IMO, if Rondo is in a funk about anything, it's about being too tired to play up to his normal level. We've seen this before at the end of a season where he's played well only intermittently. There's no need to further psychoanalyze him or anyone else on the team, they simply play too many minutes all season long to have anything left for the playoffs. (I know I'm repeating myself) But ask yourself, what's the single biggest difference between this team and the 08 team? This team has no bench and hasn't had all year long. You don't win championships with a team like that.

All that said, I hope they make a liar out of me.

I read this blog all the time though the season and am finally coming out of lurking mode to offer my take on the C's for what it's worth. IMO they have the same problem they've had since '09. They just aren't deep enough for these old guys to make it all the way through a season and have enough left in the tank for the playoffs. Ray always slumps this time of year and so does Rondo - even though he's young, he plays too many minutes in the regular season, that's just the way he is. Some players can be iron-men but Rondo isn't capable of sustaining the kind of effort he puts put in the beginning of the year for 80 plus games - I just don't buy all this sulking BS. Even PP is gassed, he's played the best of any of them at the end of the season this year but he's gassed. Garnet is either on or off and is like that all year long IMO. But by the end of the year, the nights he's "on" get fewer and fewer. He's old. All that and they have no center. And face it, the bench sucks and has pretty much gotten worse every year since the original championship team broke up at the end of '08 Frankly, I was amazed at how far they got in the finals against the Flakers last year, it was an amazing display of willpower and grit. But even then, they had no one to step in for Perk even for just a few minutes. I think they're done this year, even if Shaq comes back, it will help a lot but I doubt it will be enough. Here's what I'd like to see next year, if this team remains basically intact. I'd like to see Ray and/or Garnet come off the bench, like old veterans should. Rondo needs a reliable backup and to play far fewer minutes over the regular season and of course, they need a center and a decent backup center. That way I think they have a chance of remaining an elite team. Otherwise, they might have another great start to the year, only to fade by the playoffs again.