Although the future Hall of Famer is not the player he once was, he still has one of the best basketball IQs in the game today and commands respect with his insight of the game. That is why his ranking of Boston Celtics’ point guard Rajon Rondo as the league’s best floor general is tremendous and noteworthy compliment.

According to former Dallas teammate Jason Terry:

Apr 20, 2012; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd (2) waits for play to resume during the game against the Golden State Warriors at the American Airlines Center. The Mavericks defeated the Warriors 104-94. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

“Jason Kidd gave him the greatest compliment I’ve ever heard from a Hall of Famer that’s still playing,’’ Terry said. “He said, ‘There’s no question Rajon Rondo is the best point guard. “‘Chris Paul is great. Deron Williams is great, but Rajon Rondo is the best point guard in the NBA.’’’

Jason Kidd couldn’t have been more right.

Coming into this season  my best point guard rankings were Williams, Paul, Rondo, Derrick Rose, and Russell Westbrook (in the that order). But after Rondo’s stellar play this season and the playoffs there’s no denying his floor general skills—on both ends of the floor.

Rondo’s ascension from good point guard to great point guard was one of the feel good stories this past season. From his obscene assist totals to his sticky fingers on defense, Rondo has put the NBA universe—especially every elite point guard—on notice that it’s his time to shine now.

But I will reiterate, Paul and Williams are both phenomenal players but neither played the same level basketball and were one game away from the NBA Finals like Rondo was. Yes critics and fans will point out Rondo’s shaky jumper and suspect free-throw shooting but Rondo still dominated with these weaknesses exploited and almost lead his team to an unlikely Finals berth.

Indeed Kidd might be biased because of the uncanny similarities between his and Rondo’s game. Both are unbelievable passers and exceptional rebounders but struggle with their jump-shot. But the one thing that makes both players remarkable and able to overcome their flaws are their ability to control the pace of the game. Both players have great timing and sense for the flow of a game that allowed them to execute their game plans.

On top of this both worked on their shooting ability. Kidd is now a reliable spot-up shooter something that would have been laughed at in the early part of his career. Rondo can now knock down open mid-range jumpers but still has room to improve.

If Kidd, one of the best point guards to ever play game believes Rondo is the best at the position in the game today there has to be some truth to it. We can only hope Raymond Felton would use this as motivation next season to try to prove Kidd wrong.

While this may not resemble “The Decision,” by any chance, whatever the arbitrator rules of whether or not the Knicks get the Bird Right’s of Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak becomes a huge decision for the future of the Knicks.

Mar 21, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin (17) during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center. The Knicks defeated the Sixers 82-79. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Whether or not the Knicks have to use the MLE on Lin or not, it is worth at least looking at how high Lin’s ceiling really is.

It’s so hard to predict Lin’s future due to the fact that we’ve only had a 25 game look at him. To immediately think that just because they may re-sign him that the Knicks would have one of the best point guards in the NBA would be foolish thinking.

I love the promise Lin showed, but the one thing that could determine how he progresses as a point guard and how the Knicks progress as a team could be how Lin handles himself among the elite point guards in the NBA.

Judging off last season alone, would you be confident of Lin in a playoff series against the likes of a Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose or Rajon Rondo type of point guard?

Aside from the horrific Miami game for Lin, some of his worst performances were turned in against the likes of the Boston Celtics, San Antonio Spurs, New Jersey Nets and Chicago Bulls. What those teams have in common is an elite floor general.

That’s not to say that Lin won’t continue to get better and I think he will, but that is still something that could raise a red flag. I think it’s very good for Lin right now that he’s healthy and has the entire offseason to prepare to play major minutes next season.

What the Knicks are hoping for is that Lin progresses and becomes maybe a Top 10 point guard in the NBA. That will require a lot of work, but I think he’s talented enough to get there. For the Knicks to win a championship, they will need a point guard that can hold his own against the better point guards in the NBA during a seven-game series.

Is Lin that guy?

Who knows right now, but given a full season under his belt, I’m pretty confident he can be.

Hopefully it is in a Knicks uniform.

