The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.

Sweet knee pads,Chief.

Gerry Callahan, Boston Herald – “But you know what Bird never did? This. What we’re watching the Celtics do right now, before our eyes, in this surreal spring of 2010. He never took you on the kind of magical mystery ride that Doc Rivers’ team is enjoying as we speak. [...] These Celtics already have eliminated the top two teams in the regular season. The Cavs won 61 games, and now their coach, Mike Brown, is on the street. The Magic won 59, and now they’re feeling as good about themselves as British Petroleum. This Green team is blowing holes in entire franchises. If LeBron James leaves Cleveland as expected, he always will remember what happened in his final game in front of the hometown fans. The Celtics beat him, and the fans booed him. Unlike Brown, Stan Van Gundy will survive in Orlando, but there is a casualty list just the same: On it are the reputations of erstwhile stars Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis. The Celtics didn’t beat them. They ruined them. The Keyser Soze Celts have destroyed many things in this postseason, including the old axiom that the best player usually wins in the NBA. Not this year. The team with the best player just keeps going home while the team with the toughest players moves on.”

Dave McMenamin, ESPN Los Angeles – “Bynum suffered a slight tear of the meniscus of his right knee in Game 6 against the Thunder and has been limited in the playoffs, averaging 9.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 24.2 minutes per game while recovering from a late-season strain to his left Achilles and navigating the pain and swelling that accompanied the right knee injury. ‘It was just getting worse,’ Bynum said after the Lakers film session in preparation for the Celtics on Monday. ‘The swelling wasn’t leaving so we had to do it … I was doing the treatment, but [the swelling] wasn’t going anywhere like in the previous three rounds so I just had to drain it.’ Bynum said he could not feel any immediate benefit from the drain because there was still medicine in the knee numbing the pain, but said he would find out if the procedure had a positive impact Wednesday, when he plans to return to practice. ‘It supposedly will make you feel more healthy, so that I’ll find out come practice day,” Bynum said. “I think that practice is going to be what kind of determines that for me, especially because I’ll be running on it and cutting and it will be a full, hard day.’ The procedure did wonders for Bryant, who described the draining as having “the nasty stuff sucked out of my knee.” Bryant averaged 24 points on 38.4 percent shooting in the first four games against the Thunder before having his knee drained and has been on a tear ever since, averaging 31.3 points on 51.5 percent shooting in his last 12 games.”

Rob Bradford, WEEI – “Speaking on the Planet Mikey Show Monday night, KTLA’s Ted Green said that he should ‘probably apologize for’ the line he wrote referencing Paul Pierce’s stabbing in his column for the LA Times. Green wrote of Pierce that the Celtics star’s ‘idea of a fun night is going clubbing and getting stabbed. Good times!’ ‘That one was something I probably should apologize for. That one was not only too close to the line, but maybe over,’ Green said. ‘The truth is I think Paul Pierce is a very, very good player. A Hall of Fame caliber player. I probably shouldn’t have gone to the stabbing card.’”

Mike Petraglia, WEEI – “Rivers was told by more than one member of the recently-excused Phoenix Suns that if you plan on carrying through with the directive of Celtics fans everywhere, you better bring your hard hats and be prepared to rebound against the defending NBA champs. That, of course, means being physical and not backing down. That also means that Kendrick Perkins needs to play with perfectly-controlled fury or risk his seventh technical foul, bringing with it an automatic one-game suspension. ‘Our talks [with Perkins] haven’t worked yet, so maybe I should have another one,’ Rivers said. ‘I’m concerned by it, honestly. What I’m concerned by with this is that it’s going to be a physical series. There’s going be guys that get tangled up under the basket, and there are going to be officials who are going to want to clean the game up. Perk may be in that. And the double technical — that’s why I’ve been on the double technical thing for a month now. This double technical thing should not be part of the seven techs, it really shouldn’t be. But it is and it’s a factor. And I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a factor in this series.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “Rivers, four wins away from his second NBA title in three years, is more in the conversation than ever on the subject of the league’s great coaches. Paul Pierce certainly has his coach ranked high on the list. ‘I put him right up there,’ the Celtics captain said. ‘This is the only coach I ever want to play for again. He’s taken my career to the next level. He’s got to be up there with the top five coaches. You have to say Phil (Jackson), Gregg Popovich, he’s right there with them.’ Asked about Rivers’ deliberations about leaving the Celtics following the season, Pierce, who has an option on his own contract, joked, ‘I haven’t really thought about that. Are they concerned I might leave? That’s stuff for after the season.’”

