Rondo the pupil [leader]

Players usually go into hibernation mode when the locker rooms open to the media at 6 p.m., but when a couple of early-arriving reporters wandered in this evening, Rajon Rondo wasn't ready for them.

Rondo was still hard at work preparing for the Rockets, grilling assistant coach Tom Thibodeau on the other team's tendencies, as well as asking his coach to tell him exactly what he had done wrong in last night's loss to the Bobcats. Despite being younger than the rest of the Celtics starting lineup, Rondo sees himself as one of the leaders of this team.

"Me being the point guard [puts the pressure on me]," Rondo said when he was done with Thibodeau. "Not being able to close out games down the stretch comes from execution, knowing what plays to run down the stretch...I take some responsibility the last couple of games."

But Celtics coach Doc Rivers wasn't quite ready to let Rondo take all of the blame.

"I think it's typical of guys that love their team," said Rivers. "They feel if they don't do it they're letting guys down. It's a good thing in some ways. But I don't think he feels any more pressure than anyone else. He knows every night that teams are going to try to do things to make him a scorer."

Rondo was asked what the team needed to do to get back on track tonight.

"We've just got to get down and dirty, fight for the loose balls, get all the hussle plays," he said. "In key possessions, teams are out-hustling us."