Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here…
highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as
satisfying as a good morning dump.
“He’s a point guard now that runs our team and has complete control of
our team,” Rivers said. “When we won it, he was still learning how to be
a point guard. He was still trying to figure out how to help a team
win. Now we rely on him to win.”
Rondo said he came into the game with the mindset of
doing a better job of helping Boston's big men on the boards.
"I
didn't know I would come up with 18," Rondo said.
Neither did the
Cavs or his teammates."We tried to tell him to get his little
[butt] out of [the paint]," said Kevin Garnett. "But if he's getting 18
[rebounds], what can you say?"
CSNNE: A most valuable day for Rondo
I can keep going. There might not be a single person in that building that didn't have something glowing to say about Rajon Rondo.
How awesome was Rondo? Only Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain had at least 29 points, 13 assists and 18 rebounds in a playoff game (although Wilt did it with 36 rebounds… damn). That's what we might call "exclusive company".
Rondo was so good that we're going to spend the entire day here on Red's Army trying to properly capture it… because lord knows we can't do it in one post. Anyone who thinks they can is either crazy or a writing genius.
As for that play in the video, here's Rondo's description of what happened:
“He’s always chasing me down. He’s had a lot of top ten plays and blocks
on my layups, so I knew on that situation. I think what they try to do
is Mo [Williams] tries to run the guard down and slow him up and that
enables LeBron to get his timing together. I knew exactly on that play
he was coming, I saw it out of the corner of my eye when I started to
break, Baby made a great pass. I told the guys in the huddle to continue
to run with me because they were trying to block my shot in the first
half and I wasn’t converting and I would get the ball to the rim and
they were able to get the offensive rebound. On that particular play I
knew LeBron was coming, I had to sell it as if I was going to lay it up
and he jumped and I made the pass and Tony finished the play.”
On page 2, we remember there were other guys on the floor too
“I didn’t even really see a Tony Allen game,” Tony Allen said. “I
just saw a team defensive game. I saw an opportunity for Tony Allen, and
he took advantage of it.“But I’m an opportunity scorer, and if that time comes I need to take
advantage of it.”
Allen has known for a while he needs to take advantage of every
moment. He’s not thinking about the fact he has no contract for next
season, but knows his place in the rotation is always tenuous at best.
It was his ability to stay the course through a late-season demotion
that had him ready to play yesterday.
“Honestly, I ain’t looking back,” Allen said. “Everything happens for
a reason. It was for the team. I didn’t say anything about it. Whether
it was good or bad, I rolled with it. I’m just not looking back. Right
now I’m playing, and I’m ready to get it on.
No, we're not putting Tony into the banner until the season is over. I'm not superstitious, but I'm also willing to hedge my bets. I'll take no chances.
Some people (like this guy in the mirror here) get so caught up in making Tony Allen jokes that we forget that he can be a pretty good guy going to the hoop. And I'm going to make the requisite point that before he blew out his knee on the stupid dunk attempt a few years ago, he was a 20 ppg guy filling in for Paul Pierce.
So he's capable of doing what we're seeing. And, just so you guys know, he's doing it at a time that's going to earn him a lot of money. Don't be surprise if (a) The C's want him back after bringing in all these guys to replace him and (b) the market for TA is bigger than expected because teams like the Miami Heat will be looking for complimentary pieces to play defense and score off the bench.
The rest of the links:
Herald: Celtics quick to respond | Putting 'D' in Rasheed Wallace | Pierce focuses on positives | Rondo on LeBron's radar | Globe: Rondo all the rage | Shaughnessy: Rondo's packing of the box score was great stuff | Drive from the back seat | Garnett is on a role | Allen getting all the breaks | Cavs in dire need of MVP | Little things add up to big victory | ESPN Boston: 3-point play- Rondo, bench, Cavs | Postgame notes: Winning key for Pierce | CSNNE: C's other Allen comes up big | MWDN: Megliola-Rondo a difference maker | Souza- Bench trio comes up big | WEEI: Turn around Tony | Inside the Rondo adjustment | Celtics bench gives reason for applause
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