Lisa Dillman, LA Times – “One of the lines of questioning with Pierce had to do with Rivers’ stabilizing force as coach, the ability to stay unruffled when things were at their darkest for the Celtics in an injury-riddled second half of the season. ‘You can see, at times, you play for coaches when things aren’t going right,’ Pierce said. ‘Practices get harder and yelling becomes louder. Doc is a cool customer. He didn’t panic. He didn’t get louder. He just stuck with the game plan. A lot of times when you go through a stretch we went through — we lost five games out of six, seven out of 10, you kind of tell through a coach’s body language that things are going [poorly] … you never really saw that with Doc.’”

Dan Ventura, Boston Herald – “Dwyane Wade and the Heat wilted in five games. LeBron James was so demoralized by the Celtics, he didn’t even reach the Cavs’ locker room before ripping off his jersey following the decisive Game 6. Magic center Dwight Howard and his renowned elbows were shipped back to Orlando after falling 4-2 in the Eastern Conference finals. As impressive as those conquests have been, there is a bigger obstacle standing between the Celtics and their quest for Banner 18 – Kobe Bryant. The Lakers guard enters the NBA Finals on a high note, having poured in 37 points in a 111-103 victory against the Phoenix Suns in the decisive Game 6 on Saturday night. Every time the Suns threatened to come back in the fourth quarter, there was Bryant responding with one contested bucket after another. ‘Watching that ending in Phoenix, I don’t know how those shots go in,’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. ‘But because it’s him, you didn’t even think it was a bad shot. It’s just what he does.’”

