Of all the things that make Rajon Rondo the most uniquely-interesting member of the Celtics is that we still don’t know what he is really capable of doing. We know about the passes, and the defense and the crazy angles that only he sees. But we rarely get to see Rondo unleashed.
Sunday afternoon in a 91-80 win over the Magic (click here for a full recap) was one of those times. Rondo was in attack mode from the opening minutes, which was a very good thing because he was the only one.
After watching his team sleepwalk through the opening six minutes, Doc Rivers decided it was time to deploy the zero-sum option. The Celtics call it “open,” which is basically just a spread floor that gives Rondo the space to make things happen. It also didn’t hurt that Magic point guard Jameer Nelson picked up a quick foul and they thought they could attack him.
“[We] told Rondo to get to the rim and use his instincts,” Rivers said. “He’ll find open guys.”
What Rondo found was open space to create his own offense. He finished with 15 shots -- only the fourth time this season he has attempted that many -- and a season-high nine free throws. That last part is important because Rivers has challenged Rondo to get to the line in an effort to turn off the big neon blinking sign he has next to his name: His 50 percent free throw shooting.
“Rondo’s going to be a good free throw shooter,” Rivers said. “That’s my belief. Obviously he’s got to prove that to everybody else, but I believe that. I just think the only way he can do that is by getting to the line.”
Rondo went 7-for-9 at the line and over the last five games he has made 15-of-18. That’s a good start, but they all know that they can’t afford to wait for the playoffs to start before he changes the perception.
“Whenever he does go, we want him to him to go with power and speed and be willing to get fouled,” Rivers said. “I like the fact that he had no problem if he got fouled.”
Rondo was his usual implacable self. “I was just playing basketball,” he said. But Rondo did note that his lanes were clear because the Magic were intent on sticking to Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.
With all the talent on hand, it would be foolish for the Celtics to play this way every game, but when they do it’s a reminder of just how much ability Rondo has, and how much more he has to give.
Here are three more points:
KENDRICK PERKINS HAS A PLAN
When it comes down to it, there’s really nothing the Celtics can do when Dwight Howard plays like he did to start the game. He pulled out a couple of hook shots, a lob dunk and even a running jump shot falling out of bounds that would have made Larry Bird proud.
No matter what Howard did, however, the Celtics were not going to change their approach. Howard made four of his first five shots, but was 6-for-15 after that. There were no adjustments and no one was expecting any either. 
“One thing, you can’t hold your head down,” Perkins said. “You can’t get into this slump, where you’re feeling bad for yourself or want somebody to feel sorry for you because the guy got it going.”
So Perkins kept working. His goal was to keep pushing Howard further and further from the basket and make him shoot over him.
“You live with his shots over the top,” Perkins said. “I don’t think he’s consistent enough yet to be like that top scorer to worry about him making shots over the top. I don’t think it’s like that. With me, I just make him make shots over the top. Long running hooks or whatever it may be. If he hits a few of them, that’s fine with me.”
The Celtics won’t alter their strategy against Howard because as Rivers pointed out before the game, “Even my Marquette math tells me that two is better than three.”
Their main concern is always the 3-point line and after getting away with a few open misses in the first half, the Celtics completely shut down the arc in the second. The Magic took 24 attempts and made only three and there’s no way they’ll beat anyone shooting like that.
“Doc said to us after the Dallas game that if we don’t take the 3-point shot away from Orlando, we will get blown out,” Kevin Garnett said. “Plain and simple.”
Rivers called the effort, “Phenomenal.”
Credit Perkins with another strong effort against Howard, and credit Glen Davis as well with being the backup center they needed in this one.
THE CELTICS KEPT THEIR POISE
Without combing through the last three-plus years of box scores, it’s a fairly safe bet that the Celtics have never played a game in which the other team was assigned three technical fouls and they had none.
As always when these teams play, things were physical and chippy at times. Whether it’s Paul Pierce and Hedo Turkoglu knocking each other around or Perkins and Howard in the post, it’s almost a given that something will happen, and then escalate.
At one point, Garnett was sent flying into the basket support, but Rondo sprinted downcourt to get hold of him and made sure it stayed there. This was frankly refreshing after a week that has seen incident after incident – usually revolving around Garnett.
“We didn’t want to get caught up in all the antics,” Pierce said. “There was a lot of talking, a lot of pushing. Maybe a cheap-shot here, a cheap-shot there. We really didn’t want to get caught up in that today.”  
The Magic were clearly frustrated by the way the game was called and Stan Van Gundy noted the “BS out there took away our focus.” 
If the Magic were trying to show their toughness, the Celtics showed theirs by walking away.
MARQUIS DANIELS HAS A SPINAL CONDITION
There are fewer things more frightening in sports than when an athlete lays motionless. The only thing that truly mattered Sunday night was that Marquis Daniels was moving. “His arms, his legs,” Celtics president Danny Ainge said. “Everything is fine.”
But this was not some freak accident. The Celtics revealed after the game that Daniels has a pre-existing spinal condition.
“He’ll be out indefinitely,” said Dr. Brian McKeon, the team physician. “We’re getting all the tests done at New England Baptist [Hospital] and we’ll have more information for you [Monday.]”
McKeon said that this was not a concussion.
“It’s a bruised spinal cord,” he said. “This is the same type of neck injury that he had so it’s just a little bit worse. He’s [had] some spine issues in the past that have been addressed by other teams and so we’ll just have to see how it plays out in the next few days.”
Asked if this was related to the injury Daniels suffered in the playoffs against the Magic last year, McKeon said that it was. The best-case scenario, according to McKeon, is that Daniels is able to play again, but there’s no way of knowing that right now.
Ainge suggested that Daniels would be out for a month, or maybe two, but that’s a fluid estimate. “A lot of observation and time,” McKeon said when asked about treatment. “Just observation and time.”
In terms of basketball, this presents a big problem for the Celtics as Daniels is the only real small forward option behind Paul Pierce. That’s the furthest thing from their minds right now.
“Honestly I haven’t even thought about that part, the coping without him,” Rivers said. “It’s just scary, obviously.”