In a game that apparently set a new cable record for Christmas day viewers, your New York Knicks pulled out a gutsy 106-104 victory over the Paul Peircelss Boston Celtics.

This Christmas Day matchup was widely held as a marquee matchup between two of the heavyweights in the Eastern Conference, and it certainly lived up to the hype with play coming down to the wire and needing the final seconds to decide this one.

The Knicks lead big early, taking a 62-52 lead into halftime. This lead, however, did not last as the Celtics made a run sparked by their All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo, who finished with a game high 13 assists and a team high 31 points. (more…)

STAT - Standing Tall And Talented. Maybe that should be the nickname for the whole team, not just Stoudemire.

Stan Chin gives his view on last night’s Knicks game against the Boston Celtics:

Hey Knicks fans,

Big game last night… scratch that HUGE game last night. Win or lose, this game was a measuring stick, to see where the Knicks stand against one of the elite teams in the NBA.

Quarter by Quarter Thoughts:

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Forget Santa Claus, the Big Three are coming to town. Is NY ready? (Source: NBA.com)

Josh Sage writes: The New York Knicks face the Boston Celtics tonight, in Madison Square Garden, while both teams are riding winning streaks of at least eight games. Now while everyone seems to shrug off the Knicks 8 game winning streak because they’ve faced several bad teams, no one seems too flustered by the fact that Boston’s 10 winning streak was built on victories to lousy teams as well.

The Celtics’ victories during the streak have come against the Atlanta Hawks (16-10), the New Jersey Nets (6-19) twice, the Toronto Raptors (9-16), Cleveland Cavaliers (7-17), Portland Trailblazers (12-13), Chicago Bulls (15-8), Denver Nuggets (15-9), Philadelphia 76ers (9-15) and the Charlotte Bobcats (9-15). Only three of those teams still have a winning record, one of which New York defeated last game. The game against Portland can’t be considered a strong victory since the Trail Blazers are not the same team they’ve been the past few years, due to the diminished abilities of their only star player Brandon Roy, and the Hawks only ever beat the bad teams. The Celtics 10 game winning streak, while impressive, is not overwhelming evidence to support the theory that the Knicks’ own 8 game streak will without a doubt end tonight.

When the Knicks and Celtics first faced each other on October 29th, the C’s were lead by Rajon Rondo’s career night (24 assists) as Boston narrowly avoided a late game collapse. The Knicks had five players in double figures, this from an offense still trying to find it’s legs, and had it not been for an uncharacteristic 9 missed free throws for New York (4 from Amar’e) the Knicks would have walked away with the victory.

From watching that game, and the progress the Knicks have made since, two things become obviously clear. The Knicks have to clamp up on the Celtic shooters, because once someone is open Rondo will find them. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett move very well without the ball and make life all too easy for Rondo, so the Knicks need to stay with their man and force Rondo to create space for his players. The kid’s good but he’s no Steve Nash, it’s the ability of his teammates to move without the ball that leads to crazy assist nights for Rondo. The second thing to keep in mind is that New York’s youth is their biggest asset. They need to use their superior speed and mobility to keep the aged Celtic defenders on their heels, driving into the lane and to the free throw line, where they must hit the majority of their attempts. If they can recreate one of those nights where both Gallo and Amar’e attempt 8-10 free throws a piece, then New York will be in prime position to take this game late.

One game however is not enough to properly gage how best to overtake a team, so let’s examine the Celtics last loss. Before their winning streak began, Boston lost to a terrible Raptors squad, that scored 102 points on them in route to the win. While Rondo was absent from that game, the performance of Andrea Bargnani shows that young forwards can go off on Boston’s older (much slower) bigs, scoring 29 points and reaching the charity stripe 13 times [Editor's note: technically Bargnani actually is a center, but that just means that he might go up against the slowest Celt of them all: Shaq].

