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Rajon Rondo
The Celtics and 76ers will match up in a Game 7 after Philadelphia pulled off an 82-75 win at home. Allen Iverson's presence energized a crowd that Kevin Garnett had earlier criticized as lackadaisical and fair-weather, but that likely won't be a factor when the series returns to Boston. What might be a factor is the possible absence of Avery Bradley, whom the Celtics could lose for the remainder of the playoffs because of a shoulder injury. We'll find out what all of this means Saturday night.
Which team wins?
The Celtics missed several opportunities to put this series away, as their horrible shooting percentage doomed them in Game 6.
Contenders without Bradley?
Avery Bradley has been the Celtics' secret hero on more than one occasion this season. His absence could be huge.
Could Iverson come back?
Allen Iverson's most recent stint playing basketball in Turkey ended when he underwent calf surgery. Could he still play in the NBA?
On Monday, "First Take" debated Rajon Rondo's fate in the playoffs. Rondo was ejected from Sunday's game after bumping a referee to show his displeasure with a call. Skip Bayless thinks he should be suspended for at least one playoff game, while Stephen A. Smith hopes the NBA thinks the ejection was a sufficient punishment. What's your take?
On Tuesday, "First Take" discussed a report that the Lakers turned down a trade of Pau Gasol for Rajon Rondo of the Celtics. The trade would have been an unusual switch between two fierce rivals, but would it have made either of them better? Both players are major pieces of their respective teams and would necessitate huge changes in the way each team would play. What's your take?
Should the Celtics start rebuilding?
Rajon Rondo has matured into a bona fide star with the Celtics, but with the team going nowhere fast, it's becoming more and more likely that Boston will trade him. A Rondo trade would be essentially giving up on the season.
Howard or Rondo?
Magic center Dwight Howard also might be available for trade if the Magic's pursuit of Monta Ellis as a complement to him fails.
Where will Howard end up?
Howard has looked for a trade for much of the past few months, seemingly convinced that the Magic won't be serious contenders any time soon.
1. Which Celtics star shouldn't have the ball with the game on the line?
The Mavericks handed the Celtics their second loss of the season on Monday, making good use of a typically big night from Dirk Nowitzki. But the Celtics had a chance to tie or take the lead in the closing seconds, only to see Kevin Garnett miss a jumper. Is Garnett the last guy who should have the ball in that situation?
- "not trying to hate on the guy, but rondo pretty much lost those last 2 possessions. either shouldve driven it to the rim instead of the open three and then missing pierce." -- SN commenter 1908cubs
- Rank 'Em: Who are the best players and weakest links for Team USA?
- Vote: Will Team USA win gold in the FIBA World Championship?
- Quiz: How quickly can you name all 12 players on the roster?
It wasn't so long ago that Rajon Rondo was on top of the world. Now he's missing the worlds. His Celtics came up just short against the Lakers in the NBA Finals, but Rondo's overall playoff excellence helped land him at No. 4 when more than 10,000 SportsNation judges ranked the NBA's best point guards in July. And considering the three guys ahead of him -- Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Steve Nash -- either elected not to play for Team USA this summer or weren't eligible by virtue of their general "Canadian-ness", he seemed like a lock to be one of the stars of the show.
The catch, of course, is that as the United States beat Greece on Wednesday in its final exhibition, Rondo wasn't even there. Rondo withdrew from the team Tuesday, shortly after he himself admitted he was on the bubble to make the final cut. So did Rondo realize his game wasn't the best fit for the international game and graciously save Team USA the trouble of cutting a player? Or did he quit to save himself the embarrassment of being cut?
“There was no need for him, everything he can do Rose can do as well, plus Rose even hit the clutch free throws (last weekend against Spain). Sure Rondo is a better defender, but he is a gambler defensively and we don't have the bigs like KG and Perkins to cover for his mistakes when his steal attempts fail. Rondo is always timid at crunch time b/c he is afraid of shooting clutch free throws.
” -- doomgunner
“I think Rondo just didn't like being benched. I mean, he has been a starter for years now. Some guys cannot handle going from playing all the time to not even logging in 1 minute, I think it's a shame. I still don't think he should have quit though.
” -- Vampire_Face
“Rondo knew he wasn't the best fit for international play and has a few other things to do, so he bowed out and spared the coach the heat of making the cut. This is a team of hungry players, and he's not one of the hungriest. Billups is already there to provide the wily veteran presence. It was just a rational decision. I guess being rational is too weird to understand anymore.
” -- The Pragmaticist
“Coach K is overrated. and Colangelo can't be trusted. Both are snakes, Rajon gave them a way out. I hope they appreciated it. A DNP? You've got to be kidding me.
” -- zeppyled
- Vote: Which players should make the final cut for Team USA?
- Vote: How would the Lakers fare against Europe's best team?
