Great to be Green

It has been equally intriguing to watch Rajon Rondo transform the point guard position from a question mark into an exclamation point. Rondo has proven he has the tenacity and talent required to run this team of All-Stars with the authority of a player well beyond years.

Kind of nice to see him stroke that jumper, too, isn't it? In case you've forgotten, defenders ignored Rondo on the perimeter last season, and with legitimate reason. The kid couldn't bury it. He changed that by taking 750 shots a day last summer and discovering the difference between nailing the open look and having the presence of mind (as Frank Broyles likes to say) to know when to make the extra pass.

There have been other notable trends, like Kendrick Perkins establishing himself as a consistent shot-blocking presence and James Posey putting the clamps on various offensive threats, but of all the scenarios concerning this electric Celtics turnaround, the one that I've found most enjoyable is the way Paul Pierce has folded seamlessly into his new nucleus. Just the other day, Garnett lauded him as his league MVP, and while that has virtually no chance of happening, KG's sentiments were not misplaced.

All those doubters who wondered aloud if Pierce could share the ball, the minutes, and the limelight have been quieted. The critics who dogged his defense have had to eat some crow.

And, even with Garnett and Allen aboard, No. 34 still remains one of the most dangerous scorers - if not the most dangerous - on his team.

"Paul's not perfect," said Celtics boss Danny Ainge, "but the one thing I've always appreciated about him was he loves to play the game of basketball. He comes to play every night. Now, some nights he might have gotten frustrated, and he didn't always do the right thing, but I think people forget he had a great deal of responsibility and expectations placed on him, and sometimes that wasn't fair."