When talking sh*t goes wrong.

HILARIOUS!! The Hawks played Jameer Nelson's life with this one: apparently Mr. Nelson was so confident in the Magic's ability to beat the Hawks and advance to the second round to play the Bulls, he went on the radio talking about how he was going to "see Derrick Rose in the second round." The Magic, as we all know, lost to the Hawks 4-2, but one employee of the Hawks remembered that Jameer had mentioned seeing Derrick Rose in the second round... So he took it upon himself to leave Jameer tickets to the game, so that he could see Derrick Rose... From the stands, as the Bulls played the Hawks. Way too funny!

What's eating Rondo?

Yesterday I saw this: 

 

And I thought to myself that we were going to be in for a treat. I imagined Rondo as a man obsessed. The Rondo that I envision is never satisfied with a mediocre effort. He's publicly soft spoken and fairly stoic, but still fiercely competitive. So when I read that, I imagined that the idea that people commonly believe Derrick Rose is better than him, and commonly believe that the Bulls are the team to beat in the East, not the Celtics, was eating him up inside. I imagined him in the gym so zeroed in on the task at hand that he hadn't even realized hours had gone by and that all of his teammates had long since departed. 

Clearly I allowed my imagination to run away with me, because his performance last night was not that of a man possessed. No, that performance belonged to Derrick Rose. Not only was it Rose who so flashily demonstrated everything that Rondo's game lacks: a consistent jump shot and the ability to finish continuously at the rim, but it was Rose who beat Rondo at his own game. There is no debate that Rose is better than Rondo in some areas- specifically the aforementioned areas of scoring. Similarly, there is no debate that Rondo is better than Rose in other areas, namely defensively and in passing. Rondo was inexplicably aloof last night, and was scorched by Rose for 30 points and 8 assists, while he was stifled offensively (3-10 shooting) and was unable to get his teammates involved (6 assists). 

My theory is that he's a tortured genius. While a talent like Derrick Rose is easily comprehended as something special, it's harder to classify Rondo. He's not a prolific scorer, and he's not the physically imposing/freakishly athletic presence the way Lebron is, but he's still the engine that makes this team run. Last night for whatever reason (and I won't pretend to know what it is. Nagging injuries? Mental barriers? Exhaustion?), he got in his own way and had a clunker of a game. He knows that better than anyone else. He was visibly upset after the loss and had a post-game meeting with Doc Rivers to discuss top secret things. 

But you know what? No matter what, my faith in Rondo is imperturbable, as is evidenced by the fact that I fully believe he will step on the floor tonight and victimize John Wall. Maybe there is no magic switch to be flipped, where the Celtics will stop messing around and start playing like they care, but I fully believe that Rondo is capable of kicking it up a gear. Rondo has been saying he's the best point guard for years, and I know many Celtics fans are with me when I say that he's beyond proved that point. I can not, and I will not, believe that he will not soon return to consistent dominance. 

Jermaine O'Neal says all the right things.

C/O ESPN Boston



On the uncertainty surrounding his return 
"Is coming off of surgery to finish a job really pressure?" O'Neal asked after the Celtics' win over the 76ers Tuesday. "A state in Indiana really [jumped] on my back to see if I could carry a team and I didn't really see that as pressure. It's all a challenge. If you see it as pressure then you're not built for it." 


On his decision to have in-season surgery 
"The difference is in this league, the people who are in it for the wrong reason, would have laid down," said O'Neal. "They would have laid down, said, 'OK, I had knee surgery, my year's over.' I fought it. I fought it before the surgery. I didn't want to do it. I was out there on one leg basically, fighting the swelling, because I'm prideful. I'm prideful and I'm dedicated to the job that has been given to me. I've never been one to take the easy way out." 


On his role with the Celtics 
"It's whatever the team needs," said O'Neal. "I'm not in a position in my life, in my career any more, where it's about numbers. I gave that up when I decided to leave Indiana. I felt like it was about winning a championship. It wasn't about money, it wasn't about All-Star games, [or] anything [else]. Some guys sit in this situation and say, 'Alright, I'm going to go for the numbers every night, to see what I can get out of it.' You can get all the numbers, then you look at it, and you ask yourself, 15, 16 years later, 'What did I really get out of it?... All these years, I've accomplished a lot of things in my career and it doesn't really matter. This is what matters; the champagne, confetti, tears. That's what matters to me. I'm not about to let [anything], surgery, anything, take away, at least that opportunity." 


I, for one, have been pleased with what Jermaine has done in his time back. He looks to be comfortable in his body and he appears to be in good shape. I said it before and I'll say it again: nobody knows what Jermaine has gone through this season. I'm sure he was in excruciating pain but still wanted to contribute. Luckily for us, he had the surgery and committed to rehabbing. He's now in a position where he can stay on the floor (fingers crossed) and be a contributor. It's time to stop complaining about all the time he's missed and how old he is, and commit to the pieces the Celtics have to work with going in to the postseason. I think he's done a good job meshing with the starting unit, and has also helped  the bench to develop more of a flow. His return has put Krystic with the second unit, and has allowed Glen Davis and Jeff Green to play in their natural positons. We'll see what JO can do in a big game situation tonight, matched up with the ever pesky Joakim Noah.