When are the Celtics and their fans going to wake up? Our best player is Rondo. It's just so freaking obvious, how can so many people not see it? You refuse to see it. Writers refuse to see it. Fans refuse to see it. Doc refuses to see it. OUr best player by far, and its not close, is Rondo. Yet the team continues to try to force the team's offense through anyone BUT Rondo. It's so freaking stupid. It's like the twilight zone at this point

Chicago knows who their best player is. The Celtics have no idea who their best player is, though everybody else in the NBA has known for a couple of years now. They deserve to lose for being stupid. You can't win when you hamstring your best player.

In one article today you tell us that this game is on Rondo. In this article you tell us that the key is getting the ball to Pierce. You really don't have half a clue, do you? Are you ready to wake up to the fact that 2008 Pierce isn't about to walk through that door? Are you ever going to wake up to the fact that Rajon Rondo is our best player? What we need tonight is Rondo to lead the team in FGA. We need that every night. He should never be lower than second or third. HE IS OUR BEST PLAYER. What part of that do you still not grasp? Now what we need from Pierce and Garnett and Allen is for them to learn how to slip effectively into secondary roles. I hope Pierce has a monster game tonight. All three of those guys can feed off Rondo's energy and the way he breaks down defenses, and come up big, especially if Rondo starts finding them. But it starts with Rondo. So you were right the first time. Maybe you do have HALF a clue. Now here's the other half: for the game to be 'on Rondo', we have to get the ball to Rondo. Then, if Pierce finds good spots, it will go to Pierce. But we need Rondo to be The Aggressor, and for that to happen we need him to have the ball in his hands, and we need him to attack, all night long. No more deferring to the Big Three. Got it yet?

Posts like this mystify me. What on earth were you expecting? Of course Garnett is not what he used to be. The beautiful thing is that he is still a smart, skilled, dedicated player. The play that he and Rondo made was BEAUTIFUL. It was basketball at its best - two supremely talented and aware players improvising on the run, and completely befuddling the opposition. If the Big Three can continue to find this kind of synergy with Rondo, as Rondo becomes the real star, then we can be strong. Get your head out of the past. Criminy, it's 2012, not 2008.

Does this surprise anyone? The problem is the same it has been for a while now. The big three cannot bring themselves to pass the torch to Rondo.

I don't have a problem with Rondo 'showboating'. My problem is with him playing unaggressively. No free throw attempts and few fga in the first half tells the tale.

Pierce should never take that many shots when he isn't hitting. But Rondo should. That is the difference no one seems willing to recognize. When Rondo started attacking hard in the second half, and when he kept shooting even though he wasn't having a good night, the offense came to life. That's because the team feeds off Rondo's energy. We need him attacking and shooting. But half of Pierce's shots tonight should have gone to Ray Allen.

A social lie is one thing. That's when you say something that everyone knows is not true, but that everyone accepts as the easiest way for folks to save face and avoid conflict. Then you move on. Danny is adept at that kind of lie. Unfortunately, he can't let it go at that. He perpetuates and repeats the lie endlessly, until it becomes a malevolent lie, a lie that reflects fundamental dishonesty. That what often turns people into liars. Not only are they never willing to admit to wrong, but they determinedly perpetuate social lies into actual malevolent lies. Danny should just tell media folks that he will not discuss the Perkins Trade and the Rondo Shopping further. But he wants to convince people that he was really, really, really telling the truth, and the more he tries, the more he comes off as a desperate liar. Just tell the social lie and move on, Danny. Or better yet, admit that you screwed up and move on. That would be even better. But clinging to falsehoods like you do is ignominious and bad for you.

I've been a big fan of Rondo and a big defender, but I want to see him gone now.

Give me a break. Rondo is asked to do a lot BECAUSE HE IS OUR BEST PLAYER. If he wants to not be our best player, fine, then he should at least shut down his man defensively.

