Coming into the NBA season, it was pretty clear that, at least to the world outside of Boston, the Celtics torch had been passed to Rajon Rondo. No longer was he the question mark, or the guy who could hold the 2007-2008 Celtics back. In just a few short years, Rondo went from weak link to franchise player.
One week later, and he's pretty much justified all that hype. Dishing out 50 assists to tie John Stockton for the record to start a season, Rajon Rondo was named as the season's first Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
The funny thing is, it didn't look like a very good week for Rondo. He started out great against Miami, but sort of slowed down as the game progressed. He had trouble throughout the three game series with turnovers and some stupid plays, often trying too hard to make the spectacular play and coming up empty-handed as the result. He was sometimes too hesitant to take shots when he had them, and too often ended up forced to jack up one he shouldn't with the clock running down. Maybe it's because he's had to get rid of the headband thanks to some ridiculous new rule, but honestly, at times, it was pretty ugly.
And what does that get him?
An average of 10.7 points, 16.7 assists, and 6.3 rebounds per game with player of the week honors.
What's that gonna be like when everything clicks all game long?