Clark: Celtics are on point for the future

Quick quiz: What do the following names all have in common? Joe Forte, J.R. Bremmer, Shammond Williams, Mike James, Delonte West. If you guessed “shooting guards the Celtics tried to turn into point guards,” you were correct. Thinking back over the last decade or so, the best pure point guards I can recall on the Celtics include an aging Kenny Anderson and an already over-the-hill Gary Payton. As Tony Kornheiser would say, that’s it, that’s the list.

Marcus Banks had all the physical tools you’d want in a point but just didn’t have the instincts. Sebastian Telfair was always more hype than substance. The Celtics’ search for a solution at the point position has been something akin to the quest for the Holy Grail.

Enter Rajon Rondo, a second-year point guard who has been handed the keys to a team that features three perennial All-Stars. Pundits in the press were calling him the weak link. Coaches were counting on exploiting him in their game plans. But so far, Rondo has been up to the task and has shown he is more than capable of running this team.

 His stats don’t always jump off the page at 10.2 points, 4.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Still, it doesn’t take long to appreciate watching this kid play. Rondo is very comfortable with the ball in his hands, yet he doesn’t over dribble. He’s quicker than most people in the league, yet he never seems to force it.

Perhaps the most important thing you can say about him is the offense runs smoothly when he’s in there, and it doesn’t when he’s not. For that reason alone, Rondo is almost as important to this team as any one of the Big Three. This isn’t to say Rondo is a finished product. The point guard position is the hardest one to learn in the NBA. Rondo needs to continue working on his jumper, the finer points of his defense and decision making. But none of these are fatal flaws.

The Celtics have been quietly looking around for a veteran point guard, but not because they have any less confidence in Rondo. It is clear that whoever they bring in will be his backup (freeing Tony Allen and Eddie House to play shooting guard).

There’s no longer a debate about Rajon Rondo being ready to be the starting point guard on this team. The debate has turned into a discussion of how good he can be. Can he be an All-Star some day, or will he simply be a solid starter for years to come? Either way, the long search is over. The Celtics have found their point guard of the future.

Jeff Clark is the founder and lead writer of celticsblog.com. He can be reached at jeff@celticsblog.com.