Throughout Rondo's career, the point guard has alternated stellar performances with stagnant ones, and the trend has held true in these playoffs. Rondo has disappeared, as he did in Game 6 of Boston's semifinal series against the Sixers, as often as he has dominated, as he did in the fourth quarter of Game 7 in the same series. His unpredictability was cited as Rondo's most dangerous characteristic by Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra prior to the opener of the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday.
What can be an opponent's bane is not always the Celtics' boon, though. In a game in which Rondo should have ridden the momentum from his late-game flurry just two days earlier, he fell flat for most of his 44 minutes, stuttering along with the Celtics to a 93-79 loss at American Airlines Arena.
As Rondo goes, so go the Celtics. Everyone associated with the organization seems to have uttered that cliched phrase as some point, Rondo included, but with each uneven performance, it is open to wonder whether the 26-year-old point guard grasps the meaning behind the words.
Rondo was outstanding in stretches on Monday, and not surprisingly the Celtics were outstanding in those stretches as well. He scuffled out of the gate with a scoreless first quarter, handing out only two assists and turning the ball over twice as many times, as the Celtics limped to only 11 points in the frame.
In the second quarter, Rondo was fabulous, and so were the Celtics. He was 4-for-7 from the field, taking more shots than any other player in the quarter, and had three assists with no turnovers. As a result, the Celtics erupted for 35 points and went into halftime tied up with the Heat, who were gasping for air.
Then, in the third quarter, whatever good things Rondo had facilitated before the half vanished. He missed five of his six shots, did not record an assist and picked up two fouls while the Celtics struggled to put up 15 points in the period. His fourth quarter looked solid on paper with six points and two assists, but any damage he did came after the Heat had the lead well in hand.
Rondo was not the worst Celtics star on Monday. That title belonged to Paul Pierce, who shot 5-for-18 from the field, did not make a single trip to the free throw line and grabbed only two rebounds in almost 40 minutes of work. But Rondo was, as always, the most important Celtics player, and the direct correlation between his play and his team's fortunes reinforced that fact.
If Rondo strings together 40-plus minutes at the level he has shown he is capable of playing at intervals, the Celtics don't just have a chance against the Heat — they could suddenly morph into the favorite. The fact that the Celtics are considered the underdog, and a long one at that, speaks to just how uncertain the team and the rest of the NBA remains about what Rondo will provide from game to game.
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