Both Aaron Brooks and Tyreke Evans sat out for the Kings, allowing Isaiah Thomas to step in to the starting lineup and take control of the game. Thomas had a game high 27 points, John Salmons finished with 23 and Jason Thompson had 20. DeMarcus Cousins showed the Celtics his diversity, posting his first career triple double with a stat line of 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
The Celtics struggled to find their identity again, letting up 118 points to one of the worst teams in the NBA, while having a tough time scoring the ball themselves. Paul Pierce and Jason Terry led Boston with 20 points each. Kevin Garnett had a double-double with 16 points and 12 boards, and Jeff Green was strong off the bench with 16 points as well. But this team has major problems finding the type of game that they want to play. It is becoming a repetitive story, but forget the acquisitions that they need to make. Even within the team as it is built, players are not fulfilling their roles and it starts with Rondo.
Rondo posted his 10 assists as usual, but lacked any display of leadership or willingness to try and take over the game. He had the worst +/- of any player last night at -25, finishing with only two points. Yes he may have been struggling with a hip injury, but was able to play almost 36 minutes. Rondo shot 1-for-6 from the field including missing all three of his attempts from downtown. Rajon is not looking to play his game, if this team is to succeed he needs to be a player that is going to get into the paint and score.
There are a lot of problems on this Celtics team, but it's time to start considering that Rajon Rondo might be the biggest one.
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