WALTHAM, Mass. — Just how crazy is this rumored idea of LeBron James guarding Rajon Rondo for the final three games of this series? Just sort of crazy, or really, really crazy?
Ask the Celtics, and the basic answer you’re getting is they don’t care.
“We’re not really concerned about it,” Paul Pierce said on Monday at the team’s practice facility in Waltham. “We’re still going to do the same things — get the ball to Rondo on the break, let him dictate the pace. It really doesn’t matter. We’re going to get him open, we’re going to set screens and cause different matchups for him. As far as them putting LeBron on him, it doesn’t really matter to us.”
At this point, it’s almost inevitable that we see the two stars of this series go head to head. The only question is how much of it we see, and when. But sooner or later, we’re going to see the Cavs make the switch.
“They’re going to at some point,” said head coach Doc Rivers. “It may not be a whole game — it’ll be in the fourth quarter, or in the second half, or out of timeouts. And we’ll be ready for it.”
Rondo himself isn’t concerned. He knows his role — to drive and score, to distribute and to change the game with his hustle plays on defense. He’s prepared to fill that role exactly the same, regardless of who matches up with him.
“It really doesn’t matter about the matchup,” Rondo said. “Obviously, in the playoffs, the big thing is matchups. But for me, I don’t really care who’s guarding me. I’ll still try to run our offense and our system. If we get easy looks in transition, it doesn’t really matter who’s guarding me, getting back on defense. But we run our sets on offense for Paul, Ray [Allen] and Kevin [Garnett].”
It might be the Big Three putting the ball in the hole on most nights, but it’s Rondo calling the shots. And that isn’t stopping anytime soon, no matter who’s staring him down.
