Heart of a Champion, Guts of a Warrior

Rajon Rondo has dealt with his fair share of critics this season. After a blazing hot start, Rondo struggled for large portions of the season and, quite frankly, played like a D-Leaguer in games one and two of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Miami Heat. But in game three Saturday night, the C's point guard quieted his haters and inspired a team and a city.

The above picture shows it all. After getting pulled to the floor by Dwyane Wade on yet another dirty play by the Heat star, Rondo braced his fall with his left arm and paid the severe consequences. In case you're still trying to decipher that snapshot -- a human arm isn't supposed to bend that way.

Waves of green collectively held their breath. That's a broken arm. Any doubt? He'll clearly miss the rest of the playoffs. Delonte better be ready. But even if he is, can the C's overcome the loss of Rondo to make a whole run through the NBA playoffs to the finals? We're doomed. It's over. So much for 18. Time to rebuild.

And then the morbid sea parted straight down the middle, and a golden ray of light shone through on the horizon. Rondo strolled his way out of the locker room, merely adding a protective sleeve to his left arm, and made his way back onto the court with a dislocated elbow. A point guard playing with a dislocated elbow. He played with one hand. It didn't matter. He made plays. He had a big steal that he finished off with a breakaway lay-in. One handed. You may be sick of the NBA in much the same way that I am. Maybe you have grown tired of the prima donnas like LeBron James who complain at every call and make the television product excruciatingly painful for those who love the gritty, hard-working, gut-wrenching battles. Maybe all of that is true. But no one can deny the glimmer of hope we saw last night. The gutsy players are still out there. Rajon Rondo may have inspired this team just enough to savor the last few drops they have left in the gas tank. The window may be closing on this team's chances, but they won't let it close without a fight. If nothing else, we know that. If these Celts are going to go down, they're going down fighting. And if we continue to see the same heart and dedication that Rondo showed last night, there's a pretty solid chance this series continues to turn around. If we see the same kind of performances from Pierce and Garnett, the same clutch shooting from Ray Allen, the same bench presence from Jeff Green, and the same cohesiveness among this entire squad, we will at least get to see a fun ride. Don't give up on 18 just yet. Let's see where this thing takes us.

PS -- The NBA may not be rigged after all. Why would they sweep the Lakers out in round two? Another glimmer of hope. Maybe we have hope.