With Victory Sunday, Boston Celtics Prove Continued Superiority over Miami Heat
Rondo growled in the face of Lebron.
Big Baby made the two winning free throws. (and the SportsCenter Not Top 10 for the entire decade)
Paul Pierce couldn't hit a shot, Shaquille O'Neal and a list of others sat out with injuries. Yet the Celtics still proved they are the team to beat in the East.
Here's a ranking of each player's performance from Sunday's game.
8. Nate Robinson
1 of 9
Robinson was not healthy enough to play more than the 4:45 he logged in against the Heat, but the fact that he went out and tried to contribute to his wounded roster shows the maturity of Robinson.
The Knicks gave Robinson up too easily and should be regretting it.
7. Paul Pierce
2 of 9
Pierce had a mysterious offensive game.
He shot 0-10 from the field and ended with only one point. In the final minute, he looked very un-Pierce-like, seeming to stand away from the action instead of driving to the hoop for the big game bucket he usually achieves.
However, Pierce gave a great defensive effort on Lebron James including the highly questionable foul call down the stretch that resulted in James making only one of the two free throws rather than Pierce giving a light foul that could have resulted in a three-point play.
Don't expect to see too many more 0-10 games from Pierce, and I would not be at all surprised if he has a big game against New Jersey and wins the three-point contest at the All-Star Game.
6. Ray Allen
3 of 9
Ray Allen's performances are hard to judge.
It is easy to look at his mere 13 points and think he had an off night, but you always have to see what the other shooting guard did to really determine Allen's performance.
Wade shot 6-of-17 which means his legs definitely took a toll from the times he had to chase around Allen. This is a key stat, because Wade is now only averaging 12 points per game against Boston this season. If you watched the game, you probably don't even remember what Wade did besides turn the ball over a few times in the first half.
The offense used to run through Wade, and he made most of his baskets driving to the hoop or getting to the line. Now that he has to do more jump shooting, things like having to chase around Ray Allen all night result in low-percentage shooting.
5. Von Wafer
4 of 9
4-5 from the field. 2-3 from behind the arc. 10 points in under 14 minutes.
Wafer has been playing really well recently and is making the loss of Tony Allen in the offseason and Delonte West during this season feel less damaging.
If, as of today, I am making the 12-man playoff roster for the Celtics; this is how it would look:
Rondo, Allen, Pierce, Garnett, Perkins
Robinson, West, Daniels, Davis, Shaq
Wafer, Erden
4. Kevin Garnett
5 of 9
Here's another player who has a bigger impact on the game than the stat line shows.
Nineteen points and seven rebounds is a solid output, but the bigger deal was how well he protected the basket and helped on defense. Sure, Bosh went for 24 points, but if I am a coach game-planning for the Miami Heat, I want Bosh and Ilgauskas taking a combined 21 mid-range jumpers rather than James and Wade continually getting to the rim. Bosh won't always go 8-for-11, James/Wade will go above that percentage if they're getting to the rim easily.
3. Kendrick Perkins
6 of 9
Perkins had a +11 while he was on the floor.
The Celtics will win every single game against the Heat in the playoffs if Perkins gets 15 and above. Perkins is not supposed to be an offensive threat, but this afternoon, he finished around the basket (most of the time) and shut down Miami's centers.
Just think, those 18 minutes Perkins didn't play tonight the Celtics will be able to fill in with Shaq when he's healthy again. Teams in the East will have to go against 48 straight minutes of physical centers come playoff time.
2. Glen Davis
7 of 9
Glen Davis had so many tough finishes tonight that it made his embarrassing breakaway dunk turned, well, not-even-stuffed-by-the-rim miss seem like it never happened.
Davis is proving to Doc Rivers again and again why he needs to be on the court at the end of games. He scores, he plays tough defense, and as he did at the end of today's game, he hits clutch free throws. I can't say enough about Davis's impact on games off the bench.
1. Rajon Rondo
8 of 9
In my opinion this was one of Rajon Rondo's best games in his NBA career.
He is about eight inches and almost a hundred pounds smaller than Lebron, yet he guarded him better than many have all season long in the third quarter. He was in his face, growling, swiping at the ball, battling him on the block and even following him into a huddle. Rondo showed a passion and fire in his eyes that almost said to his teammates, "you better match my intensity."
Rondo on Lebron, as Doc Rivers said, "I like it a little bit," is not a permanent answer, but it caused problems tonight and will almost certainly be used again at certain times in their next matchup and their seemingly obvious playoff collision course.
Offensively, he had a triple double, set his teammates up for easy baskets and even grabbed three offensive rebounds.
If Rondo can develop a consistent free-throw-range jumper no team will be able to guard him.
The Celtics Control Their 1 Seed Destiny, But Do They Want It?
9 of 9
If the Celtics finish with the same record as the Heat they still hold the one seed.
But is the one seed the easiest path?
I think the Chicago Bulls will hang onto the three seed since their division is much easier than Orlando's. This means as the one seed you most likely see Orlando in the second round. As we saw in the second game this afternoon the Magic may be matchup you hope to avoid.
The Celtics match up better against Chicago than Orlando, but at this point are still better than both. They don't need the one seed, but they did need to prove to themselves and Miami who is still the team to beat.
