Rajon Rondo will destroy kids in Connect Four.

Here's another crazy thing that you would have never thought Rajon Rondo would do, but could totally imagine doing.

From SB Nation:

The Celtics didn't want to change Rondo when he arrived, but they didn't want to him either. So at charity foundations he perched behind a folding table where he could avoid the back-slapping, baby-hugging and other standard forms of celebrity fakery. He just played Connect Four, against anybody who dared, usually two grids at a time and sometimes three. "This has been going on for six years," Matt Meyersohn, the Celtics' director of community relations, said on Dec. 22 during an event at the Blue Hill Boys & Girls Club in Dorchester, Mass. "He's played hundreds of Connect Four games, maybe a thousand. And he's never lost." 

Later that day Rondo sat behind a table and three girls. Across from him there were more than 100 children he had showered with bikes, Razor scooters and iPod Touches that he bought at Target and distributed from the back of a U-Haul. "I thought he might let us win," said a 12 year-old named Olissa. "But he was so serious."

[...]

Olissa was the last challenger. He stared back at Rondo through wire-rimmed glasses. He clenched teeth covered with braces. He initiated what he called a trap, forcing Rondo to the right side of the grid, putting him on the defensive. When Olissa dropped the winning disk, Celtics officials started to shout. Meyerson grabbed the microphone. "This has never happened!" he bellowed.

[...]

"I can't believe it," [Rondo] said. "But did you notice I played the guy five more times and won them all? I had to show him, 'You beat me, I'll beat the s*** out of you.'"

Note to self, never hire Rajon Rondo as a babysitter. Coming home to crushed souls, Rondo-inspired attitude and defeated spirits is not ideal. Not to mention those freakishly huge hands would be more scary than useful with the kids, I mean you can't possibly build Legos with those fingers.

The Dallas Mavericks created Super Marion Bros.

If only the road to become a NBA Champion was World 1-1 easy.

Blake Griffin travels back in time to talk to himself again.

Time travel is confusing, shouldn't his younger self recognize him from the last visit? And didn't he tell him to practice free throws instead of dunking. Now, he is going against his own advice and is actually trying to pitch his car that his 10 year old self will not see until the 13 years later. This whole space-time continuum thing, with all the time frames and different dimensions is not making a lot of sense, but if we get to see the same Blake Griffin dunk on people, he can keep doing what he wants.

The Round Up - November 3rd, 2012.

Stats Rundown:

Chris Bosh bagged the Nuggets with 40 points and 7 rebounds in the Heat victory. Our beloved James Harden has been dethroned, only scoring 24 points tonight.

Board Monster: Anderson Varejao's hair caught 17 balls that missed the rim.

Butter Fingers: James Harden, Monta Ellis, Shawn Marion, Tony Parker, Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala, Isiah Thomas and Kyle Lowry all lost 5 basketballs today.

Rookie Watch:
Damian Lillard is not playing like a rookie, scoring 20 points and 9 assists, making him and Oscar Robertson are only players in NBA history with at least 20 points and 7 dimes in their first 3 games. And he becomes the first NBA player to score at least 20 points in each of his first three career games since Grant Hill in 1994. (Via @TrailBlazersPR)

Time Machine User: Paul Pierce dropped 27 and grabbed 7 boards in a victory against the young Washington Wizards.

Thief: Nicolas Batum took away 6 basketballs for the first time (Career high).

Free Basketball:
The Portland Blazers beat the Houston Rockets 95 to 85 in overtime.
The Indiana Pacers beat the Sacramento Kings 106 to 98 in DOUBLE overtime.

Puzzled Commentator: He really didn't want Blake Griffin to take that jumper.

Unfitting Mascot in Brooklyn: Presenting the Brooklyn Knight, even I can't make fun of this, it is already a joke in it self. I am just guessing they ran out of ideas and just took the team name from Like Mike. (Via @YouBigDummy) Looking like an evil power ranger.

Blake Griffin Face of the night: That is quite a surprise face, thank you NBA.com.

Quote of the night:
From @JMcDonald_SAEN: Manu proclaims himself "very happy" to be back on floor, then corrects himself: "Wait ... happy is not a word anymore." This is how you discipline players, Coach Pop knows what he is doing.

