Boston Celtics: In Rajon Rondo We Trust...But Does He Trust Himself?

It's been a roller coaster ride in the playoffs for Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo. In one game he puts up 20 points, then in the next game he only can manage two.

Of course, he's only 22 years old, so some inconsistency is expected.  But now that its the Eastern Conference Finals, Rondo will have to buckle down and start playing well in every game.  He is one of the big keys for the Celtic's championship chances, and when he plays well, the Celtics play well.  Conversely, when Rajon plays poorly, Boston tends to lose.

Now, what is at the root of this inconsistency problem, you may ask?  It's very simple, but sometimes hard to fix: confidence.

Rondo has all the talent in the world, but if he doesn't think he can make the shot, or defend Chauncey Billups, then he won't.

In Game 2 of the Celtics-Pistons series, Detroit was leaving Rondo open to double either Paul Pierce or Kevin Garnett.  This left Rondo open, but more than a few times he caught the ball either not ready or not willing to shoot.

This handicaps the Celtics offense, in effect making them play four against five at times. In Game 3, Rondo will need to step up and take those shots with confidence. 

Even if he misses one or two, he can't stop taking them.  I've seen Rajon hit these shots all year long, and he sure as hell can knock them down now.  He just has to believe.

What's more, when Rondo is making some long range shots, it opens up the other parts of his game.  All he has to do is hit one or two jump-shots to get Detroit to close out harder on him.  Then he can blow by them and work his magic in the lane.

In Game 5 against Cleveland, Rondo hit two big threes towards the end of the second quarter that swung the momentum in the Celtic's favor.  He took those shots with confidence and poise, even though he had only hit five threepointers in the regular season. 

Now that Rondo had hit those outside shots, Cleveland had to respect his jumper and in the second half, Rajon absolutely killed the Cavs in the lane.

That game was Rondo's twenty point, thirteen assist putout that made many go "Woah, whose this guy?"

If the Celtics want to get past Detroit, he's going to have to get that type of exclamation out of people a few more times.  There's no question in my mind that he's capable of playing effectively against this Pistons team.  But its the questions in his mind that matter.