The Big... Four?
While the Celtics have been beyond impressive in their first 8 games, the real story has been the emergence of Rajon Rondo. His playmaking skills have improved and he still plays impact defense but the shock is how much his shot has improved. Whie he's not going to make anyone forget... whoever the best PG the C's had this past decade and a half, he is consistently hitting the open jumper and forcing teams to stay honest. According to 82games.com. Rondo is knocking down almost 47% of his jumpers.
Up next for the Celtics is a tough three game stretch. Orlando is off to yet another hot start and starting to generate some buzz. Still, the team has lost to the two elite teams that it faced (Detroit and Phoenix). Rondo should be able to make life difficult for Jameer Nelson, which will put a cramp in the Orlando offense. I also think Kendrick Perkins should be able to hold his own against Dwight Howard. It's a strength against strength matchup; Howard still has no actual low post moves to get past Perk with so I think the C's might be able to corralle him a bit. That leaves the ball in the hands of Rashard Lewis. I think you can give him his points. He still hasn't shown the ability to create for his teammates so I'd be more than happy to let him rack up his points while his team falters.
After that is the dangerous Warriors. Stephen Jackson might be back for this game so we'd be facing them at full strength. I think Golden St. could give the C's their first loss. Andris Biedrins is turning the corner, Al Harrington is finding his place in the offense, and Baron, Ellis, Azubuike is a strong backcourt. Of course, people will point out their record but it is misleading as five of the first seven games this season have come against playoff teams (Utah twice, Cleveland, Dallas, and Detroit). Besides the two blowout losses to Utah, they've been competitive in all of their games, losing by an average of 5 points. The C's should look to play physical with the Warrios (just as the Jazz did). Like most running teams, the Warriors don't seem to be very fond of having to deal with bumping and banging.
Finally, Kobe and the Lakers come to town. Despite the controversy, the Lakers already have wins over Phoenix, Utah, Houston, and Detroit under their belt. The renewed focus on defense that Kobe showed during his stint on Team USA has carried over to the regular season and Lamar Odom has always been a guy that upped his defensive intensity against bigger name opponents. This, however, is another key game for Rondo. The Lakers losses have come when point guards have gotten into the paint and opened up shots for other players. Tony Parker went 11-16 with 9 assists while Chris Paul drove the lane and dished for 21 assists (on top of 19 points of his own) in the Lakers last two losses (their first loss was sans Odom and Kobe trying to win the game by himself, which is always another tactic to try to beat the Lakers).
After the Lakers is last year's giant killers, the Charlotte Bobcats, but honestly, they don't worry me all that much. Their only hope of winning is if Jason Richardson is knocking down the trey and the Celtics defense has been stellar at shutting down opposing perimeter shooting this year. While I like the individual players the Bobcats have, I'm not sure that Felton, Richardson, Wallace, and Okafor are really a good fit for one another.
If the Celtics can get through the next three games and maintain their unblemished record, I see smooth sailing for the rest of the month.
