By ALDO J. AVIÑANTEMANILA, Philippines — The Boston Celtics are down 0-2 in the second round of the NBA playoffs, clobbered by a rejuvenated and confident Miami Heat squad.
The whispers of the Celtics in the postseason as an over the hill ballclub is roaring loudly, the Florida-based Heat is effectively using their superior athletic ability to run the Celtics to the ground.
The battle of the Big three’s of Celtics and Heat is butchery in favor of Miami, akin to a young Mike Tyson in his prime against a reluctant opponent in his heyday. In Game 1 the super friends outscored their counterparts 67-50, but in Game 2 the story was different as they wiped them out with a 90-36 advantage.
With the battle in the frontline almost a foregone conclusion, critics and supporters alike say that the Celtics have an ace up their sleeve in form of point guard extraordinaire Rajon Rondo, the young mercurial star who has developed as one of the top players in his position.
Rondo has been subpar in his own standard, he was pedestrian in Games 1 and 2 modestly averaging 14.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg and 9.5 apg, against a past his prime Mike Bibby and untested Mario Chalmers.
Those are All-star caliber numbers but not enough against top flight competition like the Heat. In the first round Rondo averaged 19.0 ppg grabbed 7.3 rpg and dished out 12.0 apg.
Rondo played superb controlling the game and its tempo masterfully, giving the Celtics a huge advantage against the fast paced Knicks squad as they swept the series in four games.
Rondo needs to play like a superstar in this series to give the bean town hopeful reason to believe that the series can be salvaged.
The aging trio of Garnett, Pierce and Ray Allen will be re-energiezed in their homestand at the TD garden arena. But against the marvelous trio of Dwyane Wade, Lebron James and Chris Bosh it might not be enough.
James and Wade are considered as top five players before joining forces collecting various accolades winning the Regular Season MVP twice and a Finals MVP once respectively while Bosh was a perennial All-star in Toronto.
Rondo is the X-factor that can tilt the series back into the Celtics favor, All-star play is not adequate, Rondo needs to step up and perform better the rest of the series.
Last October Boston opened up the campaign on a winning note in their season opener against the same Heat squad, Rondo had a post game interview with TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager, and it went like this:
Craig Sager: "Is Miami the team to beat in the East?" Rajon Rondo: "I think we are."
The young mercurial star is confident in his team; they are in a dire situation, Rondo is now in the driver seat, it’s in his hands to gain ground and put them back in the race.
Buckle up.
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