YOU GOT RONDO'D

Ron.do (RON-do) - Verb
1. To smoothly move between large objects with dexterity and purpose.
2. To remove an object quickly without being detected
3. To create a distraction followed by a quick change of direction

Moose here! I think that it is more than safe to say that the Indiana Pacers got Rondo'd last night. I know that I use a lot of my space on Hibachi 2.0 to preach Rondo's skills, how much he's worth, how underrated he is, blah, blah, blah. But I gotta give a little something to my guy Rajon.

Last night in the Celtics' 114-96 home win? Rondo scored 16 points . . . . . (you start to say, "Oh, well that's not an incredible point total.") he grabbed 13 boards . . . . . (you say, "As a point guard? What the hell? Nice night . . .) he dropped 17 dimes . . . . . . ("OK, who is this guy??). Yes, most every NBA fan knows or should know who Rajon is. You just don't expect him to do that.

A line of 16, 17, and 13. And three steals to boot. Leading the Celtics to their 10th straight win. Rondo is just undervalued a bucketload. Yes, he can't shoot the jumper even if he had a gun to his head. But let's focus on the good things, shall we? He is greatly overshadowed by the future Hall of Famers on the same squad as him, but the dude is an up-and-coming star.

He's a fantastic rebounding point guard. Best in the league at this stat with his respective position? I'd say so. But the guy has a knack for coming up with the ball in a pile and just picking it out of the air with his hands. One of Rondo's assets is that he's got hands the size of Emeka Okafor's forehead (actually, no. Let's not get carried away there). He's quicker than 90 percent of the league. He plays on-ball defense better than 95 percent of the league.

Rondo was the starting point guard for a championship team at 22 years of age. I know that the Big Three were the biggest part in the run and all that, but if you start on a team that wins a Larry O'Brien at that age, you get some props from me. Rondo comes up with a crapload of steals, at the moment he's averaging 2.2 per contest. He's just a skinny little kid at 6'1" and 171, but the dude also has hops. Problem is, every time he throws down, a defender throws him down. He ends up hitting the floor hard more than most players. But he takes it and competes.

Rondo's a nice, fun-loving person as well. Well-known for his roller skating (I don't know why . . .) he also has a blog on Yardbarker.com, and he updates it regularly, last night as well. He had a lot of nice things to say about his first career triple-double, and he was saying all the right things. Here's his succinct entry last night:

Man...tonight was a great night! We got the W, played great team ball, and I got my first triple-double. I'm not the type of player that focuses on my own stats, so I didn't even know what I had until I sat down in the 4th. I was really focused on being aggressive tonight. Ray had a great night tonight, so I just kept feeding him the ball. I really just wanted to make plays and get people the ball-the stats just came. Overall, I felt good out there. My lip got busted up a little, but I'm fine. I'm tired now though, so I'm going to lay it down now. I just wanted to drop yall a few lines. I'll holla!

Obviously an excited kid. And he had a triple-double with eight left in the third. That early! Dude was on fire last night. As he is most nights, actually. He has posted averages of 10.2 points, 7.7 assists, 4.7 boards, and, again, 2.2 steals per game, very steady and all-around great numbers. And if great man-to-man defense had a statistical category, he'd be leading the league. The former Kentucky Wildcat's website opens up with an "A Milli" remix, and the rest of his site features some nice tunes.

Rondo is a winner. He's the immediate and future of my team, at least, unless Ainge pulls out another blockbuster for us in the next six or seven years. Rondo is just a beast. Y'all should realize that by now. And, he deserves a spot in the Fly Society. DP, if you have any objections, tell me. I don't see why you would. Anyways, last night, everyone got Rondo'd. Plain and simple. Get used to it being that way.

--Moose