The Celtics both won and lost on Sunday afternoon.
Boston left the TD Garden with a 100-98 double-overtime win against the Heat in the return of Ray Allen. Before the clock struck zero it had already been confirmed that the Celtics will be without Rajon Rondo for the remainder of the season due to a torn right ACL.
The Celtics don’t have another true point guard on the roster, and if the Celts can’t acquire another one either Avery Bradley, Jason Terry, Courtney Lee or Leandro Barbosa will have to take over point guard duties.
Bradley fits the mold of a combo guard. However, the third-year guard is just getting back from a shoulder injury that kept him out of action for the first 30-plus games of the season. A position change might not be ideal for him at the moment. Besides, Bradley offers on-the-ball defense that got him into the starting lineup last season.
Both Lee and Barbosa were brought into Boston to score the ball, not set people up. Lee has never averaged more than 1.7 assists per game in his first four seasons in the league. Barbosa has seen limited minutes this season, but was the offensive spark off the bench Sunday afternoon with nine points, four assists and three rebounds in 30 minutes of action.
The best option could be Terry, the long-tenured guard. With his experience and his history of being a facilitator — averaging four or more assists in eight seasons — Terry could be the likely candidate to run the Celtics’ offense for the time being. Terry has been a versatile player over the years, playing both guard positions as a starter and reserve.
Either way, all four of these guys will need to pick up the production lost by the All-Star point guard.
The question is who could fill that void?