With the Big Shamrock dealing with a leg injury, the Knicks must take advantage of the superior speed and mobility that Amar’e, Fields, Chandler and even Gallo will have over the much older Celtics mainstays. New York will have to out hustle, out work and just run the C’s ragged for a whole 48 minutes in order to win this game. The Knicks lack of defensive consistency (to say the least) dictates that NYK cannot allow this game to go down to the last shot, because no one can trust Mike D’Antoni to draw up a clutch defensive play to seal the victory.

In the Celtics’ 1-point victory over the 76ers, Boston allowed 7 Phillie players to score in double figures, winning the game in the final seconds due to a defensive blunder by Philadelphia. Once again Boston seemed to have an issue with those youngsters, Jodie Meeks (19 points), Andre Iguodala (14 points, 11 assists), Jrue Holiday (12 points), Louis Williams (16 points) and Thaddeus Young (16 points) all gave the older Celtics fits. Speed kills, and it certainly was killing Boston’s air of defensive superiority on that night. Had the 76ers had any kind of poise late, they would have (& should have) won the game.

Despite the blowout that many expect, this should be a very good game, competitive throughout, and will most likely come down to four key things:

1) The Knicks/Celtics 3-point shooting. Which team will have the artillery dropping tonight?

2) The Celtics defense. Can they shut down the ball movement and superior speed of the Knicks?

3) Can the Knicks get to the free throw line for around 20 attempts? If they can, it will be difficult for Boston to pull this one out.

4) Which point guard will have the better night? If Raymond Felton goes off for a double-double, New York is in good shape. If Rondo goes off for 15+ assists, New York is in trouble.

Nuthin' like playing with two great friends to make the game a blast. Above we see Wade, Bosh & LeBron yukking it up. (Yardbarker.com)

The world instantly judged the Miami Heat as Not Worthy after losing the opening game of the season to the Boston Celtics.  Despite them wining the next night in Philadelphia, Bill Simmons, aka The Sports Guy, published an early eulogy for LeBron James and company.  Now I’m no fan of LeBron or the Heat, but this seems like something many men suffer from: premature evaluation.

It kinda reminds me of the scene in Monty Python’s The Holy Grail where an undertaker walks through a town calling “Bring out yer dead!” but after a body is dropped on the heap it chirps up, “I’m not quite dead yet.”  When the undertaker reveals he won’t be back for a while, the person who dropped off the body decides it’d just be in everyone’s best interest to kill this person and get it over with now.  Luckily for the Heat, there are still 80 games left, not to mention that playoff thing, so there’s no need to rush to conclusions and cold-cock ‘em over the head (much as many of us would like to do).  That said, c’mon, I’m a guy, so I want to jump to some conclusions too.  Here are mine, none of which will corpsify the Heat:

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Turiaf looks like a leader here, don't he? Okay, well, sometimes the best leaders are the ones who look least likely (source: Yardbarker.com)

Slam Online has a nice quote from newly acquired backup Knick center Ronny Turiaf that seems to indicate that he’s ready to step up to be a leader:

“I can’t speak of the past because I wasn’t there on a regular basis so I can only speak for myself and what I know I can bring to the table. All I’m gonna tell you is that we are going to have guys that want to play hard, guys that’s definitely coming here to win, to make the necessary sacrifices to win basketball games. So I’m not here to speak about the past, but the future. We’re going to play team basketball. We are going to be playing together and everybody moving in the same direction. We are all here to win basketball games—not to lose. That’s something that people need to understand is that we will do whatever it takes, whatever we have to do to make that happen. I have talked to plenty of guys on the team already. I was on vacation with Gallo[Danillo Gallinari. I have been working out with Stoudamire every day. I have worked out with Toney Douglas. I have talked to Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton. And of course my two partners from Golden State Azubuike and Randy [Anthony Randolph]. So I’ve been in contact with a lot of those gus and I think they are excited and there is one key word: winning.”

