Eastern Conference scout on the ceiling for the Rajon Rondo-less Celtics:

"I'll buy your [contention] that they're playing happier without him, but when it comes down to the big games, you need a couple a-holes. And Rondo is the leading a-hole Boston has. He affects the game like nobody else.

"During the regular season, I agree, he plays for stats too much, but when it comes to the playoffs, he's playing to win the game. He's definitely a diva and he definitely has his issues, but who does Miami have to game-plan for if Rondo isn't there? Paul Pierce is a warrior, but he's only going to be able to play 15 top-level minutes out of 30. [Kevin Garnett] is a defensive specialist at this point in time. The totality of the Heat overtakes the totality of the Celtics when Rondo's not there, but I still think he's in Miami's heads and the Celtics are in the Heat's heads when the teams are at full strength.

"Without Rondo, Miami wins that series in five."

 

I think we still take the Heat to 7

This post has been removed.

Rame - I see the lying stalker has a new prey.....LOL

"Miami in 5 and Rondo is all about his stats. 

He doesn't care if Boston loses or if his plus/minus is negative, as long as he gets his assists or triple double. Plus, he's a terrible teammate and is psychotic. "

Hey Tommy Fraud, what's up. 

For a real psychotic look no further than - Ron Artest, who has fought with fans in the bleachers. From your fave team. If Rondo is psychotic then Artest is a murderer - no wait, you already said Darko is a murderer LMAO. Maybe Artest is a serial killer on your scale then. 

Seriously Tommy if your argument is true then how did Boston take Miami to 7 last year? I'll tell you how? Rondo is worth two games. 

Rameakap - I agree with this scout's analysis 100 percent. That said, if Boston takes Miami to 7 games without Rondo that will change my position. I still think Rondo should probably be traded but I will be very interested to see Boston/Miami this postseason. And I suspect Danny Ainge will be as well. 

In response to BostonTrollSpanker's comment:

Agree with you 100% as well, Celtics looking lost at PG and bowing out to the Heat in 5 vs. them looking strong with AB there and taking the Heat to 7 will go a long way towards what DA decides this summer.

If Avery makes continous improvements for us to the point that he is able to shoot at 40%+ from anywhere in 4 our of 5 games (Sixers games not Hawks game shooting #'s) while running PG well (6-7 assists per, making the right decisions most of the time) and all while still being dominant on defense (like vs. Curry not Teague) then we'd have the ability to trade Rondo.

If AB remains best suited as a SG sharing mins in like a 26-22 split with a guy like Lee or Crawford, then we'd probably want to bring Rondo back.

 

I think the League already has Miami down as going to the finals.

http://espn.go.com/nba/

there you have it. Clips/Thunder vs Heat.

Nothing I'ld love more then to see the C's kill Miami's hope of another ring. But i don't believe the league is going to let that happen. Bron and wade get special treatment over ALL our guys (over all the league actually). that and they're more athletic will be more then enough to seal the fix. Sad. I frigg'n LOVE the heart of this team too.

Green is younger than LeBron and I really can't see an opportunity where we'd consider moving Green and other assests to get a SF who is in his mid 20's and can defend LeBron as well... esp all for under 10m, so we are set with that matachup for years.

Sully at the very least, if fully recovered and in better shape in general, will give us some young legs and a rebounding force to counter the Haslems and whoever else the Heat pair with Bosh in the years to come.

so really it is vital that we get KG some help vs. Bosh and a low post scorer who can give Miami fits. That is the blueprint to beat them, besides being able to win the Chalmers matchup, play solid man and shoot at a high %, you NEED guy like Marc Gasol or Hibbert who is going to bully them in the paint.

Rondo is the only asset I see who can get us that player. Are we really going to be able to move some combination of Bass, Melo, Lee or Crawford and 1-2 1st rd picks in the low 20's for a Gortat or Big Al?

He's definitely a diva and he definitely has his issues, but who does Miami have to game-plan for if Rondo isn't there? 

 

That's the beauty of the Rondo-less C's....You CAN'T gameplan against them because some one different is stepping up in clutch moments........

0-6 with Rondo.

14-4 without him.

In response to BostonTrollSpanker's comment:

Chris Bosh was injured. Once he returned, the series was over. No contest.

