Most NBA observers had flipped away from the Washington Wizards/Boston Celtics game on Monday evening, well before it was over. The Wizards, working at home with a team that hopes to contend for a conference championship this season, led by 23 points partway through the third quarter. Boston? They’re not so good to begin with, and they’ve been miserable at closing out contests this season; so there truly was no reason to think that the C’s could outscore Washington by 23 points in the game’s final 17 minutes and end regulation with a tie.
That’s what the Celtics did, though. They came back and tied the darn thing and then they tied the Wizards again in overtime before eventually falling to Washington in double overtime.
And Rajon Rondo watched every second of that comeback from the bench. And he seemed completely fine with as much. Not because Rondo is a lazy sod, but because he understands how this game works. From Jay King at MassLive.com:
"I'm very competitive," [Rondo] said. "I wanted to play. I wanted to compete and be on the floor. But the guys in front of me, the guys who were out there, were playing great. And I didn't want to mess up any momentum."
The guard added: "There was no communication (between him and Stevens) but there was nothing needed. Like I said, the guys did a great job making a run out there. Our bench did a great job tonight and they deserved to play."
Rondo’s honest feelings about his benching seem in slight contrast to how he actually presented himself on the Boston sidelines. The starting point guard was up and cheering as Boston worked through its rally, conferring with similarly-sitting veteran Gerald Wallace, and encouraging Boston rookie guard Marcus Smart. Rajon was smiling throughout, and cheering Smart as he worked through what was easily the best game of his career – Marcus didn’t just light up because of the extra minutes, his timing was on point and he finished the contest with a career-high 23 points and five assists.
Rajon Rondo has struggled this season, to be sure, but he was coming off of the heels of a Jason Kidd-styled triple-double the night before. Working against these same Wizards on Sunday in Boston, Kidd managed 13 points, 11 assists and 13 rebounds, though he miss 12 of the 17 shots he attempted from the floor. Rondo attempted 17 shots (making six) two nights before that against the Lakers, perhaps in reaction to the criticism he has rightfully taken in for not attempting to make himself a threat to score all that often so far in 2014-15 – the first full season since his ACL tear suffered during the early spring of 2013.
It’s exactly this sort of setting – Boston’s second night of a back to back, the team’s fifth game in seven nights – that has Celtics fans a bit worried. Rajon came through with a miserable performance before being benched, missing all three of his shots and turning the ball over three times in nearly 21 minutes, and patience is running thin. Team president Danny Ainge isn’t exactly out to make a playoff run, he’d like another lottery pick (especially after watching Smart and second-year man Kelly Olynyk play fantastic ball in a losing effort on Monday), but Rondo has to show at least a semblance of what he once was.
For one massive, lingering, reason.
The Celtics have to trade Rajon Rondo. They don’t have to work out something next week, when last summer’s free agent signees are finally allowed to be legally offered in a deal, but some asset has to be gathered in return for a free agent to-be that will turn 29 in two months and may not be in Boston’s long term plans moving forward. The coveting of first round picks has evolved to a nearly ridiculous degree as we set to swing into 2015, but if Rondo continues to struggle this badly, no contending or even rebuilding team will want to deal a first round selection for a lacking player who also dominates the ball and reshapes offenses with his unique and often polarizing offensive game.
Because Rajon Rondo is not the sort of dude that you plop into a starting lineup 50-some games into a season.
Dealing for Rajon Rondo isn’t the same as, say, trading for Deron Williams back in 2011. Rondo is not a normal point guard, one you can trust to run a pick and roll and/or flex offense while finding his own 18 points per game along the way. He’ll completely take over your offense in ways that, some eight and a half years after he was drafted, most NBA watchers can’t fully come to a consensus as to whether or not he’s helping or hurting – and this is an NBA champion and four-time All-Star we’re talking about.
His poor play and Marcus Smart’s fantastic plus/minus from Monday night are not telling, Boston eventually lost the game and John Wall had his way in both the half court and transition as Washington held on for the win. Rajon Rondo isn’t washed up, not by a long shot.
What should be counted are Rondo’s 2014-15 struggles, the nearly two-year old ACL tear that still seems to factor into things, and his mercurial way of running the show. Boston el jefe Danny Ainge has no real bargaining advantage as Rondo enters free agency this summer, however. In a lot of ways, a reserve center like Kosta Koufos (also entering free agency) may have more trade deadline pull than someone as unorthodox as Rajon Rondo.
We can appreciate the way he handled his one-night demotion on Monday, though. Rajon Rondo has struggled this season, but as a teammate and leader he came through in spades despite Boston’s tough loss.
What the Celtics need to do, between now and February or July, is figure out just how tough a loss they’ll need to take in when it comes time for Rajon Rondo to eventually leave.
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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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