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 works hard at his craft,” Pierce said. “It’s developing nicely over the years. I feel that with me, Kevin (Garnett) being around here, I’ve been a part of that. It’s beautiful to watch him finally come into his own. I consider him the best point guard in the league. The things he’s able to do out there, and with him scoring the ball like that . . . you already know what he can do as far passing and rebounding. He’s just unstoppable.”
CSNNE: Rondo at the top of his game early on
Over the past two seasons, Celtics fans have often questioned when Rajon Rondo will finally have complete control of this team. The critics of Rondo often felt that he couldn’t be a leader until he developed a more reliable offensive game. Well, the time has come. Rajon Rondo has flat out carried the Celtics early on in the 2012-13 season. No longer do we have the uncomfortable feeling every time he takes the elbow jumper, heck even at the line he has been somewhat reliable. His FG% is at 52% (up from 44%) and his 3PT% is at 30% (up from 23%) while his scoring, steals, assists and rebounding averages are all up from previous seasons and on pace for career highs in each.
The Rondo we have seen thus far is exactly what Celtics fans have begged out of their star point guard for the past few seasons. He is aggressive, he is taking over games, he is aggressive AND taking over games late in the game, and most of all he has been consistent. It is that which will determine how we see the 2012-13 version of Rajon Rondo. In seasons past we have seen bursts like this from Rondo, where he is unquestionably the best guard in the league for that given period of time, but then he typically reverts back to the turnover prone, tentative, and inconsistent scorer that frustrates Celtics fans as much as his promise excites them. It will be in the coming weeks that we finally see whether Rondo has finally turned the corner to become consistently great, or if we will go back to good old Rondo.
We have waited for Rondo to take over and his performance on the court thus far has gained him recognition across the league. While it may be early on, as A. Sherrod Blakely points out, Rondo is making the case not only for being the best Point Guard in the league, but as a legitimate MVP candidate; the only question left is will it last?
The rest of the links:
ESPN Boston: Barbosa’s role not-so Blurry | Celtics Town: Exploring Boston’s Inconsistent (But Improving) Pick-And-Roll Defense | Boston Herald: Avery key cog for Celts CSNNE: Milicic Waiting for his chance to contribute to Celtics Boston Herald: Team starting to find itself on road ESPN Boston: Bass-o-Matic: Thats terrific Bass ESPN Boston: Five C’s on All-Star Ballot
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