Shira Springer, Boston Globe – “‘We’re a different team,’ said Bryant, when pressed for comparisons between the group that lost to the Celtics and the one looking to defend its title. ‘[The 2008 Finals] really taught us what it takes to win in terms of rebounding, the energy, the intensity you have to play with.’ Added Odom: ‘Sometimes it’s crazy how the stars align and bring you to moments in your life. We have a chance to make history.’ Although Bryant kept his answers brief, Jackson acknowledged the Lakers star may have taken the 2008 Finals loss more personally. ‘He devotes so much of his life to this game,’ said Jackson. ‘It really does take an inordinate amount of time in his daily life. It’s not a pastime to him. This is a devotion, not just an avocation. When you throw yourself into it as deeply as he does, all those things count a little bit more.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “Paul Pierce was walking his dog in a crosswalk, and they saw each other. The Lakers coach, not completely satisfied with the 2009 NBA title his team won at the expense of the Orlando Magic – a matchup Pierce likened in a memorable tweet to a poodle fighting a German shepherd – still wanted another shot at the 2008 champs. So Jackson told Pierce to get his team back together for the 2010 rematch. Pierce laughed yesterday at the news Jackson now is sharing this story with people. ‘Anytime you lose in a championship game, that’s something you can’t forget,’ the Celtics captain said. ‘You’re talking about the biggest stage. I played in a lot of championship games in AAU when we lost those games. It hurt more. You probably would rather lose earlier than in a championship game when you come so close. I know it’s something that sticks in their mind. They only play for championships, and they only hang championship banners. It hurts not only the Lakers, but the Boston Celtics.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “From the outside looking in, Artest is the perfect fit. ‘He makes a difference,’ said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. ‘I think that’s the one thing that’s been overlooked all year for them. I’ve heard all year how Artest doesn’t fit, hasn’t fit, and I’m thinking, he’s been perfect, because it’s allowed Kobe not to have to guard the best player every night. I think it’s clear, you can see it in Kobe’s offensive numbers, He’s as fresh as I’ve ever seen him in the playoffs and I think it’s due to Ron Artest. So that’s where he’s been perfect for them.’ Pierce’s playoff battles with Artest go back to 2003 when the Celtics bounced the Pacers in the first round. Pierce averaged 25.8 points in the six-game series, but his respect for Artest went without saying. ‘He’s one of the best defenders I’ve ever played against, and he takes pride in that,’ Pierce said. ‘Just being able to lock down opponents night in, night out. We’ve had some battles and it’ll be a tough challenge.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “The Lakers would have loved another clash with the Celtics a year ago. Some believe the Celtics would have made it happen had it not been for Kevin Garnett’s season-ending knee injury. ‘It’s driven all of us,’ said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. ‘We didn’t have that opportunity last year. The Lakers won, but we didn’t have that opportunity. Honestly, we weren’t playing that great anyway when we were not injured. But now we’re a little different than that team. The starting five is the same, but we have a different bench, we have different guys and so do they.’ For Pierce, who grew up watching the Lakers, the matchup is only right. ‘I want to go there and try to win a championship in my hometown again,’ Pierce said. ‘Just the rivalry period. Just the motivation of being in the championship. So many things motivate you for being in the Finals. I can just pretty much put all the things in a hat and pick one.’”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “The Celtics have won nine of 11 NBA Finals against the Lakers, making this not so much a rivalry as a domination. In the golden era of fantasy sports, when all-time teams can be pitted against each other via video screens, the Globe decided to match the 15 top Celtics and Lakers from those 11 Finals to see who would win a seven-game series. That’s Bob Cousy vs. Magic Johnson. Bill Russell vs. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Paul Pierce vs. Elgin Baylor. And before we begin, this is just players who faced the Lakers or Celtics in a Finals, so that leaves out Dave Cowens for the Celtics and Shaquille O’Neal for the Lakers.”

Andy Kamenetzky, ESPN Los Angeles – “When Ron joined the Lakers last July, it was with the unabashed goal of winning a ring. Dude mentioned this every possible chance. He’s now four wins away from getting fitted for jewelry, but ironically less willing to even fathom the moment. “I’m not looking that far ahead,” maintained Artest. I asked if the championship possibility is almost too real now, sitting right in front of him as opposed to a goal off in the distance. He offered an interesting analogy: ‘You set the goal. I guess it’s like when you’re cooking food, you buy the ingredients. You know what you want to make. I guess we’re cooking right now. It’s still cooking.’”

Jessica Camerato, WEEI – “When Ortiz met Davis at Josh Beckett’s charity bowling event during Davis’ rookie year, he was surprised to learn the “humongous dude” was actually one of the newest members of the Celtics. The two shared a brief conversation, one that has stood out in Ortiz’s mind for years. ‘He said, ‘I’m trying to work hard because I want to be one of them. I want people to remember me in this city as a great player, and I’m working hard to get to it,’” Ortiz recalled. ‘So I said, ‘Keep on doing what you’re doing and you’re going to be just fine.” Davis’ ambition reminded Ortiz of his own. As Ortiz listened to the young athlete, he was taken back to the time when he was an eager ballplayer who had just been traded from the Minnesota Twins to the Red Sox. He remembered how anxious he was to put his stamp on Boston, the same sense of excitement Davis exuded. ‘That’s the reason exactly why he caught my attention a lot,’ Ortiz said. ‘I remember when I first got here with the Red Sox coming from Minnesota and there’s nothing but history and great players around. I remember my agent telling me, ‘If you go to this city and play well and help the team to win a World Series, they’re going to remember you forever.’ And I busted my tail off just to do that because it was my goal. Now watching him doing the same thing, it brings me highlights and memories back.’”

Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.

Mo is one of the keys to Game Three... just like he is to every game this series.

