Rondo was averaging 14 points, 11 assists and 6 rebounds a game.
The Boston Celtics were dealt a major blow Sunday afternoon, learning that their All Star point guard had torn his ACL and is done for the year. Continue reading
The Heat took game one of this series 93-79, behind 32 points from the MVP LeBron James. The Celtics will have trouble in this series due to the fact that their older legs are tired after being challenged by the younger Hawks and Sixers in long series. Boston will have the inside advantage in this series if Chris Bosh misses most of this series, because Kevin Garnett has found the fountain of youth this postseason. Mario Chalmers will have his hands full with Rondo and his ability to control the game and Ray Allen or Mickael Pietrus will have to try to slow Dwyayne Wade all series, which is practically impossible. The speed and youth of the Heat will be too much for the old, tired legs of the Celtics.
Heat in 6
Warren: Heat in 5
Matt: Heat in 5
LeBron made a statement scoring 32 points in a Game 1 Heat win on Monday.
2012 All NBA Teams
3rd Team
PG: Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics (12 PPG, 12 APG, 5 RPG)
(4) Boston Celtics vs (8) Philadelphia 76ers
The Sixers enter the second round for the first time since 2003 after knocking out the Rose less Bulls. Boston took out the Hawks in a tight six game series. Paul Pierce was a monster all series including a 36 point, 14 rebound effort in one of the wins. Andre Iguodala who is a hero in Philly after his series clinching free throws, is dealing with an Achilles injury that hopefully does not hamper him from a solid defensive effort against Pierce. Other than a dumb decision of bumping an official and getting a one game suspension, Rondo had a 17 point, 14 rebound, 12 assist triple double and did a tremendous job running the Celtics offense all series. The Sixers must do a better job on the glass, as they were out rebounded most of the series by Chicago and it wont get any easier with Kevin Garnett and Brandon Bass. The match up the Sixers need to expose is Evan Turner against Avery Bradley, Turner has more size and a nice mid range game. Another thing that would be very beneficial to Philadelphia would be to run as much as possible and force the Celtics to get back. The experience and the rebounding of Boston will be too much for a young Sixer team who is playing with house money at this point.
Celtics in 6
Turner is one of the match-ups the Sixers need to take advantage of.
Celebrity Game: East 86, West 54
At 5'2, Kevin Hart took home the Celebrity Game MVP.
Rising Stars Challenge: Team Chuck 146, Team Shaq 133
Kyrie Irving went 8-8 from 3 point range, scoring 34 points to take home the MVP.
Shooting Stars Competition: Team New York beats Team Houston
The team of Allan Houston, Cappie Pondexter and Landry Fields took home the Shooting Skills title.
Skills Challenge: Tony Parker beat Rajon Rondo
Tony Parker proved to be the most skilled point guard on Saturday night.
Three Point Contest: Kevin Love beat Kevin Durant
Kevin Love is quite the dual threat taking home the 3 point championship.
Dunk Contest: Jeremy Evans beat Paul George, Chase Budinger and Derrick Williams.
Evans dunked two balls at once to win the fans vote.
All Star Game: West 152, East 149
Kobe Bryant broke Michael Jordan's all time All Star scoring record with 271 points in the games history.
Dwyane Wade had only the third triple double in All Star history with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Kevin Durant had 36 points and took home the MVP.
Sports With Balls Blog 