Rajon Rondo Proves the Boston Celtics Are in Good Hands after the "Big 3" Era
Every Celtic fan in the country has been pushing the same question to the back of their mind for fear of the answer: What is going to happen to the Boston Celtics in the post "Big Three" era?
When the season started, the starting lineup included Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jermaine O’Neal. Last night, none of them appeared on the court. Instead, you had the debatable future of the franchise, Rajon Rondo, taking charge.
The Rondo-led Celtics went into Charlotte, and walked out with a 12-point victory over the Bobcats. Though the Bobcats are the worst team in the NBA, it wasn’t the victory that was impressive, but rather the performance of the Big Three-less squad.
Out of the gate, the Celtics looked as if they were not missing the "Three Party" at all, scoring 34 points in the first quarter. On the other end of the court, the Celtics put the clamps on in the fourth quarter to close the game out, and held the hapless Bobcats to just 15 points.
We’ve seen Rondo take charge of a game before, but this was a rare opportunity to see what he would look like when he is “the guy." His line last night was 20 points, 16 assists and six rebounds. This is a good night by most standards, but the real reason this forebodes well for the Celtics lies behind the numbers.
1) Rondo’s 20-point performance wasn’t a season high, but it was eight points over his average for the year. Rondo was the biggest offensive threat on paper with Pierce and Garnett out, so he drew more attention than he would normally see. Still, Rondo was able to drive his way to the basket.
Many have debated whether Rondo "could be" that guy if called upon. It’s still a small sample size, and this performance came against the league’s worst team, but I haven’t seen anything that has given me a definitive “no.” I have only seen evidence that he has no problem finding the bucket if he needs to.
2) What might be more impressive is that Rondo still managed to rack up 16 assists with the “who’s who” of mediocre talent. If this stat says anything about Rondo, it tells me that he can make players around him better.
This wasn’t just a good showing from Rondo. Avery Bradley continues to show why he should be the long-term answer at SG. His quickness, along with his outstanding perimeter defense makes the 21-year-old guard a valuable piece of the Celtics' uncertain future.
It’s hard to tell if anyone on the court besides Rondo and Bradley are in Boston’s long-term plans. The most likely piece to stay on for the long haul is Greg Stiemsma. His overall production hasn’t been anything to write home about, but he does know how to make himself big in the paint. He’s also young enough at 26 where the Celtics could get a cheaper long-term deal done without having to worry about his age. Also, the market for centers isn’t the greatest right now. If they wanted to, Boston could easily overpay for someone, but with Dwight Howard and Kevin Love off the market I’m not sure if anyone will give you better overall value for your dollar than Stiemsma.
Pietrus and Bass are great depth guys, but nothing more. I doubt the Celtics see either of them in the starting lineup going into the future. When Paul Pierce and Garnett disappear like the leaves in autumn, Danny Ainge will not waste a second to replace them in free agency, and he’ll have the money to attract top talent to Boston to fill the 3 and 4 spots.
All and all, seeing the team play so well under Rondo’s watch gave me a familiar feeling of relief. Much like when Doc Rivers announced his return to the Celtics' bench after last year’s playoff exit, it reminded me that tomorrow won’t be so dark after all. I’m not saying the transition to the post "Big Three" era will be easy, but tonight we can all rest easy knowing that at the very minimum it won’t be a complete mess.
