A Man Among Boys

Rondo put on an inspiration
performance Saturday in Boston
after dislocating his left
arm.

The Boston Celtics were headed home starring down the barrel of an 2-0 series deficit after losing the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals in Miami.

After taking the regular season series from the Miami Heat three games to one, Boston has looked old in games one and two. The TD Garden would provide a much need boost for this aging Celtics team.

Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo was the reason for Boston's success in the regular season against Miami, averaging 12 assists per game. Ineffective in Game 1, Rondo came to life in Game 2 conducting the Boston offense with 12 assists.

In Game 3, the smallest guy on the floor Saturday night showed the biggest heart and courage.

At the 7:02 minute mark of the third quarter, the Celtics experienced the biggest scare of their season when Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade and Rondo were caught in a skirmish, causing him to fall awkwardly on his left arm.

Rondo lay on the Garden floor in intense and obvious pain, before being helped off and into the locker room.

Boston's season was in shambles already down two games in the series and without their perennial All-Star point guard to finish the game, sucking the air out of the Boson arena.

Then out came Rondo of the Boston locker room showing reminisce of the 1970 NBA Finals, when New York Knicks superstar Willis Reed returned from injury, inspiring New York to a Game 7 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

That's exactly what Rondo did for the Celtics Saturday night.

With their season hanging in the balance, for the simple fact that no team has ever come back to win a seven game series after dropping the first three, Rondo exemplified his team's resiliency. The diagnosis was a dislocated left elbow and was popped back into place for his return to the pivotal Game 3. Rondo made his impact felt with 11 assists in 35 minutes, catching every pass with his right arm.

After his return was made, his one and only steal of the night came at a crucial moment of the game, poking the ball away from Chris Bosh with his injured left arm. The former Kentucky Wildcat had already come into the game with an a stiff back, and faced yet another obstacle with his injury in the third quarter.

The quarterback of this Boston Celtic team continues to be the X-factor moving forward, and won't need to ask him to fight through the pain as he already has demonstrated he will do so.

A former first-round pick of the Phoenix Suns back in 2006, Rondo put together his best NBA season, leading the league in assists for the first time at 11.2 per contest. Over his five seasons in Boston, the 6-foot-1 guard has slowly become a leader on this veteran Celtic team.

With their win convincing 97-81 win in Boston, the Celtics have now made this a series and shown there is no place like home. Miami knows the defending Eastern Conference champions they will not go down without a fight.

Saturday's game also marked the return of 15-time All-Star and former NBA Most Valuable Player, Shaquille O'Neal. O'Neal had not played in a game since April 3 during the regular season. Even though O'Neal only played eight minutes and scored just two points, his presence in the paint will only make the Celtics already suffocating defense better.

Forward Kevin Garnett put in his best game of the series by scoring a game-high 28 points on 13-of-20 shooting and grabbing 18 rebounds.

Boston will need more of the same if they want to win this series and raise their 18th championship banner to the rafters in the TD Garden. The Celtics will look to even up the series Monday night at home before heading back on the road to South Beach.

As for their 25-year-old point guard, on this night, he was truly a man among boys.

It's Finally Here

LeBron James will need to be on his game
Sunday afternoon. 

It's the matchup everyone has been waiting for and it's finally here.

The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics are set to matchup in the second-round of the NBA postseason Sunday afternoon.

The series should be an epic one and add a new chapter to this newly fueled rivalry. It's only fitting that if the Heat want to win multiple NBA championships it comes with a road through Boston.

To be a champion you must first dethrone a champion and that's exactly what the Celtics are, being the defending Eastern Conference champions and hold an NBA record 17 NBA titles.

The Celtics won the season series against Miami three games to one, but two of those four games came at the start of the regular season in a three-week span. It would be unfair to Miami to say those games will have an impact on the series ahead.

The two teams met in mid-February and it yielded the same result with Boston winning a close one, 85-82.

The Heat saw Chris Bosh have one of his best games of the season, scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The final matchup of the season came with only three games left in the regular season, when Miami would claim their only victory against the boys in green, embarrassing them, 100-77.

These two teams are completely different than they were at the start of the regular and we should expect maybe the most exciting series of this year's postseason.

With the departure of center Kendrick Perkins to the Western Conference and uncertain health of Shaquille O' Neal, Boston's inside toughness has been questioned much of the second half, seeing them go 16-12 since the break.

The Celtics are in for a dog fight with the super team that was built in South Beach.

With Miami grabbing the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, Boston will not have the luxury of having a decisive seventh game in the TD Garden if need be. Although, that should not pose a problem for the veteran squad, who are confident they can win anywhere at anytime.

However, the home court will greatly help the Heat with the first two games at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Miami will need their two point guards to try and contain Boston's Rajon Rondo as much as possible as he is the X-factor for the Celtics heading into this series. The Heat do not have anyone that can stop the pesky 25-year-old from getting out into transition and distributing the basketball.

During their four regular season meeting, Rondo averaged 12 assists per contest, almost a full assist above his 11.2 during the regular reason, recording as many as 17 Opening Night in Boston.

Miami will also need to see the face of their franchise, Dwayne Wade, play better against the C's, shooting an atrocious 28 percent from the field and averaging under 13 points per game at 12.8 a contest.

The series should be a relatively low scoring and close the entire way with two of the top defenses in the NBA doing battle. The Celtics ranked first among points allowed at 91.1 points per game with Miami not far behind allowing 94.6 points per, good enough for sixth in the NBA. Boston comes in as confident as ever after their first playoff sweep since 1992, sweeping the new-look New York Knicks.

This has given the aging veterans time to rest up for the this highly anticipated series, last playing on April 24.

Paul Pierce's legacy rides on another deep playoff run and a chance to even be considered with the all-time Celtic greats.

With the youth movement emerging, there seems to be a paradigm shift in the NBA happening right before our eyes. This could be the final act for Boston's Big Three with a shot at an NBA title. They will not be willing to pass the torch just yet, the Heat will need to earn it.

Of the 15 players on the current Heat roster, nine of them have been ousted in the postseason by this Celtics team one time or another, including Wade and LeBron James a year ago on their respective teams, so you know Miami will be ready.

Miami in seven.