Game Three is hugely important. How important, exactly?  The winner of Game Three in a tied series wins the series 76% of the time.  That important.

The Celtics can either seize control and continue the momentum they earned in Game Two, or lose it and see Lebron and the Cavs regain homecourt advantage and show that perhaps Game Two was a fluke.  The Celtics can keep their nice run of good play going, or they can cough up their lead and give the Cavs all the confidence in the world.  It all comes down to Game Three.

I don’t have much time, so I can’t give a full preview.

Here are a few keys, though:

• Keep Ray Allen going – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  When Ray gets hot tie games turn into solid leads and solid leads turn into blowouts. Not a bad weapon to have in your corner.
• Lebron might go off – Lebron James is the world’s greatest basketball player.  He also just listened to three days of everyone on earth talk about his elbow as if he’s damaged goods.  After being completely limited in Game Two, I expect a big, big game out of James in Game Three.  The Celtics, as they usually do, better throw a lot of attention his way.
• Limit Mo Williams – As Mo Williams goes, so goes the Cavs?  It certainly seems that way so far.  When he went off briefly in Game One, the Cavs surged into the lead and went on to win.  Other than his brief spell of greatness in the opener, Williams might as well have spent Games One and Two in a hotel room… and the Cavs have been dominated.  Defending Mo isn’t all that tough — just don’t let him shoot — but when he gets hot he tends to get roasting.
• Hope Mike Brown doesn’t make the right adjustments – If Brown went to a lineup with Lebron at the four spot, how do you think the Celtics would respond?  Yeah, that’s what I thought.  They’d be crippled.  KG wouldn’t be able to defend anyone on the court.  Plus, that small lineup wouldn’t hurt Cleveland all that much defensively.  If I’m Brown, I’m going small early and often and forcing Boston to match up.

*****

Required Reading:

• NBA.com’s Steve Aschburner speaks on Kevin Garnett. Garnett doesn’t like partying on the road… and loves his mother dearly. (“‘I just slipped the kid some money,’ the coach told me [of Garnett]. ‘He sent his per-diem [meal money] back to his mother. I don’t think he’s going to make it.’ Later that night, most of the players went to a sports bar/gentlemen’s club to watch the last Riddick Bowe-Evander Holyfield fight. Garnett wasn’t among them. He wasn’t old enough to get in, yeah, but it also was a pattern to be repeated for the next 15 years: The road as business trip.”)
• Peter May talks to Bob Cousy about Rajon Rondo. Cousy LOVES Rondo. (“‘I’ve been watching the Celtics for the last 50 years,” said Cousy, who retired in 1963 but made a brief, forgettable comeback as a player-coach with Omaha-Kansas City in 1969. ‘And Rondo is the first point guard since moi that I’ve been really excited about. Bird excited you, but he wasn’t a point guard. JoJo [White] wasn’t a point guard. He’s the first since moi to get my attention.’ [...] ‘What more can this kid do? He sees the floor extremely well,” Cousy said. ‘He’s even starting to put what my old coach, Doggie Julian, would call a little French pastry on a play, going behind the back. The kid is only 24. People talk about the Big Three. But this is the Big One. The sky is the limit as far as I can see.’”)

The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.

The Celtics could probably use Eddie House right about now. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Henry Abbott, ESPN – “Boston Celtics guard Nate Robinson was benched for two games near the end of the regular season, and it cost him $1 million, while saving the team twice that amount. A clause in Robinson’s contract calls for him to make a $1 million bonus if he both played in at least 58 games and made the playoffs this season. Robinson’s Celtics are in the postseason but he played in 56 games. As a result, the Celtics saved the $1 million they would have paid Robinson — equivalent to a quarter of his reported annual salary — and an additional $1 million they would have owed in luxury tax to the NBA (most of which would have been distributed to teams with payrolls below the luxury tax threshold).”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “Rivers was asked if Wallace was mentally into it during the season. ‘I don’t know,’ Rivers said. ‘I guess. With his play, you can say not. To me, I’m not going to go there. How does that benefit me? I’m into (tomorrow night’s) Game 3. So you can answer it any way you want to. Did he play as well as we wanted him to? No. But can he do anything about that? No. All he can do is what the next game gives him.’”

