We Need More Rondo in the First Quarter

Whomever Doc hired to choreograph the Celtics' games this year is doing a good job, especially to start the games, because they all play out almost identically. The Celtics' starters come out listless, bored, uninterested. They fall behind quickly, playing like they're all over 40 years of age. The second team is inserted, and the deficit is closed just as quickly, and pretty soon the lead is reclaimed for good, at which point, typically, the rout is on. In more grade-school terms, it might be spelled out something like this: Snooooooooooore. Then, BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

If we really are as good as we think we are, this is probably understandable. Why expend energy to start the game when you don't have to? One answer to this question might be that we don't want to develop bad habits. Assuming this answer has any merit, please let me make a suggestion.

We need more Rondo in the first quarter. We need him driving to the hoop, driving through the lane, and otherwise wreaking havoc on the court. This usually fires up his teammates at best, and awakens them from their slumber at worst. He is the quarterback of the team after all, and a very rich one now, I might add. He increasingly looks like a player who can dominate stretches of games by simply flipping a switch.

When you have lightening in a bottle, it's tempting to save it for when you need it. But just for a change of pace, how about if we uncork it to start a game now and then?