New Hall Of Famer Payton Names Rondo One Of Three True Point Guards

In case you missed it amidst all of your hand-wringing about your fantasy football fails and "pick 'em" faux pas, this little gem from newly minted Hall Of Fame Point Guard Gary "GP" Payton was reported by The Springfield Republican's Tom King via MassLive's Twitter feed:

Gary Payton, a 2013 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and one of the greatest point guards since the ABA/NBA merger, told reporters Saturday that there are only three point guards in the NBA today.

“We don’t really have point guards in the NBA now. We really have (shooting) guards – and that’s a fact,” Payton said. “I think there’s only three true point guards that play like point guards. I think Chris Paul is one, I think (Rajon) Rondo is one, and I think Tony Parker is the other.” 

Payton will be introduced at his enshrinement on Sunday by John Stockton, the NBA’s all-time assists leader. The nine-time NBA All-Star, known as “The Glove,” ranks eighth in career assists with 8,966.

“John Stockton was the hardest player for me to play against because he wouldn’t talk trash,” Payton said. “I could talk to Michael (Jordan) and maybe get under his skin a little, but Stockton never talked back.”

Coming from one of THE preeminent points the game has ever seen, particularly one who holds down the 8th spot all-time in assists, this ought to give Rondo-haters pause the next time they attempt to leave him off the list of top-three PG's (especially for the likes of Russell Westbrook or Derrick Rose!).

I've long argued that Rondo is one of the few true points left in the game (and have a running battle with friends about him being THE best today when one considers what the job of a PG is actually supposed to be -- hint: it's not to be the primary scorer), and GP's assessment will only serve to fuel the fire that rages within.

But, that's a post for another time.

For now, let's just take this little bit of love from The Glove, cherish #9 a little bit more and hope that he comes back soon.

Celtics Lose On Bull(sh*t) Shot In OT: 99-100

Okay, okay...that's just the sore loser in me speaking.

No, no it isn't...it WAS a bullsh** shot. But, still...the Celtics had every opportunity to win this one. We had Rondo in full-on "eat-your-children" mode almost winning this thing by his lonesome with 30 points on 12 of 21 shooting, 7 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals.

He HAD to be in B.E.A.S.T. mode with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett taking the floor in their pajamas squinting at the bright lights for the first half. Even with both of them picking it up in the second half, Pierce and Garnett shot a combined 10-33. Peeee-yeeewwww!

I suppose at this point it might be slightly instructive to mention that the C's were without the vaunted services of Resident Savior Avery Bradley due to a bruised rib, but against a team that has been playing without its best member in Derrick Rose and later losing certified Pierce-pounder Luol Deng to a tender hammy in the 3rd quarter, I hesitate to use this as an excuse. No...the Celtics could and should have won this game, and the cause of the loss can't be laid at Bradley's empty shoes, especially since he's only been back in the lineup for the past 8 games.

Leandro Barbosa, getting the start in Bradley's absence, was relatively ineffective and the rest of the bench managed just 25 points compared to the 36 points mustered by the Bulls' reserves.

The Chicago starters? Now that's a Bull of a different color. Carlos Boozer made his case for the All-Star reserve team loud and clear as he imitated a Bull in a green-glass China shop, rampaging his way to 19 points, 20 rebounds(!!!), 4 assists and a steal while Richard "Rip" Hamilton -- emerging from a rejuvenating hybrid bath of Rust-Oleum and CLR -- dropped 20 points on anyone who dared to look his way.

Joakim Noah poked, pushed and preened (yes..PREENED!) his way to 14 points, 13 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. Bench Mobsters Nate Robinson (10 points), Jimmy Butler (13 points) and Marco Belinelli (10 points, including a ludicrous squatting heave that sealed the win) gave the Bulls all the help they would need to take the lead in the season series, 2-1.

Notable things?

Well, how about Paul Pierce passing "The Chief" Robert Parish on the NBA's All-Time Scoring List for 22nd place with 23,342 points. And, who is that frantically adjusting his rear view mirror as the P2 Mack truck rapidly approaches? Why, it's old friend-turned-foe Ray Allen who sits at 23,355 points. It's only a matter of time, perhaps even this coming Sunday, before The Truth overtakes Jesus for 21st.