Brian Windhorst, Cleveland Plain Dealer – “The news on the Cavs Wednesday was positive. Varejao’s back spasms improved after two days rest and there is a good chance he’ll be able to take part in practice Thursday. Also, despite the initial plans for James to have another MRI on his sore right elbow, he hasn’t needed the test yet. Despite contrary reports, James has only had one MRI on his elbow to this point, though team doctors may perform another one to check on the healing process.”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “Said his coach, Doc Rivers: ‘He deserves it. He’s worked at it and it’s a great honor for him. He took it in stride. I love the way he took it, because you could tell he’s far more focused on the playoffs. Listen, when you’re in the first team in our league on anything, it’s a hell of an honor. He’s doing better than scratching (the surface). He’s so much better. It’s so rare when a point guard can affect a game, and Rondo has the ability defensively to do that.’”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “Garnett reported to practice yesterday and wanted to partici pate, telling Rivers he felt better, but that did not convince the coach. Perkins suited up but did not participate in drills and eventually left for treatment. He returned to the court following the team’s workout and said he will be ready for Game 3 tomorrow. ‘After the game Monday it was hurting, and even more when I woke up the next morning,’ Perkins said. ‘It’s still a little sore in my hamstring area. I am glad we had a few days to rest and hopefully I’ll practice tomorrow. I’ll be ready for Friday. I am glad we have a few days to rest.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “‘(Garnett) said he felt way better today than he did yesterday,’ Rivers added. ‘I think time’s on our side. I think he’ll be OK.’ At this stage, though, a little gallows humor is in order. ‘As a coaching staff, we (joked) when (trainer Eddie Lacerte) walked in that he’s the Grim Reaper,’ Rivers said. ‘That’s what we call him whenever he walks in because he doesn’t come to my office to tell me any good news. Right when he walked in, we were like, ‘Oh, gosh.’ He told us and I said this is just like a normal practice, not enough guys. That’s the way it’s been all year for us.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “Especially now that Perkins has a sore knee. But after some momentary brooding in the first round over an inability to finish, the Celtics center once again has come around to who he is, and who he isn’t. ‘If I’m not scoring one bucket I’m going to be effective in the game, whether it’s rebounding, having a presence in the defensive end, whatever it may be I’m going to have an impact,’ he said. ‘There’s different ways to affect a game than just scoring.’ How long did Perkins allow his first-round offensive struggles to affect his spirit? ‘For a minute,’ Perkins said. ‘But after that, you know, it happens.’”

Tony Massarotti, Boston Globe – “Add it all up and you’ll determine that Rondo has had a direct hand in 112 of the 197 points the Celtics have scored in this series. And that is a safe, conservative estimate. Undoubtedly, there have been occasions in this series where Rondo’s wizardry has produced free throws or additional passes that produced hoops. Somewhere in the middle of this, Danny Ainge is undoubtedly smiling, and not solely because Rondo was selected after such luminaries as Patrick O’Bryant, Mouhamed Sene, Thabo Sefolosha and, for that matter, Shelden Williams in the 2006 NBA Draft. Even in the last year, Rondo’s stock has continued to soar, making that five-year, $55 million contract signed by Rondo last summer look like the biggest steal the Celtics have executed since Bird suckered Isiah in May 1987. The best part? Rondo has yet to even start that deal, which begins next season. Meanwhile, during a season in which he has displaced Bob Cousy from the Celtics record book, he continues to develop as a dynamic and dominating force that will guide the Celtics for years to come.”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said Wednesday that he regretted tossing a towel into the air to try to distract Cavaliers forward J.J. Hickson’s free throw attempt in Boston’s victory in Monday’s Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series. ‘I regret that. That was very unprofessional,’ Ainge said during an interview on Boston sports radio station WEEI. ‘I was having fun with the hecklers and the crowd that was sitting around me. … There’s just no excuse. It was unprofessional. I regret doing it. The biggest reason I regret it is you guys should be talking about the great play of the Celtics and not talking about a towel incident. I’m shocked that it’s become this big a deal.’ [...] Celtics coach Doc Rivers and his players simply laughed off the attention being given to the situation. ‘Comical,’ said Rivers. ‘I didn’t know about it, honestly. I was up in my bedroom doing my work and my cell phone kept ringing, over and over again… When I saw it, I got a good laugh and giggle out of it. Danny’s going back to his playing days. It’s pretty comical.’”