It seems unlikely the newest incarnation of Team USA will produce any NBA free-agent madness on par with Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh hatching plans for a takeover. That is, unless you get worked up about the idea of Tyson Chandler and Eric Gordon joining forces with Danny Granger.
It's not quite the 1998 team of CBA rejects and European-based nobodies that somehow won bronze in place of NBA players otherwise occupied with a labor dispute, but the American side Mike Krzyzewski will lead in the FIBA World Championship doesn't look like dream material. We've got Kevin Durant, which might be enough all on its own, but Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade are among the high-profile players sitting out this round of international play.
With O.J. Mayo, Tyreke Evans, Gerald Wallace and JaVale McGee out of the picture, what would your final 12 look like out of the 15 remaining candidates?
- Guards: Chauncey Billups, Stephen Curry, Eric Gordon, Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook
- Wingmen: Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay, Danny Granger, Andre Iguodala
- Big men: Tyson Chandler, Jeff Green, Brook Lopez, Kevin Love, Lamar Odom
“Wow, this is the first time I have seen the full roster and I have to say it is very lackluster. Who came up with this list of players? I wont be surprised if this team fails to capture anything.
” -- atlbravefalconsince1986
“Everybody please relax. Coach K knows what he is doing. It is unfortunate that we do not have anyone better at Center than Brook Lopez and Tyson Chandler. Why isn't D. Howard playing? If I were Coach K I would cut Granger, Westbrook, and Green. I would cut Chandler too if I had my druthers, but we can't enter play with only one center.
” -- KinKeezie
Lakers coach Phil Jackson's teams may be undefeated after winning Game 1 of a playoff series, but Celtics guards Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo are trying to do something about that rather impressive record.
Allen scored 32 points and set an NBA Finals record with eight 3-pointers made, including seven in a row at one point. Rondo, for his own part, put up yet another triple-double performance in which he seemed to be everywhere at once. Allen and Rondo, not Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, seem to be the bellwethers of the Celtics in the playoffs. When they're playing well, a Boston victory seems certain to follow. SportsNation seemed swayed by their mastery: After Game 1, two-thirds had the Lakers as the eventual champions, but that figure has been partially flipped after Game 2.
“the big 3 usually average out. the key to this series is and will continue to be rondo. he effects the game in so many ways.
” -- maxtime55
“Allen is just too good and wears green
” -- mvkapfer
“Allen is lights out, good for him, and they wanted to trade this guy- from the looks of it they should of traded garnett.
” -- lraidernation
With a half a dozen major sports going on at once between pro and college, not to mention holiday plans, it's not easy to stay on top of everything. Heck, barely half of SportsNation has watched a bowl game yet, and who would want to miss Marshall and Ohio? All right, bad example. But it's a tough juggling act, which is where the Daily Dime comes in each morning. Like the Spurs, it means we don't have to show up until the NBA playoffs start.
Anyway, shameless plug complete, yesterday's Dime had a particularly compelling trio of statistical feats that, let's face it, most of us probably would have missed.
Actually, we were a little surprised Zach Randolph is still in the league, let alone the first player since Shaquille O'Neal in 1993 to total as many as 141 points and 91 rebounds in a five-game span. But is that more impressive than Rajon Rondo doing something only Larry Bird and Bob Cousy had done before for the Celtics, or Monta Ellis suffering through more minutes in a Warriors uniform than should be allowed? Vote at the end of the post.
- Your Rankings: Is Rajon Rondo one of the NBA's five best point guards?
- Your Power Rankings: Will the Celtics hold down No. 1 for another week?
- Chats: Chad Ford's Tuesday wrap | David Thorpe chats Wednesday, 12 ET
It's a point guard's job to make everyone around him better. It was former point guard Danny Ainge's job to figure out if everyone around Rajon Rondo made him look better. Guess we have our $55 million answer.
After a summer in which the Celtics seemed to take some curiously public shots at their playoff triple-double machine, a big chunk of money smoothed everything over before this week's deadline for an extension. Back during the summer, SportsNation said it preferred Rondo to all of the top picks in his draft class, with the obvious exception of Brandon Roy. But when it comes to whether he's a top-five point guard, fewer than half voted in the affirmative last week. So where does he rank?
“Playing with three HOFers that are perfect matches game wise will make anyone look great. Pure shooter, slasher scorer and post player, all of whom have complete games including great passing and leadership. Put Rondo on the nets for Harris and tell me that's not the worst team in the league. Rondo is good but not $11 milli good. more like that 7 mill look.
” -- RJW42
“Rondo defends as well as any PG in the league, rebounds, and gets to the hole and and line on a regular basis. Most importantly, he was an integral piece in helping the Celtics win a championship. I'm a Spurs fan and I remember when Parker didn't shoot too well either. Now he's one of the best midrange shooters on the team. Shooting can be taught and worked on.
” -- JoeRod72
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