Maybe you have missed the big news about the economy? It is becoming more apparent that the whole crash thing with the banks and the stock market was all a hoax or maybe it has run its course, because money is floating around everywhere. Boston just floated a whole boat load of money over to Rajon Rondo to keep him from becoming a restricted free agent in the upcoming blockbuster free agent market of next year.

League sources said the extension is for five years and guarantees Rondo at least $55 million. With the two sides facing a Monday deadline to get a deal done, Duffy said he called Celtics president Danny Ainge on Sunday to inform him Rondo was prepared to play out his contract and become a restricted free agent next summer because they weren’t satisfied with the team’s previous offers. Ainge, however, surprised Duffy by responding that Rondo’s contract hopes would be met.

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Rajon is on an old Boston team where the 4 All Star players are all over 30. That would include Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and the newly picked up Rasheed Wallace. Rajon is not only young, but gives the speed to a team that needs speed.

Rajon is rich!

The money is also being floated to other players and hopefully you will get your share, but you have to have a jump shot or something.

Rondo’s new deal averages $11 million a season, the same amount San Antonio Spurs All-Star point guard Tony Parker(notes) earned when he signed a six-year, $66 million extension to his rookie contract in 2004. Among members of Rondo’s 2006 rookie class, Portland Trail Blazers All-Star guard Brandon Roy received a five-year, $80 million contract extension. The Blazers also gave forward LaMarcus Aldridge a five-year, $65 million extension.

You have to wonder how expensive seats will have to stay at the NBA games to support these salaries, while the rest of us are taking layoffs, furlough days, and pay cuts.

Image: Zuma Press

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This is it for all the marbles, the opener for Boston and Cleveland and a matchup that may well decide the Eastern Conference Championship. Not that this particular game will settle anything except, the losing team will not go undefeated. Still the NBA, in its usual sharp marketing way, decided to match the two super powers up right away.

Many NBA fans do not even pay attention until the NFL has reached playoff time in January making it difficult if not impossible to pull in a full contingent of fans this soon in the season, let alone to get those same fans to even care to any degree.

LeBron is on a roll with 4 minutes to go he already has 31 points. Shaq is checking in with 10 points and 7 boards, but it is not enough as the 3 amigos are all in double figures for scoring and Boston leads 83 – 79.

The key for Boston this year may well be the play of rabbit fast Rajon Rondo and how well he can direct the team and still provide scoring when any of the big 3 has an off night.

Rajon Rondo is one of the Celtic keys

The key to Cleveland winning may well be how well Shaq meshes into the offensive schemes of Cleveland and whether he can draw double teams to take any pressure off of LeBron.

Two minutes left Boston 87 – 82.

The game is being played in Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, although lately they have not been making a lot of loans.

Final 95 – 89

LeBron 38 points 8 assists 4 rebounds. Shaq 10 and 10. Pierce 23 and 11. Rondo 16 points.
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If you go back in time to the 2006 – 07 season for the Boston Celtics and you have a team in disarray struggling to gain 24 victories. They had a team of individuals with such players as Michael Olowokandi and Sebastion Telfair. They were headed nowhere. There was even an Allen Ray, instead of a Ray Allen.

Paul Pierce was moody and despondent to say the least and often took his seat at the far end of the bench to be alone with his thoughts.

Now fast forward to today and envision a team with probably the strongest lineup from top to bottom in the NBA. Now you have Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Rasheed Wallace, Rajon Rondo, a grown up Kendrick Perkins, Marquise Daniels and more.

Paul Pierce is ready to battle!

Paul Pierce now finds himself with a perpetual smile.

So he’s drinking up every second now.

“When you get to play on this kind of team, you cherish it,” he recently said. “You don’t take these moments for granted, playing with guys like Kevin (Garnett) and Rasheed (Wallace), future Hall of Famers. You know, I cherish these moments because not a lot of people get that opportunity. I thought I’d never get that opportunity.