Marla Ridenour, Akron Beacon Journal – “And while there seem to be woes aplenty on the Cavs’ side, including James’ sore right elbow and Anderson Varejao’s back spasms, [Shaquille] O’Neal cannot escape scrutiny. The 15-time All-Star has played nearly 39 minutes against the Celtics and has 20 points, eight rebounds and no blocked shots to show for it. Those combined totals would be barely above his single-game playoff averages as recently as three years ago, when O’Neal scored 18.8 points and pulled in 8.5 rebounds in four games for the Miami Heat. ‘We know, he knows he can shoot better,’ Cavs coach Mike Brown said Tuesday. ‘He hasn’t had a ton of opportunity. But we’re going to keep going to the big fella, because he’s going to have to be able to score some points down there to loosen it up for the rest of our guys. We need to establish a post game against Boston, and he’s one of the guys who can do it for us.’”

Steve Aschburner, NBA.com – “Telfair agrees that the ultimate goal is playing for a ring, at which the Cavaliers have a tremendous shot. Thing is, he’d like to play for that ring. ‘This is the first time in my career I’m being inactive. So there’s an adjustment to that,’ he said. ‘But y’know, I’m in the playoffs. I could have been home. So I’m excited about that.’ Telfair did get healthy in time to participate in four games for Cleveland near the end of the regular season. He scored 21 points against Indiana in the final week as the regulars mostly rested. In practice, he has been able to push Mo Williams, Delonte West and Daniel Gibson, and even has tried to play the Derrick Rose-Rajon Rondo role in the team’s prep work. Cavs big man Leon Powe, Telfair’s teammate in Boston, said: ‘Bassy’s looked real good in practice. Great floor general. He reads the defense well. Knows where everybody’s supposed to be at, like a good point guard should. Makes real good passes, right on target, and can get in the paint and cause trouble. And his shot got a lot better. I knew him from way back in the day and now he’s hitting the three, hitting the mid-range jumper. Y’know, he’s just been working. I was really impressed when I played with him in practice.’”

Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.

Rondo was great. Most other Celtics, well, weren't.

Thirteen seconds remained in a game the Boston Celtics had already let slip through their fingers.  Still trailing by only three points, the Celtics ran an intricate out-of-bounds play using Paul Pierce as a decoy while Michael Finley spotted up in the corner.  As Finley let loose the potentially game-tying shot, the whistle blew: Kendrick Perkins had been called for a  foul.

The moving screen was the final straw that broke the Celtics’ backs, but the Celtics lost the game far before Perkins hip-checked Chase Budinger.  A little effort, at all, all game long, was all it would have taken to defeat a broken-down Houston Rockets club.  Decimated by injuries to the point that Chase Budinger and Jermaine Taylor — both soon coming to a summer league roster near you — were in the starting lineup, the Rockets nonetheless outlasted Boston in the Boston Garden.  For the second straight game, the Celtics were out-executed down the stretch, at home, by a far less-experienced team.  Losing at home has been a malady that has harmed Boston all season, but losing close games to young teams is even more troubling.