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Is J.R. Giddens a good defender? Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala looks skeptical. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

Like with most of New York  -Hell, like with most of America, we here at Buckets have recently become a teeny, eensy, weency bit obsessed with this summer’s upcoming free agency extravaganza.  However, in our desire for newness, we shouldn’t completely forget about what we already have.  Thus we return to our ongoing Clash-song-inspired series, Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now?, where we look at our players from last season who don’t have fully guaranteed contracts with the Knicks for next year.  We’ve gone alphabetically, already covering the following:

Earl Barron

Jonathan Bender

Chris Duhon

And now we bring you our first player with whom we hold all the cards: JR Giddens.   (more…)

Kobe's so darn good, Alvin Gentry's fine with losing to him. Elsewhere, Stan Van Gundy and Mike Brown still can't sleep, wondering what they did "wrong" to lose to the Celts. (source: Yardbarker.com)

Many have already talked about how the Lakers and Celtics have taken two different paths to the Big Show. It’s more than just a West Coast/East Coast thang, or offense versus defense. It’s also about the psychological effects they’ve left on those in their wake. Kobe, the self-proclaimed Black Mamba, has been an unstoppable force since Game 5 in the first round against the Thunder (by the way, I kinda love self-proclaimed nicknames. They should be totally illegal, but I find it so humorous that someone would decide to make up their own nickname that I loooove to ironically call them that. Thus I’m thrilled that Sasha Vujacic’s started getting playing time so I can yell out “The Machiiiiiiine” every time he touches the ball. Of course the true irony is that I’ve now used the Black Mamba tag so much that it no longer seems ironic to me when it comes out of my mouth. …Wait, what am I talking about? Oh yeah, Celts/Lakes.)

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Don't let the open arms confuse you. If you say something David Stern doesn't like, he'll fine you. No, there's no truth to the rumor that The Beatles wrote "Back In The USSR" about him. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

First off, please, please, please don’t confuse me for a whiney Boston Celtics fan. I actually was excited for them two years ago when they got Kevin Garnett because I felt like KG and Paul Pierce were two guys who deserved a shot and I wanted to see what they could do. Then they both, particularly KG, turned into jerks. So now I’m staunchly anti-Celts. I hope they lose this series, and I’m psyched that the Magic won last night. But Orlando shouldn’t have been helped out so egregiously by the refs.

No, I’m not a conspiracy nut either who thinks the “League” told the refs to extend the series. I just think that the refs and the NBA honchos have let the power go to their heads. It’s insane how afraid the league is of dissention. For those who didn’t watch last night’s game, Kendrick Perkins, the one guy in the league who can do a decent job defending Dwight Howard solo, got two technicals and was tossed. The first happened when he was helping Paul Pierce up, but their grip slipped so his arm went back a bit into Orlando’s backup center Marcin Gortat. Gortat responded, slapping the ball away, and they got hit by double technicals. I understand that one. At the time, particularly from certain angles, it looked like Perk just maliciously elbowed Gortat on purpose. But upon video review, you can see it was more of an accident.

To read the rest of this, go to my original post on the main FanSided page.

So far in this series LeBron James and Rajan Rondo have stepped as leaders of their respective teams. When ranked by their Points/Rebounds/Assists averages for the playoffs, they rank at 1 and 8 respectively. You can see the list in more detail here: http://youcastcorp.com/c/102/go/index.php?r=71

Guess the line for both James and Rondo in Game 6. Answers must be posted below in the comment section by Thursday May 11th at 7pm EST.

The winner who comes closest to both will receive a free prize package courtesy of NBA.com

What’s hot in the NBA?

Gone Fishin!

Lakers Seek Revenge in WCF

Orlando Sweeps Atlanta

"Wake up, Al! It's not a dream: in the All-NBA vote I got 43 times the points of former MVP Kevin Garnett!" (source: Yardbarker.com)

No, of course David Lee didn’t make First, Second, or Third All-NBA Team.  However, getting the third highest point total out of the runner-ups is pretty impressive.  Free agent and potential Knick, Chris Bosh, received 80 points, while All-Star Playoff stud Rajon Rondo notched 47.  Oh, you want to know who actually MADE the teams?  Here’s the list:

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After Game #1 it seemed like Mo Williams would be a Major X-Factor. After Game #2 and Rajon Rondo's defense, we're downgrading Mo to a mere Minor X-Factor. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

