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Rajon Rondo takes the next step
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Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images
I'm not just on the Rajon Rondo bandwagon. I built it, change its oil, and I wash and wax it every other week. I've already put Rajon Rondo in the class of Chris Paul and Deron Williams (I define that in detail here). Last night, however, Rajon Rondo took that next step.
On a team full of All-Stars, Rajon Rondo truly became a team leader.
During a time out with a couple of minutes left, Rajon Rondo did something fans have never seen him do on camera: He was adamantly addressing his teammates. He was animated. He was standing while the rest sat so he could look them in their eyes. He was imploring them to do something. Kevin Garnett explained the simple message later.
Rajon told me to relax a little bit.
Rajon Rondo told Kevin Garnett to relax. That's like telling an angry T-Rex to calm down. But the T-Rex DID calm down. Kevin Garnett scored six points after that time out. On one play, Rondo patiently dribbled a literal circle around the Hawks defense before calmly tossing KG an alley-oop. On another, Garnett buried a jump hook that he might normally have back-rimmed because he was so jacked up. Rondo didn't just set him up on the floor, he set KG up on the bench.
And that's the difference between a point guard and a floor leader. Paul Pierce is the captain. Garnett is the emotional leader. Ray is the sage veteran. But on the court, they look to Rondo. Standing in front of his team, publicly taking the reins in the clutch, in an arena that has caused problems for his teammates... Rajon Rondo showed us why.