With time running down as the Celtics nursed a three-point lead in the fourth quarter, and Aaron Brooks dribbling aimlessly at the top of the key, it looked like Boston would escape with the win.  But the Celtics didn’t deserve to win, and Brooks’ step-back three-pointer barely evaded the outstretched hand of Tony Allen, snapping through the nets and knotting the score at 109.  Boston would have another chance, but Paul Pierce — despite being defended by burly center Chuck Hayes — isolated and settled for a pullup jumper, drawing only iron and keeping the Rockets alive for overtime.

Rajon Rondo (23 points, 10 assists, 5 steals) led the way for the Celtics, dazzling with an array of points, assists and steals, in the process passing Bob Cousy for the Celtics’ single-season assists record.  Paul Pierce notched 27 points, but scoring while Chase Budinger defends you is like riding a bike with the training wheels on — anyone can do it.  Kendrick Perkins was good, registering 15 points, but had only five rebounds for a Celtics squad that was outrebounded by the Rockets’ crew of Mighty Midgets.  Rasheed Wallace (11 points, 8 rebounds) and Tony Allen (12 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals) were both dynamic off the bench, supplying energy for a team that rarely displayed any on a night that should be remembered as one of the two or three worst losses the C’s have had this season.

Only for a short stretch, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, did the Celtics look poised to piece together a solid win.  Ironically, against a Rockets team playing mostly unwanted retreads, it took a lineup of benchwarmers for the Celtics to finally seize control.  Tony Allen, Michael Finley, Shelden Williams, and Rasheed Wallace — all unwanted by either coaches and/or fans within the past month – combined with Rajon Rondo to form a five-man crew that put together a 15-4 run, giving Boston a 98-91 lead and apparent command. 

But the command was short-lived, as the Rockets clawed back into the game and, eventually, snatched the lead.  Give the Rockets credit, for battling as an undermanned team on the road, but the Celtics deserved every boo that rained down from the Boston Garden crowd as the loss became final.

The eyes are always looking up.

Rajon Rondo will set another record tonight… and if he doesn’t, blame me.

Sitting just one assist shy of the single-season Celtics record (Rondo has 714, Cousy 715), Rondo will break the record tonight with his second assist.  Considering he’s had at least 3 assists in every game this season, and is averaging 9.8 dimes, it’s a fair bet to say Rondo — barring injury — will break the record tonight.  Of course, if he gets injured, it’s because of my jinx.  I know the basketball gods hate it when a blogger for Celtics Town predicts a record will be broken.

You and I are probably more excited about the record than Rajon.  He seems completely disinterested in hijacking Cousy’s 50-year old record. You’d think reaching a mark like that would mean a lot, but not to Rondo.

“It may mean more to me once I retire or I am away from here,” he said. “I am just focused on winning.”

And his assists, court sense, and everything else he does out there on the hardwood, are helping the Celtics do just that.

Rondo does some things every night that surprise even himself. (Photo by Brian Babineau/Getty Images)

When Rajon Rondo is on top of his game, everything comes down to yo-yo’s.

The game’s like a yo-yo in his hands. The ball’s like a yo-yo in his fingertips. He can walk the dog, put it around the world, even rock the baby. When Rondo’s yo-yo’ing around, the game is his. Everyone else is too slow. No opponent can keep up. It’s like he’s a grown man on a playground with little kids, only the little kids are all taller and stronger than he. But they aren’t faster, they don’t have better court vision, and they aren’t in control. They don’t have the game at their fingertips. Not like Rondo does.

“I would just take Rondo,” Doc Rivers said when asked who he’d choose if he had his choice of one point guard. “I wouldn’t even look at another point guard. There are some great point guards in the league, we’ve seen a couple of them the last two games, in Deron Williams and Chauncey Billups. But we have Rondo and he’s my guy.”

It hasn’t always been that way. Three seasons ago, he backed up Sebastian Telfair as Boston stumbled to a 24-58 season. Even two seasons ago, Rondo was the weak link in the Celtics’ starting five. Sam Cassell was signed midway through the season as a backup point guard, and the hope was that Cassell would play well enough to supplant Rondo as an end-of-game option. It didn’t work out. Cassell flopped, launching brick after brick, losing Doc’s confidence along the way. But that didn’t mean Rondo’s job of closing out games was safe. When push came to shove, and the Celtics needed to close out playoff wins, Eddie House often heard his number called.

