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The season for giving is right around the corner, but the Celtics are in rare form when it comes to sharing. Rajon Rondo is the one player who has taken this giving mantra to heart. He has always been a pass first point guard; his vision on the court is comparable to Jason Kidd. In the first three games he has amassed 37 assists with only 5 turnovers. Rondo and Kidd are the only point guards in the NBA who can control a game without taking a single shot.
You want rebounds how about averaging near double figures during the playoffs. This year through three games Rondo is averaging 11 assists a game and is eighth in scoring on the team.
He has already competed against Mo Williams, Felton Spencer and Derrick Rose; the result a 3-0 record with Chris Paul on the dockets for tonight’s game at the Garden.
Rondo has not always been consistent with the process of bringing his best against his NBA peers. If it was a marquee name, he usually showed up with a bounce in his step and prognosticators would end up praising his effort. Pit him against Rafer Alston in the next game and he would develop ennui and give less than maximum effort.
Those were the head scratching moments of Rondo’s first three seasons in the NBA. Doc and Danny wondered if he understood the essence of competition, the satisfaction in knowing you gave your best regardless of the opponent. This summer saw the Celtics grouse about their mercurial point guard. His moodiness and loner tendencies did not leave his teammates in his corner. They merely tolerated him.
The word on causeway Street was that he was not well-liked, he was late for a playoff game and his stubbornness didn’t endear him to anyone. Through it all Rondo did not bash the Celtics, he merely did what he always did and looked within. At this stage of his young career he was forced to take stock and ask himself what he wanted his NBA legacy to be.
By all accounts Rondo is not a head case; he is just head strong and is confident in his ability to be his best. Now he must bring that best on a nightly basis.
To his credit Rondo has not used his pending free-agency as a platform to show his greatness. In fact, his play has been steady and his trademark poker face keeps the media guessing as to his true feelings about the negotiations.
Tonight he is facing Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets along with old pal James Posey who seems to have fallen off the NBA map since he left Boston. It is surprising that not many professional sports players who leave Boston teams flourish, the lone exception is in baseball and to some extent hockey.
Paul is the golden-child of point guards; he is the standard bearer of measurement to be the best in the craft. He doesn’t take a play off and he wants to dominate each and every player on the court, it doesn’t matter what position they are all in his way to get a win.
Statistically through two games Paul is averaging 28ppg, 6 assists and 4 turnovers a game, Rondo 6 points 12 assists and barely two turnovers a game.
That is Rondo’s blueprint to follow; this season has seen him embody that mantra of take no prisoners and lead his team to victory. His stats are comparable to Paul’s but it is his ability to keep his turnovers down that gives him the slight edge.
He knows that on any given night any player in the league can rise to the moment, it is just a matter of how many of those moments he can have in a long NBA season.
After tonight’s game Rondo gets a little reprieve from going against the upper echelon points. The next two games see the Celtics play the Philadelphia 76’ers and Minnesota Timberwolves. Those games will tell if Rondo is truly a man of his word, but tonight Chris Paul a waits.
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