Can the Celtics still make the playoffs?
The Boston’s loss of Rajon Rondo for the season is devastating and is something I don’t think they can recover from. Despite beating the Heat without Rondo yesterday, the Celtics will now have to keep up their current .500 pace to even have a shot at the 8 seed in the East. I don’t think they can do it, as Rondo was the central piece to their offense and they will now have to rely on the elderly Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Avery Bradley and Leandro Barbosa will be depended on to play point guard in Rondo’s absence, and Jason Terry is also expected to see increased playing time. However, my opinion isn’t the only thing that counts. Others argue that this won’t affect the Celtics too badly because Rondo is overvalued for his assists and rebounds. Even though Rondo is a highly productive passer and all around player, he is infamous for being a below-average shooter. His poor free throw shooting is the main reason why his EWA (estimated wins added) stat is low for a player with his reputation: it’s only 5.2, compared to Chris Paul’s 9.8 and Bobcats point guard Kemba Walker’s 6.4. Rondo’s low Player Efficiency Rating (56th in the league) also supports the idea that maybe Rondo is overvalued. The Celtics can certainly squeak into the playoffs in a weak Eastern conference without Rondo, but they will just need more production from role players like Terry and Bradley.
Kyrie Irving Tearing Up League
“Uncle
Drew” is quickly becoming a legitimate superstar, putting up his third straight
30 point game yesterday and becoming the youngest All-Start since LeBron James.
Kyrie is now averaging 24 points a game, and was just named Player of the Week
for leading the Cavs to 3 straight wins with a 40 point performance and a game-winning
3 against the Raptors. After being named to the All-Star team last week, Irving
may now be elevated to the starting PG role due
to Rajon Rondo’s injury. The Cavs seem to have found a true franchise player to
replace LeBron. I look forward to watching this young team based on Irving,
guard Dion Waiters and PF Tristan Thompson succeed down the road.