Pud

In response to puddinpuddin's comment:

 

In response to BostonTrollSpanker's comment:

 

" how did Boston take Miami to 7 last year?

 

Chris Bosh was injured. Once he returned, the series was over. No contest.

Pud

 

 

Fraid I have to agree with you. Bosh plus the refs.... This year Bosh is even better but Boston has some new guns that might even the odds. KG is also healthy and playing like the monster he was!  I'll never forget that block Avery put on DWade and now he is healthy and experienced. We'll see what happens on the 18th. If the C's lose they still have another shot in April but teams might be shutting down by then. But then the second season or should I say third.

 

the rondo injury was a blessing and a curse. a blessing because now we see that we really are a better team without him. we are playing team ball and more guys are stepping up. green and bradley look great. the curse is that we can't trade him now. so we have to wait for him to come back, hope that he comes back healthy, then trade him for a big.

KG will be hard pressed to duplicate the 19.1 points and 9.4 boards he dropped on the Heat last playoffs. But he put up 22/10 in the 3 games Bosh returned for, so that aspect is hardly relative AND KG doesn't have to score as much as he did this year, he can conserve his energy for defense and up his ast/stl/blk #'s while giving like a 15/11... do that while holding Bosh to an 18/8 and I'll be thrilled.

Rondo was hard to game plan for in regards to his ability to drop triple doubles and frustrate... but the offensive sets we ran with him and the halfcourt game we played were easier to defend IMO than the spreadout everyone touches the ball 6 guys get in double dig's offense we have now. So both will give Miami fits, not just the RR led attack.

Rondo may be gone but Avery didn't play and his D is even better, Ray may have switched sides but he was a liability on D and now will be for them with Lee being vastly superior there. Terry, Williams, Crawford AND Green are monsters compared to Dooling, Sasha, E'Twuan and Pietrus.

In response to Kirk6's comment:

apparently the Celtics have only played 6 games with Rondo. 

In response to rameakap's comment:

Great stuff! +1000 My premise is that Rondo will be different. He needed to do what he did because of the team composition or??? Next year things will be different. With a cast of speed and quickness it's turn them loose INCLUDING RR!

In response to puddinpuddin's comment:

In response to jtkl's comment:

I overlooked some of that you are right!

In response to rameakap's comment:

I agree with a lot of what you are saying, but we are lot deeper this year then we were last year.  In game 7 last year, our bench scored 2 points. No way our second unit does that this year. So to me, I think playoff performence is only a partial litmus test because the rest of the teams talent level has improved.. 

I think the final litmus test will be how Rondo gels with the rest of the team when he gets back. If not so well they may use the beginning of next year to showcase him (to prove he is healthy) and then trade. If he fits in seamlessly and the team looks stronger for it, I think they go forward with the belief that with the rise of Green, Bradley and healthy Sullinger, Rondo gives them the edge on the Heat. 

but who knows. 

This season the difference could be Jordan Crawford and uncle Jeff.

Jordan Crawford is a scorer. That's something the Celts have been lacking the past few years. Having someone who can create his own shot and the ability score from anywhere on the court will enable the Celts to keep up with the Heat offensively.

Uncle Jeff will let Pierce concentrate more on scoring than stopping Lebron.

As long as the Celts face the Heat in the east finals, I like our chances. The new guys need more time to learn the system. This Celtics team will be a lot better in mid-May than in late April.  

Count all the injuries that you want... but once Bosh came back.... the Cs were toast.

Pud

In response to puddinpuddin's comment:

So? Your point was to minimize what the Celtics achieved by saying Bosh was absent, to which I say big whoop they were healthier than we were. 

In response to Fierce34's comment:

Agreed. If I were betting money I'd bet on the heat, but we matchup well with them. 

In response to jtkl's comment:

Bingo!

In response to puddinpuddin's comment:

A "fresh" Bosh. I'ld like to see how they would have done against a "fresh" PP or Ray. I think we would have won that series if the shoe was on the other foot. Bosh had all the energy in the world. That's why he was so effective. What.... he played like 20 minutes the entire series?

Dude says KG is a defensive specialist at this point.

 

That's all I needed to see. *dismissed*