An optimist would look at the Boston Celtics 94-80, Game 3 victory and take from it a laundry list of positives. They finally won one on the road. They survived both of the major runs the Pistons made in the second half. The “Big 3” scored 47 points, and the other six Celtics who saw playing time also scored 47, which indicates the victory was definitely a balanced team effort.

The pessimists will look at the way the Celtics lost their 20 point second half lead, and realize that there is a great cause for concern headed into Game 4. That concern starts and ends with the continued shaky point guard play of Rajon Rondo, Sam Cassell and Eddie House.

Back in March when Sam Cassell signed with the Boston Celtics, it was widely assumed that point guard position had gone from solid and thin to good and deep. Although Rondo had done a more than admirable job of leading the Celtics to the NBA’s best record, Cassell’s cache as a crotchety point guard with two NBA titles and a knack for hitting clutch shots could only enhance the team. Rondo would still be the starter, Cassell would back him up and possibly play the closer role in close games, and Eddie House’s minutes would be determined by how money his jumper was on any given night.

In the series against the Atlanta Hawks, this point guard trio was a bit erratic. Rondo averaged 12 points and 8 assists, but in the Celtics three road losses, he had problems getting the “Big 3” the ball. Cassell was good at certain points, but at times he fell in love with his outside shot, rather than being a traditional point guard and he completely disrupted the rhythm of the team. House was not a factor at all, and Doc Rivers were criticized for not using House, especially when on the road when the Celtics seemed to struggle more on the offensive end.

In the second round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the point guard combination of Daniel Gibson and Delonte West was much too quick for Sam Cassell to handle on a consistent basis, so he played very little. House barely got off the bench the first five games of the series, and the one game where he saw significant playing time, the Celtics still lost and he only had eight points. The majority of the playing time went to Rondo, and once again he was erratic. When the Celtics were playing well, Rondo was aggressive with looking for his shot, and he would pepper in pinpoint passes as well. He was fulfilling the role of a prototypical point guard, and he looked as efficient as he had during the regular season. Unfortunately for Boston, he was unable to maintain this level efficiency, and there were numerous stretches of bad play. During these stretches, Rondo would make terrible passes, pass up open shots, and allow Gibson and mainly West to dominate him on the defensive end. A Herculean, 41 point effort by Paul Pierce allowed the Celtics to advance and mask the inconsistent point guard issues

Although the Celtics are up two games to one in their current series against Detroit, these point guard woes continue to plague them, and at no time was that more evident than in Game 3. At one point in the first half, the Celtics had a 24 point lead, and their offense looked virtually unstoppable. Rondo and to a lesser extent Cassell were sharing the point guard duties, and although they were still making turnovers and occasionally disrupting the flow of the offense, the play of Garnett and the other role players had them in an excellent position.

But in the fourth quarter, things started to change drastically. Rondo started to make “hero” plays as Doc Rivers likes to call them, and it started to cost his team. He would drive the lane with three Celtics around him, and shoot an ill-advised shot. During one fastbreak in particular, he attempted to make a cross-court, Isiah Thomas-in-an-NBA-All-Star-game type pass, and the Pistons quickly intercepted it. There were several instances when Rondo’s refusal to take open shots would cause another Celtics player to rush a shot to beat the shot clock. Rondo’s substandard play took the momentum away Boston, and allowed the Pistons to mount a substantial comeback and cut the lead from 18 points to 9.

The Pistons have also noticed that neither Cassell nor Rondo can handle the defensive pressure of Lindsay Hunter and Rodney Stuckey. Hunter’s on the ball pressure begins as soon as the ball is inbounded, and it continues all the way down the court. Rondo and Cassell either expend way too much energy trying to make change of directions moves up the court, or they give up the ball way too soon to avoid the heavy pressure. Stuckey’s height gives Rondo significant problems and his quickness bothers Cassell.

As a result, Kevin Garnett was forced to take a number of shots just inside the three-point line, rather than in the paint where he is most comfortable. Paul Pierce, who is shooting above 50% during this series, only had six shots and Ray Allen, who is still struggling with his shot, had very few wide open opportunities and he shot 5 for 16. As good as the Big 3 is, they still need to receive the ball in favorable spots, and the combination of Rondo and Cassell just weren’t able to consistently deliver, despite the 14 point victory.

The Celtics should feel fortunate to hold a 2-1 lead over this Pistons team. They also should know that a team that has been in this position six consecutive times, knows exactly what adjustments to makes in order to tie this series, especially at home. Doc Rivers and the coaching staff need to be one step ahead of them, and make some sort of adjustments at the point guard position. If not, the 2 games to one advantage could easily turn into a 3-2 deficit.

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