Last season was different. Rondo emerged as one of the league’s up-and-coming stars with a breakout postseason. Paired against Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose and then a hungry Orlando defense, Rondo alerted the world what he’s always believed, in that self-confident heart of his: Number Nine will eat you alive. He dropped 16.9 points, 9.8 assists, and 9.7 rebounds per game, as he wrestled control of the Celtics from the two Big Three members standing. It wasn’t so much that there was a struggle for power, so much that Rondo seized it with little resistance. The conch was his, and he earned it the right way: By outplaying whatever opponent stood in front of him.

But there were rumbles of discontent. Rondo was fined for being late to a playoff game. He was labeled a troublemaker in the locker room, a disruptive force. “We need him to be more of a leader,” said Danny Ainge at the time. “He’s got to grow up in some cases.” Bob Ryan wrote, “He’s not some awful person, but let’s just say he has his ways, and he sometimes grates on teammates, coaching staff, and management.” Part of the solution on the floor, Rondo was deemed a problem off it.

Ainge looked into trading the young star in the offseason. His name was involved in rumors with the Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies, among other teams. Less than two months after being a nightly triple-double, Rondo was unsure if he’d ever play another game as a Celtic.

Not that it affected his preparation. After draft night passed and Ainge hadn’t pulled the trigger on any trades, it became clear that Rondo would stay with the only NBA organization he’d ever played for. Did he harbor grudges? Not on the surface, at least. Instead of pouting during the offseason, Rondo put on 11 pounds of muscle. Rather than fire back at Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers verbally, Rondo kept his mouth shut and returned to camp a different player. Scratch that, a different teammate. Where others might have rebelled at the criticisms, Rondo took them to heart. He changed his ways. He remodeled himself to be better for his team.

And it showed on the court. From day one this season, Rondo has been the Celtics’ leader. With his play, with his words, everything. “It’s weird,” Nate Robinson said of Rondo’s role on the team. “You’ve got Rondo running the show, you’ve got KG, and he’s a vet. It’s like you got a guy out here, young guy, running the show, and the vets and everybody are just listening and just try to play together.” The team that tried to get rid of him, now listening to his orders. The locker room he once disrupted, heeding his advice.

Boston rewarded his new attitude and improved play with a 5-year, $55 million contract extension. The NBA recognized him as an All-Star. He just broke Rick Fox’s Celtics single-season record for steals, and will soon erase Bob Cousy’s Celtics single-season assists record. With those two records, Rondo’s evolving maturity, and elite rebounding rarely seen from a point guard, Rondo’s season is one of the best a point guard has compiled in the Celtics’ storied history. Right there with Cousy’s prime years.

“[Rondo has] grown up before everybody’s eyes,” said Garnett, who has always contended that Rondo could become one of the league’s top point guards. “You want your point guard setting the tone every night. You want your point guard leading [you]. It’s great to watch because I’ve seen him when he was quiet, hiding in the corner, didn’t say two words. Sometimes we sort of miss that.”

Garnett’s only kidding about missing the old Rajon Rondo, the one who used to hide in the corner, come late to games, and scrape only the surface of his vast potential. That Rondo isn’t coming back. A maturation process has left a new Rondo, a better Rondo, a Rondo prepared to carry his team into tomorrow, and lead them today.

The wild thing about his evolution, the scary part for the rest of the NBA, is that Rondo will only get better. He’s improved by leaps and bounds every year, in every aspect. Each night, the team falls a little more into his control, as he continues the process of receiving the torch from the Big Three. The Boston Celtics aren’t yet completely his, but they will be.

And when they are, the Celtics will be in good hands.

Just like the yo-yo attached to his fingertips.