Injury Riddled Celtics Finding a Way to Win

    One of the biggest stories recently in the NBA has been the injury to Celtics PG Rajon Rondo. Everyone questioned just how well the Celtics could play without one of their star players. People questioned the teams ability, along with their heart. Even some of the Celtic faithful had their doubts.

Rajon Rondo is a big loss for the Celtics, no matter how you slice it.

    Why? Rondo was the Celtics' third leading scorer. He also led the league in assists per game (11.1) and triple doubles (5). He actually still leads the league in these two categories, despite missing eight games. But more importantly, Rondo is the team's floor general - their leader. He's one of the smartest players in the game, and consistently finds ways to exploit defenses. Although some people aren't crazy about his style of play, whether it be his flashiness or what some people have called "the Rondo show," its hard to argue with his production on the court. So hard to argue that just about every single basketball analyst in America wrote the Celtics off after hearing the news of his injury.
    The Celtics have, however, proven that there is life after Rondo - winning seven of their last eight games in a row. They finally ran out of gas last night against the lowly Bobcats on the second night of a back-to-back stint. The previous night was a triple overtime victory over the Nuggets in which four players (Garnett, Bradley, Green, and Terry) played over 40 minutes, along with SF Paul Pierce playing a staggering 54 minutes. Overall, in the eight games since Rondo was injured in Atlanta, the Celtics have scored an average of 103 points per game and allowed 95 points per game. They have also shot 50% or better from the field in four of those eight games. The C's have shown a ton of heart, and have been playing
great team basketball. Every analyst is singing their praises.

    Despite the success that the team has had without Rondo, there have been two more nasty curve balls thrown their way. The first was the injury to rookie PF Jared Sullinger, just days after the injury to Rondo. He left the game against Sacramento with back spasms, and two days later had season ending back surgery. The negative here is that Sully led the Celtics in plus/minus (+42) and rebound rate. He actually ranked 21st overall in the league in rebound rate, over guys such as Al Jefferson and Roy Hibbert. That means the rest of the team has some big shoes to fill in the rebounding department, in which the Celtics rank 29th in the league. The positive side here is that although he will miss the rest of this season, Sully's chronic back issues will now be permanently fixed. That's a good sign for the future.
    The other curve ball came in last night's game in Charlotte. PG Leandro Barbosa left the game in the third quarter with a knee injury. While there will be no official word until after the MRI is done today, Kevin Garnett told reporters last night that Barbosa's injury was going to be season ending. If this proves to be true, this is a pretty big blow to the Celtics, as they will now have no true point guard on the roster. The aggressive style of play that Barbosa provided without Rondo will definitely be missed. The Celtics will likely explore the D-League and free agency to try and find an adequate replacement for the position. With only 10 healthy players on the roster now, there isn't much the team can afford to do trade-wise at this time. I wouldn't be surprised to hear Delonte West's name come up once again in the search.
     The good news for the Celtics is that tomorrow night's home game against Chicago is the last game before the All-Star break. This will give the team plenty of time to rest, the older guys especially need it right now, and it will also give the team some time to figure out what the next move will be in replacing some of these key parts. The Celtics currently sit as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoff standings, and if they continue to play the way they have been recently they will be a big threat in the Eastern Conference playoffs - even to Miami. No matter how the season pans out for this team, you can count on one thing: the Celtics won't go down without a fight. This team has shown that they have the heart and the will to succeed through adversity. That, and they clearly have a ton of Celtic pride.