Speaking of Ray-Ray, how about Jason Terry transforming into "The Jet" down the stretch and nearly clutch 3-ing us to the win and, subsequently, a step closer to moving #20 further onto the other side of the glass of our memory's museum (thanks, Kanye!)?

And, what about Jared Sullinger, who notched 15 rebounds to go along with 7 points and 1 steal?

Ahhh well...I guess when you consider all of the times that Larry Bird executed his patented off-his-@$$-shot to stun some hapless also-ran, it's only karmatically reasonable that we're going to get caught on the other end from time-to-time.

Shake it off, C's fans. A rematch/revenge game with Detriot awaits on Sunday.

Box Score

Rondo Suspended, Winning Streak Isn't: Celtics Take Manhattan 102-96

If you tuned in to see tonight's big Atlantic matchup between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks, here is one thing you definitely did NOT see...

You didn't see it, of course, because the NBA suspended Rajon Rondo one game for brushing up against NBA Referee Rodney Mott during Saturday's game against the Atlanta Hawks. I won't waste too much space on this topic but to say that, while making any contact whatsoever with a league official is a definite no-no for any player, I believe that if said player were not Rondo and were, say, LeBron James or Derrick Rose we might not be talking about a suspension as much as a fine. Suffice it to say that Rondo had better be on his best behavior -- at least from a physical standpoint -- from here on in because he is now officially (pun somewhat intended) a marked man.

But, what's that you say? "No Rondo against the team with the best record in the Atlantic Division and second best in the Eastern Conference, fourth best in the entire League?" You say "no Rondo" and I say, "No matter." He may have been missing in action tonight, but the Knicks and Carmelo Anthony still wound up looking about as disturbed as he did in the opening picture.

Keeping it short and sweet (honestly...I have a long day tomorrow!), the Celtics continued to show that they are turning, if not screeching past, the corner at the end of the ugly block of basketball that they've played more often than not this season.

Avery Bradley, AKA "The Honey Badger," upon his return to this team four games ago has brought with him the defensive mojo that the Celtics had heretofore seemed to have left in last season's sock drawer.

How else to explain the mass hysteria that has overtaken the entire team, which now believes that their very lives depend on bending their knees and shuffling their feet side to side in an attempt to immobilize each and every opponent that dares to take the floor with them?

Okay...perhaps that was just a tad thickly laid, or maybe The Honey Badger is now even affecting my writing. But, the fact remains: These Celtics are playing some seriously inspired basketball. Whether it was Jeff Green's shadow job on Carmelo or Jared Sullinger's rugged interactions with center Tyson Chandler and Amare Stoudemire, which frustrated the New York players into physical overreactions, this is a completely different team than the one we saw on the West Coast just after Christmas.

Despite the fact that the Knicks were an amazing 43.8% on an astounding 32 attempts from Threeland, the Celtics hung in by rallying around their defense and also shooting 52.7% from 22-feet and in against New York's 40.8%, not to mention the thrashing that Boston gave the Knicks with respect to points in the paint,  40-28.

As I mentioned earlier, Jeff Green was phenomenal off the bench with 16 points on 5-10 shooting to go along with 6 rebounds and 3 assists; Sully was large on the defensive end and also put up 10 points, 5 boards and a block; Kevin Garnett was damn near dominant with great defense on almost the entire New York team and great scoring (19 points) and great rebounding (10 boards); and Courtney Lee and Leandro Barbosa were productive on both ends of the floor in Rondo's absence.

But, as it has almost since the day he first came into League, the night belonged to Paul "The Truth" Pierce. Pierce scored 23 points on 10-18 shooting -- and it felt like just about all of them were taken at critical junctures. He also played tight "D" against Carmelo for most of the night and picked up the distribution execution in Rondo's absence, racking up 6 assists for the team high (next to Jason Terry and Avery Bradley's 5 dimes apiece).

And, speaking of Bradley, he began finding his stroke against the Bigtown Apples, scoring 13 points on 6-11 shooting.

Now, do I think this team has reached its potential and that we're the new Beasts of the East? Certainly not. But, I DO think that it's making strides every day and will soon have teams saying (to paraphrase Coach Mark Jackson in his broadcaster days) "Mama, There Goes That Team Again!"

Next Up?: The Phoenix Suns.

Box Score

Tale Of The Tape