“It’s always disappointing when you lose a lot of ballgames. You wake up in the morning, and you know your team is 15 games out of the playoffs. The thing about me is that I’m always motivated because I love the game of basketball.

“I love the game so much that it rarely got me down when I was out there playing on the court. I take pride in that. I’m a competitor. I play this game to win. If you don’t play to win, then what are you playing for? Some guys play for the lifestyle, and a lot of those guys don’t last. Me, I’ve always played to try to win.
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Paul is loving it and so are his teammates, so much so that they showed up early for practice this year even though Coach Rivers told them to take it easy. Everyone is having so much fun, because winning is fun and they know they are going to win. The only question is how much will they win. They have set their sights on the NBA championship and anything less will not be satisfying.

It has been 12 years, 12 long years for Paul Pierce, but it could not be any better, now it is a battle for the NBA Championship every year. It might be a while before that smile leaves Paul’s face.

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Danny Ainge is a good guy? No, that is not what is being said here.

So Danny Ainge is a bad guy? No, you are just putting words in my mouth.

Danny is Danny, a Celtic for life. He played on those great Boston Celtic teams with the Chief, Bird, McHale, and Dennis Johnson. Every year it seemed they battled the Los Angeles Lakers of Kareem, Magic, and Worthy. Those were some great ballgames.

Now Danny is the GM of Boston and already has a NBA title to his credit and wanted another one last year, but his superstar, Kevin Garnett, had some leg problems and sat out the playoffs. No Kevin, no title, it is that simple.

This year Boston should be favored to win the Eastern Conference and do battle with the Los Angeles Lakers, who else? It is like basketball has restored itself to normalcy. Is that a word?

Earlier this year Danny Ainge had a heart attack and to listen to him tell it, it was pretty scary.

Ainge woke at home with pain in his chest and his left arm in the early hours of April 16, two days before playoffs began. He thought it might have been symptoms of a flu virus he had been battling for a few days. His wife, Michelle, knew better and rushed him to Massachusetts General Hospital. Doctors found a clogged artery and inserted a stent.

“When I got that news, early in the morning, it scared the hell out of me,” Rivers says. “When you hear that someone has had a heart attack, your next thought is, ‘Oh my God. And what?’ That brief moment before you hear he’s OK, you’re thinking the worst.”
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As much as Danny Ainge loves being the GM of Boston he has to stay in shape and try and reduce stress which is almost impossible with his job. There questions about Garnett, questions about the Celtics chances, and lately questions about Rajon Rondo.

It seems that everything gets twisted around in this blogging internet world. Danny spoke out on Rajon, saying how he had to get better and all of the sudden rumors were out there that Ainge didn’t like Rajon, not true, and that he would not be getting a good contract, not true, and that he was not good enough for the job, also not true.

Danny Ainge will resign Rajon Rondo

Sure there are areas that Rajon can improve on, mostly his shooting and consistency, but there are plenty of nights where he is darn near unstoppable.

Danny plans on staying the course now that he has a good heart!
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With a minute left in the 4th quarter and the scored tied, Derrick Rose took Rajon Rondo to the hole and drew a suspect foul, but it was not a shooting foul. On the ensuing play, Derrick Rose slipped going to his left and the ball rolled out of bounds. Interesting, the Bulls go to their rookie point guard with the game on the line.

A blurb on the TV showed that there had been 80 lead changes in the 5 game series. 3 of these games have gone to overtime.

Rajon misses after Marbury turns down a shot and Ben Gordon shoots an afterthought jumper at the other end for the lead.

Paul Pierce goes one on one and shoots a turnaround jumper at the foul line to tie it up.

Pierce and Allen try to carry on without Garnett

Chicago goes to Gordon to win the game and he misses a step back jumper. Odd shot selection.

We go to OT. Paul Pierce knocks down a step back jumper from the right side of the top of the key to give the Celtics a three point lead with 36 seconds left.