In three games, Rondo has been torched by three virtually nameless point guards. He ought to be ashamed. At least in the first two games he did LOADS of positive stuff and virtually carried the team. Last night? Last night he did pretty much nothing except decorate Jarrett Jack's all world performance.

Celtics fans, led by the media, have proven that they are eager to drink any koolaide Lyin' Danny and Smarm Master Doc dish out. How about the kookaide that JO was in great form?

How we went from moral victories to an out and out disgustingly awful loss was that Rondo seems to have given up or something. I worry about that hit he took from Carmelo.

The good news is that Rondo is proving what some of us thought, but most of us doubted: that he CAN learn to shoot, and that he CAN be The Man. His play has been MVP quality the past two games, with him almost literally carrying the team on his shoulders. He needs to play better defense on his man, though. He plays strong team defense, but he got torched by his man too. More importantly, Rondo seems to wilt in the final minutes of close games. KG and Jo may need to come off the bench.

No, D, what you are saying is BS. Perkins was by no means the perfect center, but we lost a lot of power inside when we got rid of him. Why are you do hellbent on defending Ainge? Why is it so important to you that Ainge never be held accountable for one of the worst moves in NBA history?

That wasn't just an A performance by Rondo. It was a level of all-around brilliance, going way beyond the stats, that is rarely seen even on the NBA level. I do agree with the criticism that even though he did a great job of facilitating, the problem is when that becomes deference, as it did in the 4th quarter. Rondo is The Man now, Pierce or no Pierce. The key now is to balance attacking with facilitating, ESPECIALLY in the 4th quarter. Also, Rondo's man scored 20. Like Bird, Rondo excels at a wandering approach to team defense, but he needs to attend to his man a bit more. But man, that wasn't just A level basketball. It was something beyond that. The round-table guys were gushing over Rondo's game. They see what so many of us fans don't - that he's operating on multiple levels like no other player, when he's focused and aggressive.

The problem with the Celtics offense is that they have turned into a jump shooting team that doesn't hit the offensive glass, and that constantly slows the game down. As a result, their excellent shooting doesn't translate to as many points as it should. I'm not saying that they should suddenly turn into a running team that constantly hangs out under the offensive board. I'm saying that they need to rebound on offense a bit more, while varying the pace quite a bit more. If they combine this with their typically strong ball movement and shooting, they could be terrific.

It's nice to see that someone is at least willing to entertain some realism, even if this goes too far. We just can't say right now how well this team will do. They could have a brilliant season. It could be a train wreck.

You are such a smartass, aren't you? Yes, the shot looked considerably smoother last night, and the examples you cite bear that out if anything, and it clearly had to do with more than just confidence. Will it stay that way? We have 66 games to find out. You do say one smart thing: that we don't need Rondo to be a league top scorer, though that would be great. We just need him to turn up the scoring dial a little. If his jumper really is better, Rondo will surely do that, at least. What I find interesting is that I seem to recall from summer highlights that Rondo's elbow-shot motion was worse than ever this summer. At the time I wondered if he was faking a little bit just to throw people off. I hope so. Calipari said he was working hard, and one hoped it was on his shooting.

Writers intentionally seek to get a reaction from readers. So Mannix is intentionally overstating his position. But there's no easy way to assess the Cs this year. These Cs could contend for a championship. But this season could also be a trainwreck.

I thought that it was brilliant of Doc to put Rondo in for the early part of the last quarter, with the game won. It was a great opportunity for Rondo to try to be an offensive beast for a few minutes. Unfortunately, he fell on his face and almost handed the game back to Toronto. No excuses, Rondo. You have to figure out how to be a better scorer. It's really that simple.

It's amazing what Rondo has accomplished running a team that won't run, when he is best suited to a running team

Wake up. The way the Celtics slow the ball down crushes their offense. Period. It's not even arguable. They slow it down way too much. So what you are saying is that it is Doc's fault.

Absolutely. The single biggest problem with the Celtics is the way they slow the ball down. I understand why they do it, but they do it far too much.

Even this article points out that Doc has also been part of the problem, subjecting Rondo to tirades.