Q&A with Reds Army

The Suns are in Boston Monday to take on the defending NBA Champions, Boston Celtics.  Both teams had interesting starts to the season, seemingly on opposite ends of the spectrum. 

The Suns have been fairly inconsistent yet have shown signs of brilliance while the Celtics have been about as consistent as a team could get, jumping out to a 29-2 record before dropping 7 of 9 in late December/early January.

The last few times these two teams have met have produced some physical games, to say the least. 

Here’s a reminder… 

For a preview of the game, I’ve enlisted the help of Red’s Army - a terrific blog covering the Celtics.  What I love about the blog is you can tell they were die-hard fans before the title last year, before Garnett, Pierce, Allen etc. - something I respect as a Suns (and sports) fan.

Red’s Army answers to my questions are below.  For my answers to their questions, click here.

Ben:  Rajon Rondo has been ridiculous this season - 10 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals per game.  Talk about his emergence this year.

Red’s Army:  It’s very simple:  As Rondo goes, so go the Celtics.  When Rondo is on, the Celtics are a fluid offensive team and a terrorizing defensive team.  He has the ability to destroy the other team’s point of attack on both ends of the floor.  He has the confidence to tell any one of the Celtics Big 3 where to go in the offense… even when one of them is begging for the ball.  He’s unselfish almost to a fault, which is perfect for a team full of scorers.  This year, he has developed even more of a relationship with his teammates, which has resulted in some ridiculous passes that seem to defy logic.  There is also an abundance of alley oops to KG, which is set up mainly by Rondo’s speed.  When KG’s guy cheats too much, KG just breaks to the hoop and it’s an easy oop.  

The problem with Rondo, as has been well publicized, is his jumper.  It’s not as bad as some people think, but he clearly doesn’t have the confidence in it to take it consistently.  The minute he starts nailing that mid-range jumper at even an average rate, it’s all over.  And I’m really trying not to say that as crazy Celtics fan.  Rondo has every other tool at his disposal.  A consistent jumper will put him in the Chris Paul class.
 
Ben:  Kendrick Perkins has been injured for a few games.  With Shaq and Amare coming up, will he return?  Or will Doc hold him back if he’s not 100%?

Red’s Army:  Doc has said more rest is better for Perk’s shoulder.  I think we’re at a point were it’s just never going to get back to normal.  There will always be a risk of him re-injuring it.  I think Doc will sacrifice a January game if he thinks it will give him a better chance at winning one in June.  And with Perk back there along with KG, you have a pretty fierce defensive front court.  Perkins is an underrated shot blocker. Having him back there is a big help to the Celtics defense.  Perkins wants to play, but he won’t play unless the medical staff says he’s 100%.
 
Ben:  How key is Ray Allen to the Celtics?  It seems like Celtics wins are usually correlated with Ray having a good shooting night.

Red’s Army:  It’s funny that you ask that, because we just looked at how Ray Allen got so hot.  What Ray has done is adjusted his game to drive more early, and then bomb away later.  That’s getting him a feel for things before he starts the long range assault.  You’re right, though.  A big Ray Allen shooting night generally leads to a Celtics win.  Rondo does a tremendous job finding Ray trailing on the break, and when Ray is hot, Rondo will specifically look for him to ride the wave. 

And Ray gets his offense in ways that allow the rest of the team to score as well.  He doesn’t need 30 shots to score 30 points.  That leaves plenty of shots for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.  When Ray is going good… the Celtics are extremely tough to beat.

Ben:  What’s it like to win a title?  I know it’s the Celtics 382nd championship, but us Suns fans don’t know the feeling…

Red’s Army:  Satisfying.  That’s really the best way to put it, I think.  Standing in the middle of a million other people… looking around at everyone with the same dumb/drunk/ecstatic look on their faces.  Everyone’s happy.  Everyone’s your friend.  And then we all went nuts and lost our voices as the team rode by.  Then we went back to being dumb/drunk/ecstatic again. 

It’s really the beauty of sports.  We use inclusive phrases like “we” and “us” when talking about the game.  When you win it all, you feel a little sense of accomplishment, and a sense of connection to everyone else who pours themselves into each game.  It’s really surreal.  Few things bring so many people together.  It’s really an amazing experience.

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