the biggest question mark after Boston acquired Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. We still need a veteran backup point guard but that's beside the point, Rondo is really coming into his own.
Without Garnett for the fifth straight game, Boston took care of the Los Angeles Clippers at the Garden, 111-100. The C's are now 3-2 in KG's absence and as long as there's any question mark with his status, he should sit. He's by far the most valuable player on the team (many would say the NBA too) so if he has to miss the All-Star game, who cares? It's all about the playoffs.
Anyways, back to last night. It wasn't the game of the year as Boston (37-9) was playing for the second night in a row and the Clippers (15-31) are barely treading water in the stacked Western Conference.
Paul Pierce (15 points) wasn't puking into a trash can on the sidelines like the other night in Cleveland but he still wasn't 100 percent. Rondo picked up the slack with a team-high 24 points, eight assists, five rebounds and four steals. Ray Allen added 19 points and five boards while the bench played some serious minutes, including almost all of the fourth quarter. Tony Allen had 17 points and two blocks, Leon Powe had a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards, Eddie House scored seven points and James Posey had six assists.
The Clippers took the first quarter, 29-25 but Boston stepped on their throats in the second quarter: 34-15. Clippers point guard Sam Cassell (10 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds), who would look great in Celtics green and white, had enough and was assessed a flagrant foul on Rondo in the second, meaning he was kicked out of the game.
LA outscored Boston, 33-25 in the third quarter but it didn't really matter. The C's put it away with a 27-19 final frame.
Corey Maggette (33 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 assists) put up huge numbers in the loss while caveman Chris Kaman (12 points, 9 rebounds, 6 blocks, 3 assists, 2 steals) was a little less scary with his new haircut. Cuttino Mobley added a deceiving 16 points (on 3 of 15 shooting) while Quinton Ross put up 10.
Without Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston and the season already down the tube, the Clippers have one of the shakiest rosters in the NBA. Guys just hanging onto jobs (Dan Dickau, Brevin Knight, Aaron Williams and Josh Powell) actually get playing time.
Boston shot 53.2% as a team and held Los Angeles to 41.1%. The only reason the Clippers hung around at all and made it somewhat respectable is because they made 34 of 39 free throws while the Celts turned it over 20 times, leading to 23 points.
The Celts travel to Minnesota on Friday in a game that will lose a lot of its luster if KG doesn't play (as expected). Boston has to be weary of the Timberwolves, who have actually been playing good basketball lately and should have beat the C's two weeks ago at the Garden. Al Jefferson was held in check the first time around but he can easily post 30 points and 15+ rebounds on any given night.
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