With his side at 13-13, at the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference, a desperate Rajon Rondo signifies the impact Avery Bradley’s return is going to make on his return...
Deep into the second half of last season, Boston Celtics suffered a major setback when their star shooting guard Ray Allen suffered an ankle problem and had to be sidelined for a major chunk of games. They were expected to struggle
during the stretch that followed, but that never happened. And the lone reason for that was one Avery Bradley, the second year guard.
Bradley formed a perfect back court partnership with Rajon Rondo, with his sublime defence allowing the star point guard to concentrate more on offence. The impact was so great that even when Allen became fully fit, he was used
as a relief to Bradley. What happened with Allen and the C’s afterwards has been documented in detail, but all that highlighted the importance which Rivers and his team attach with Bradley.
Bradley’s season was cut short with surgeries on both his shoulders, and to shore up the back court, Boston added fourth year guard Courtney Lee, veteran Jason Terry and Leandro Barbosa to the lineup. Things have however not gone
according to plan and the result has been that Rondo’s minutes are increasing by the game. In Terry’s case, adjustment is more of an issue but as far Lee is concerned, the numbers are just not coming. So far this season, Lee has averaged just 6.4 points on
47.7 percent shooting and a poor 28.2 percent from the three point land. There have been rumours that the C’s are trying to extensively shop Lee for a big man.
All this has added to the pressure on Rondo, and when asked about the comeback date of Bradley recently, Rondo sounded a bit desperate;
"We’re going to be a completely different team, just with one player coming back," said Rondo, "I think (Bradley is) the X Factor. He’s going to be the key to why we win the championship. He brings a lot to the team in terms of
intangibles, the way he cuts offensively. His pressure defensively is going to raise everyone else’s pressure. His defence is going to make us a lot better."
Tags: