The Celtics succeeding without Rondo

Rajon Rondo - Mark Runyon / Flickr

On January 27, 2013, the Boston Celtics announced that their star player Rajon Rondo would be out for the rest of the season because of an injury he sustained during their game aaingst the Atlanta Hawks two days earlier. After Rondo’s absence the team was able to go on a seven game winning streak. The players came together and were able to develop both their defense and offense in order to produce a team that is a contender in the race to playoffs.

Without Rondo, members of the Boston Celtics had to step up and work harder in order to fill his spot. Paul Pierce, Avery Bradley and Jeff Green are a few of the players who have improved to compensate for Rondo’s absence. “It’s giving guys an opportunity to step up, being able to elevate their play, and it’s showing,” said Paul Pierce to the Boston Globe.   

The Celtics focused on coming together and developing a game plan that did not include Rondo. “You have all those injuries, you usually go the other way. I just think our guys kind of came together and realized we don’t have a margin of error anymore,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers to the Boston Globe.

The team worked on their skills and together they were able to developed good plays. The Celtics had a few days in between games, which allowed them to have more time to practice. As a result, the Boston Celtics won games against many strong teams.

Even though many people called the season over for the Celtics, they are still going strong, holding a 13-6 record without Rondo. The team has continuously worked on their skills and they have even allowed players who aren’t starters to play during most games. They will need to continue to progress without Rondo to ensure the team a spot in the playoffs. 

Contributed by Anya Batista

Improvements needed for the High School for Math Science and Engineering girls’ basketball team

Courtesy of Tom Henning

On December 9 2011, the girls basketball game between The High School for Math Science and Engineering (HSMSE) and The Institute for Collaborative Education (ICE) was a loss for HSMSE with a score of 29-16. In this game the HSMSE girls scored 16 points, the most so far this season. This is evidence they are improving, but they have a lot more to work on.

One way the HSMSE girls can sharpen their skills is by improving their defense. The girls are energetic and rushed back to defend their court; however sometimes it is better to press instead of playing a zone. ICE pressed the HSMSE girls and managed to get plenty of turnovers and steals. Also the HSMSE girls need to practice having control of the ball and rebounds. There was only two offensive rebound made by the HSMSE girls. These improvements are critical toward the team’s success.

The next issue with the team is the amount of recruits they’re gaining each year. This year, HSMSE only has one freshman recruit, Omotayo Adeoye. A few of the team’s best players are seniors. What will happen next year once the best players leave. Adeoye said, “Wow I haven't thought about that. I feel us though we're improving so i mean we can't really replace them, but we can do as well as they're doing and we're doing pretty well so far."

If the team gets more recruits and a better defense, the HSMSE girls basketball team will be a strong team. The question now is will they fly high, or will they fall down fast? It all depends on the team themselves.