After last night’s game, it’s clear there are 5 Major X-Factors in the Cleveland Cavaliers/Boston Celtics playoff series, 3 Minor X-Factors, and 1 Under-Reported Straight-Out Factor.  What do I mean by Major, Minor and Straight-Out Factors?  Well, first a Straight-Out Factor versus an X-Factor is something you know is going to happen versus something that may or may not happen.  Like it’s obvious now that Rajon Rondo is a force who’s gonna bring it every night. Earlier in his career that wasn’t the case, and he was an X-Factor. Now he’s a Straight-Out Factor, but he’s an Over-Reported Factor (or rather a Justifiably-Frequently-Reported Factor), so we ain’t gonna go into him.

In terms of Major X-Factors or Minor ones, a Major one is a change that will effect the whole series, while a Minor X-Factor effects just one game.  For instance, Doc Rivers has said that he hopes Nate Robinson can come in at some point during the playoffs, get hot, and help them win that game.  However, Nate clearly isn’t gonna be a major X-Factor who’s gonna suddenly be a force who leads them to victory in every single remaining battle.  Honestly, I don’t even have him as a minor X-Factor, but who knows?

The Five Major X-Factors:

To read the rest, click here.

The Celtics' Rajon Rondo drives to the hoop and is shocked to find that the Knicks have a 7-footer playing defense there. Meet Earl Barron. (source: Yardbarker.com)

Two seasons ago the Boston Celtics were the cream of the crop with Kevin Garnett leading their monstrous defense.  Last season they started out strong until KG went down with a knee injury which kept him out of the playoffs.  As a result, they struggled to get past the Chicago Bulls, then were eliminated in just the second round.  This year Garnett is back and ostensibly healthy.  But the mojo is gone.

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Let me explain.

The Boston Celtics are likely to advance as Stern just will not have a Magic/Cavs ECF matchup because of the ratings, but Celtics/Cavs is going to be heated and physical. Watching the Celtics get through each round is painful because I’m having to watch one of the most unlikeable teams in NBA history (I went there) advance with players like Kevin Garnett making a fool of himself on the bench, Rondo decapitating wiggers, and Paul Pierce being Paul Pierce. Oh, and who could forget Glenn “Big Baby” Davis and his immature antics on a nightly basis, he certainly has filled in well for KG in that sense. So if the Celtics repeat, I’ll be sick to my stomach.

The Cavs winning a championship is the last thing we need to have happen because once LeBron gets that ring that drops his likelyhood to bolt to New York significantly. He wants rings and if he gets one in Cleveland then you can expect he’ll stay unless we can lure another superstar to NY to join him. So a Cavs/Celtics ECF is a huge loss in my mind.

The Magic aren’t even relevant anymore as there is no chance of them winning games 6 and 7. Stan Van Gundy is one of the most annoying coaches in the game and for his horrible play calling they deserve to be eliminated. You live and die by your jumpshot in Orlando, even though you have the best post player in the game today. Van Gundy doesn’t fit with Howard and must be gone at the end of the season.

Then we have the Denver Nuggets, the team I’m pulling for, really emerging this postseason as contenders. Melo has played out of his mind, Billups has been his playoff self, and the post presence has put them over the top. This team is scary when they’re hot and with each win you have to like their chances over the shaky Lakers. But how soon do people forget George Karl is their coach, and I really don’t want to see Karl get a ring. I’ve never thought highly of him as a coach and I don’t believe he has been the reason this team is succeeding, it’s Chauncey Billups and his leadership. Maybe I’d be ok with them getting a ring if Karl gives his to Iverson for bringing in one of the best playoff players ever.

The Lakers finish off my list. Oh how confusing this team really is. With Bynum back in the starting lineup they look rejuvenated, but for how long? This team is too inconsistent to consider them the favorites. This team really hasn’t shined like I expected them too thus far and feel this team hasn’t lived up to their potential. Kobe’s window is closing quickly and he must realize this is do or die time and if he doesn’t get his title this season then he may never get his ring without Shaq.

Well, there you have it. My playoff thoughts all discombobulated into one post.