Questions and Answers about the Celtics
Rondo, smiles to himself, after a win.
What are we without Pierce?
Pierce has been out for the entire preseason, the entire training camp, and the first 2 games of the season, both which were losses. He is ruled out for tonight's game vs the Hornets, but there is hope he will be able to play limited minutes in Friday's first home game against the Detroit Pistons. Pierce is out because of a lingering injury- a sore heel, that after recent MRI appeared to be a bone bruise. The recovery time can be anywhere from a day to a month. As we saw, Pierce is our best finished. He is the man we turn to in moments of need- the man that supplies our offense and is truly a backbone of our defense. In the first two games, he was the man who was supposed to guard 2 of the league's best offensive machines- Carmelo Anthony and Lebron James. Instead, guys like Sasha Pavlovic and Marquis Daniels were unable to stop the stars from exploding. Many fans say, if Pierce was playing, we would have won both games. But we cannot be like that. We have a wonderful point guard in Rajon Rondo, the 3 points king in Ray Allen, and an all- time great in Kevin Garnett. Yet, for some reason, we yearn for Paul's return.
How were the Celtics' off season moves?
Mediocre. They didn't do anything that we would benefit from greatly in the future. We didn't get David West, whom I for one was interested in more than Chris Paul. We didn't get a star, or a player that in the future will team up with Rondo in homes for a championship. However, the little pieces we did get were surprisingly smart selections. Starting from defensive-oriented Chris Wilcox, to veteran Keyon Dooling, to my favorite acquisition Brandon Bass, I was pretty satisfied.
I was never a fan of the huge- ego Glen Davis, who to me was a big baby and nothing more. Brandon Bass has a consistent jumper, an urge to win, a great ability to finish by the rim, and offensive rebounds that I just love.
Who is the most important player on the Celtics?
By now, we've all heard the expression, "As Rondo goes, we go." It's true. Whether or not Rondo plays solid because the team plays solid or if the team plays solid because Rondo plays solid doesn't matter. Rondo had a strong game vs the Knicks. 31 points, 9-12 free throws, rebounds, 13 assists, and 5 steals is nothing to shrug about.
Think about it this way: When Paul has 30 points, we don't always win. When KG has 15 rebounds, we don't always win. When Rondo has 13 assist, it means the offense is thriving and we almost always win. Because of this, Rondo is the key to an 18th championship. He's such an important player, and he needs to set consistency. He can't be up and down, and in the last game he set a nice tone going into the second game of the season. Rondo showed his aggressiveness.