Will the Bulls go for the 2 for 1? Yes, Ben Gordon forces a 3 on a quick shot and Tony Allen fouls him. Bad foul.

Gordon makes the first, the second, and the third. Tie score. Time out Boston with 27 seconds left.

Will Boston go to Paul Pierce one last time? Yes, Paul Pierce makes a face up jumper just inside the free throw line, right side of the top of the key. The defense by Salmons was good, but Pierce was better. 3.4 seconds left.

One more chance for Ben Gordon? What an incredible play as Miller sets a high screen for the sideline out of bounds play. The defenders go with Ben Gordon rounding the pick and leave Miller wide open. He takes the ball at the top of the key and drives slowly, oh so slowly to the hole. Rondo hits him in the mouth for a foul and Miller air balls.

Miller stops the blood, but bricks the first free throw. Celtics by two with 2 seconds to go. Miller misses on purpose on the second free throw, but misses rim. Ball to Boston. Game to Boston.

Chicago fouls Pierce on the inbounds. He misses a free throw. 1.3 seconds left. He hits rim and that is the game.
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Chicago has it all set up for them to win easily at home tonight, but easily just does not come easily in the NBA playoffs. The Bulls may not find the friendly home confines to be the answer they are hoping for.

Derrick Rose needs to find a way to slow down Rajon Rondo before they change his name to Raging Roundballer. Rajon had a triple double on a sprained ankle in the last game. That is right; he did it on one leg. Pretty impressive.

Rajon rules in spite of nothing up his sleeves

If the Bulls can bring the effort then the odds are that the Celtics will find themselves down 2 – 1 facing another game in Chicago without Kevin Garnett or Leon Powe.

It is that needed effort that has Bull Coach Vinny Del Negro concerned.

”Never think you can use logic in basketball,” Del Negro said. ”Playoff basketball just doesn’t work like that. Every game causes different adjustments, different matchups.

”We have to control [Rondo] in transition; he’s like a one-man fast break. His rebounding and his assists are killing us. We have to do a better job of keeping him off the glass and pay a little bit more attention to him. We have to do a better job keeping him out of the paint. He’s very quick and tough off the dribble.”

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This is not a blog about the Celtics being one and done, but it does play into my prediction from last year.

Funny thing about predictions, you can always bring up the ones that are correct and just forget the ones that are way off. Even timing just gets in the way of the truth. It is kind of like golf, fishing, or stock investing. Hey, did you hear about my fishing trip last summer? There as this fish and it was so big that it barely fit into the boat and, oh, there was this golf hole, number 5, and using a 7 iron, uh then there was that small company in my portfolio and it just zoomed and , wait, wait, wait…We were talking basketball here.

Last year, my prediction/concern was that one of the 3 amigos would get hurt. They didn’t and Boston won. This year Garnett did get hurt (the 3 amigos are getting old and brittle.) and Chicago may steal the series.

In the NBA, there are few office pools because there are few series upsets. The higher seeded home teams should win handily at home and lose by a bucket on the road. That is not happening here. In Boston these two teams look equal. Chicago may get at home and win easily.

Ben Gordon almost out dueled Ray Allen to win this last game, while Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo each had super games.

”I really liked our team’s poise. Obviously, Ben Gordon was tremendous. I love the grit, love the toughness of our team, but we can’t get outrebounded like that and expect to win.”

They nearly pulled it off, though, thanks mainly to a postseason career-high 42 points by Gordon, including the Bulls’ last 12 points. Gordon was 14-for-24 overall and 6-for-11 from three-point range.

”He’s one of the best at hitting clutch shots,” Bulls point guard Derrick Rose said. ”I don’t know how he blocks everything out, but he always finds a way to hit the shots.”

As hot as Gordon was down the stretch, he was matched by Allen, who was able to shake off his shaky play in the first six quarters of the series — a total of six points — to score 28 of his 30 in the second half.

Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo had a triple-double with 19 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds, while Rose — the Game 1 hero with 36 points — had 10 points and seven assists.

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Derrick Rose led the Bulls over the Celtics in a first round road playoff victory.

Chicago 108 Boston 95

Derrick had a great year as the leading rookie in the NBA (my opinion), but he saved his very best for this game. The Celtics are fragile playing without Kevin Garnett and the Bulls are hungry with their star rookie looking the hungriest of all.

Derrick Rose is beating Boston single handedly

Rose followed up his 11 assists with a season high 36 points.

If USA Basketball kingpin Jerry Colangelo has any doubts about the availability of Chris Paul or Deron Williams for 2012 in London, this game should put to rest any anxieties he might have concerning potential point guards.

To put Rose’s game in perspective, his season best was 27 points. He had never made more than eight free throws in any game. He matched his season high for field goals (12, in 21 attempts). No one in NBA history has scored more points in his playoff debut and only one, Lew Alcindor, scored as many.
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In fairness to the Celtics, Rajon Rondo also had a great game with 29 points.
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Pay attention, this is not a blog by yours truly. Today we bring you a special treat. This is a blog by Graham Brunell and he is a talented writer for Celtic 17.

Here are some outtakes.
Why Rajon Rondo wasn’t an All Star, and Why he WILL be in the future.

Rajon Rondo, one of the best point guards in the NBA today, was not selected to be an all-star. Why, you ask? We’ll just have to find out.

The Eastern conference: The East was just too good this year. Too good for the coaches to even argue whether his numbers (11.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 8.1 assists) show the true player he really is. Think about it: Ray Allen, Mo Williams, Mike Bibby, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, David Lee, NOR Andre Iguodala made it.
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His offensive skills will make him a triple-double machine: Wait are we talking about Jason Kidd or Rajon Rondo here? That’s right folks, Rajon Rondo has rebounding skills whether you like it or not. His passing skills are sneaky, yet accurate, and he can get to the basket almost any time he wants to. If he can develop a 15-foot jump shot, or possibly a three-point shot, which would be a miracle, he could be right up there with point guards like Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Devin Harris.

His speed leaves most defenders in the dust: There is no denying it, Rajon Rondo can run. His speed lets him get ahead in the fast break, run the baseline freely, and blow by defenders to get an open lane to the basket.
…
His basketball IQ and his leadership are at a high level: Being a point guard on the ego-filled Boston Celtics isn’t easy. One night during an interview Doc said that the reason he loves Rondo is because he has the confidence to say “no” to superstars each and every single night.
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So sorry Rondo, but this year you won’t be in Phoenix (at least not on the floor). Don’t worry, you’ll get plenty of chances. PLENTY.

(To see the whole blog read Celtic 17 in the MVN blog network.

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As a follow up to the Part I of Rodney Stuckey is candy and a Rose blooms – Part I, your intrepid author would like to show you some interesting comments by Coach Michael Curry of the Detroit Pistons.

Keep in mind, Joe Dumars hired Curry in part because he is such a great student of the game and the players of the game.

This comment came after the Pistons beat the Bulls.

After the game, Pistons coach Michael Curry described Phoenix’s Steve Nash, San Antonio’s Tony Parker and Denver’s Chauncey Billups — who started the season with Detroit but was traded, in part, because of Stuckey’s development — as the gold standard of NBA point guards.

Next, Curry identified New Orleans’ Chris Paul, Utah’s Deron Williams and New Jersey’s Devin Harris as a trio who have “separated themselves … as a young group of guards pushing Nash and Parker and Billups.”

Then he mentioned his own guy.

“I think Stuckey is in a group with Derrick Rose and (Boston’s Rajon) Rondo as the up-and-coming next group of guards,” Curry said. “It’s going to be interesting to see how they all continue to mature and grow as players. All three have different skill sets, but all three have the kind of demeanor that it takes to be very successful in this league.”
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