Since the Boston Celtics beat what should be their rivals for the Eastern Conference Crown, the Detroit Pistons, they have been a little shaky. Actually, they've been downright average. The team, which got off to one of the hottest starts in NBA history, has been playing just about .500 basketball since the big win over Motown. The Big Three has disappeared and where they found ways to win close games in their hot start out of the gate and when they didn't win close games, they won by landslides, they haven't found ways to win at all as of late.
Granted, we all may have been spoiled by the 34-4 start, which was much more than anyone could have ever expected (and if you claim that you knew they would get off to a start like this you probably were named in the Mitchell report), but have they finally come back to Earth? Even since they acquired Allen and Garnett in the blockbuster trades before the season, I have stated they would not make it to the NBA Finals, losing out to Detroit. I started to come around on these C's thinking they were the real deal, only to be let down in their last 10 games.
And since I've thought about it, I realized something. This team is not dependent on Garnett, Allen, and/or Pierce. It's dependent on the man you see in this post: Rajon Rondo. During this stretch of games, he's been playing hurt and the team's scoring has suffered. For further evidence we can look at the recent Miami Heat game where Rondo scored over 20 points and the C's demolished the Heat. The reality is folks, that this Celtics team will go as far as Rondo will bring them. When he plays well, which he did the first 38 games, they play well. And when he struggles/is injured, they just aren't the same. It's hard to believe that a second year point guard that nobody really wanted on draft day could be the key to the C's first championship in 22 years, but it's looking more and more like that could be the case.
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