One Arm More Harm than Good?

Rajon Rondo is a Boston Celtic in every sense of the word. Pridefull and courageous with a belief in brotherhood. His valiant effort in this playoff series has drawn praise from all around the league. Celtic lovers and haters! As the Celtics now face a 3-1 deficit against a Miami team that finally figured out how to beat them in a close game, Doc Rivers finds himself with a difficult question going into Game 5. Does he play Rajon Rondo in crunch time? The answer to that question at the end of Game 4 was a shocking NO. That decision has already left Doc unsettled and unsure.

"Yeah you know guys, listen, I don't know what the right call was," said Rivers in the post game press conference. "He struggled getting the ball, the guys in their right spots. I loved his defense for the most part." Doc later added "We needed more scoring on the floor, that was the main reason we did it."


But would Rivers do it again? Rondo missed a lay-up in the closing seconds at the end of regulation in Game 4 that would have given the Celtics an 86-84 lead. The fact is Rondo missed that lay-up as he drove right on his non-injured arm. He just missed it, it happens. The injury was not the cause of the miss nor was it the single reason Boston lost, but skeptics think that Rivers looked at that play as a reason to sit Rondo most of the overtime period.

If Rondo is unable to attack, finish, and cause havoc defensively with his lightning quick hands then Rivers indeed may look elsewhere should the situation pose itself again. That said an injured Rondo is still better than 90% of the point guards in the league and certainly better than any floor general the Heat have to counter with. Either way Rondo is going to play and be valiant in his effort. Lets hope that Doc makes the right decision. Better yet lets hope the Celtics have a double digit lead in the closing minutes and it becomes a mute point all together.