Celtics Win Four Straight, Despite Loss of Rondo

Boston Starts to Win After Losing Rajon Rondo to a Torn ACL

By Ali Koskoris

Last Sunday it was confirmed that Celtics’ star point guard Rajon Rondo had a torn ACL and would be out for the rest of the season.  The loss of Rondo is a big blow to Boston, a team that is not performing as well as they hoped they might this season.

Reportedly, Rondo injured himself in a loss to the Hawks, but finished out the double-overtime game, thinking he had only tweaked his hamstring.  He was in Doc Rivers’ starting lineup for last Sunday’s game against Miami until about 25 minutes before the start.  Instead, Rondo headed to the hospital to get an MRI.

AP Photo/ Tony Dejak

Boston players played against the Heat in an epic double-overtime win without knowing that the situation with Rondo would be dire, and were not told until after the game was over.

The win against Miami broke a six-game losing streak, and started a four-game winning streak.  The Celtics have gone on to defeat the Kings, the Magic, and the Clippers. 

The wins against the Heat and Los Angeles are especially important because Miami leads the Eastern Conference and the Clippers lead the Pacific division of the Western Conference. 

The Kings and the Magic both have losing records, so, although the wins are important in the standings, they are less important to the mental state of the team.  It is important for Boston, now exactly .500, with 23 wins and 23 losses, to defeat teams with .500 records and higher—and the fact that the Celtics have done that without Rondo is significant.

When Rivers found out the news of Rondo, his main concern was ball-handling, not assists. “We have a lot of guards,” he said, “we just don’t have a lot of point guards.”  Rivers said the situation is going to be addressed on a game-to-game basis.

His plan is to have two guards and a forward who can handle the ball well enough. That way, if one is pressured, one of the others can bring the ball up.  Courtney Lee has taken Rondo’s place in the lineup, but Leandro Barbosa, Paul Pierce, Jeff Green and maybe even Avery Bradley will have to take the responsibility as well.

In the past four games, Pierce has stepped up his game, scoring, rebounding, and assisting.  The Celtics will need him, as well as many others on the team, to continue to play well (even above average) if they want to continue to win and make it to the playoffs.

The Celtics Drop Season Opener Against Miami Heat

Miami defeats Boston with the help of former Celtic Ray Allen

By Ali Koskoris

In a rematch of last season’s Eastern Division Finals, the Boston Celtics fell to the Miami Heat 120-107.  The season opener was especially dramatic because Ray Allen, part of the 2008 Celtics Championship team, left the Celtics as a free agent after last season, to play for the Heat.

AP Photo/ J Pat Carter

Miami proved to be just as strong as last year, if not stronger.  LeBron James and Dwyane Wade started the game in attack mode, driving to the basket and passing out, hitting open jumpers and taking it to the hoop.  The Celtics countered with effective play from Paul Pierce (16 points in the half), Rajon Rondo (8 points and 8 assists in the half), and Brandon Bass (8 points and 7 rebounds in the half).

Ray Allen entered the first quarter with a Heat lead of one, and his dangerous shooting allowed Miami to pull ahead, ending the first half with the score of 62-54 in the Heat’s favor.  He scored 13 points in those first two quarters.  James left the half with 16 points and Wade with 13.

The second half did not go much better for the Celtics, as they never gained a lead.  With two minutes and nine seconds left in the fourth quarter, Boston was able to cut the Miami lead to four, but was unable to pull ahead. 

The Heat continued to play tough, and James finished the game with 26 points and ten rebounds, Wade finished with 29 points, Chris Bosh finished with 19 points and ten rebounds, and Allen finished with 19 points in his 30 minutes of play (he played longer than starters James and Shane Battier).

For the Celtics, Pierce finished with 23 points, five rebounds, five assists, and two steals; Bass finished with fifteen points, six offensive rebounds, and five defensive rebounds; Kevin Garnett pulled down 12 rebounds—though only scored four points; sixth man Leandro Barbosa scored 16 points in 16 minutes of play; and Rondo finished with 20 points, 13 assists, and seven rebounds.

Boston’s lack of execution and 15 turnovers cost them in this one and Miami came away with the win.

The Heat will prove to be very dangerous, with two superstars in starters James and Wade, dominating starter Bosh, and future Hall-of Famer Allen off the bench.  The Celtics need to continue to play their own game of defensive emphasis, which will allow them to control the pace of the game.  Rondo is key to Boston’s potential success in controlling the speed, and therefore the outcome of a game.