Highlight of the night:
Kyrie Irving played the Bulls tonight, so he did a Derrick Rose-y lay up remind them of the pain.

Game Winners:
Brandon Jennings with his best Derek Fisher impression.

Oh no! LeBron passed up another game winning opportunity, but this time he got it to the guy with the long resume.

The Round Up - November 2nd, 2012

Stats run down:

You might as well get use to this, James Harden is in the running for Kevin Durant's scoring title, putting up ridiculous numbers. He singled handedly ripped the wings off the Hawks, scoring a career high 45 points with only 19 shots, while grabbing 7 rebounds to go. It must be Movember right? That beard is in full effect. Oh, and he became the first person since Jordan (91 in 1986) to score more than 80 points in the first two games of the season.

Board Monster: Omer Asik doing just about the most Omer Asik thing ever, grabbing a total of 19 boards (9 offensive), and didn't even get a point.

Rookie Watch: Damian Lillard returns as the rookie of the night, with 21 points and 7 assists in a loss to the Thunder.

Butter Fingers: Kevin Durant just mishandling the ball, losing it 6 times, which makes him responsible for half of his team's total turnovers.

Time Machine User: Kobe Bryant scored 40 points in a loss to the Clippers and passed Magic Johnson as the Laker franchise leader in steals with 1,725. But age caught up with him after the game, requesting a walking boot to leeave the arena because he felt his foot was about to fall off.

Whoops: Austin Rivers "elbrowed" Anthony Davis in the temple and gave him a mild concussion.

Terrible Life Decisions: Lamar Odom has no hair, so he got tattoos on his head.

Tricks-Tricks: Pau Gasol wants to block Blake Griffin to get revenge on those dunks that will forever haunt him.

Winning Time: Charlotte Bobcats broke their 23 game losing streak tonight, led Kemba Walker, who put a dominating performance tonight, with a career high 30 points.

Best Play that didn't count: Jeff Teague don't care.

More Tricky-Tricks:
Jamal Crawford likes to dribble, so he will put you through a thousand dribble moves before he takes his shot, at least one of them will get you.

Kevin Durant is smooth with it.

Highlight of the Night: DeAndre Jordan is really long.

Game Winner: Apparently floaters win you games, and Greivis Vasquez got the memo.

Source: @cjzero

Halloween Basketball Round Up [10/31/12].

 Stats run down:

Remember when people doubted James Harden's ability to step into the spotlight? Well, He didn't do too bad in his new jersey, just adding himself into a piece of NBA History with 37 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 1 blocked shot. Which have only been accomplished by four players, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Dwyane Wade and himself in the past 25 seasons, no biggie.

Board Monster: Zach Randolph wiped the glass with 16 boards in a loss to the LA Clippers

Rookie Watch: Damian Lillard killed the Lakers with 23 points and 11 dimes, joining Oscar Robertson and Isiah Thomas as only players in NBA history with at least 20 points and 10 assists in NBA debut.

OverPAID: As a Canadian, I want the Raptors to do well, but sorry, Landry Fields. If you get a 3 year, 20 million deal, you have to do better than shooting 0 for 6, with 0 points and only 2 rebounds.

Butter fingers: DeAndre Jordan just dropping the ball, with 9 turnovers in a Clippers win.

Time Machine User: At age 36, the Big Fundamental still got it. Tim Duncan led the Spurs to victory with 24 points and 11 rebounds.

Fans of the night: Very unlikely combo, but it's Halloween, who cares.

Highlight of the night: Aminu and his complicated first name, showing us that one hand is always better than two.

Game Winner: Stupid George Hill got off a floater with 2 seconds left in the game, spoiling Jonas Valaciunas's debut.

Sources:@afigman, @TrailBlazersPR, True Hoop

The Feed: Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat [10/30/12]

This was the game we all have been waiting on tonight, and it was as good as expected. The Miami Heat defeated the Boston Celtics 120 to 107 in the first chapter of Ray Allen's path of revenge. After all the drama, controversy, and rivalry talk in the summer, we get an action packed rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals and it could not have ended any better.

For those who are unconvinced of how good of a game this was, let's just show you how it started.

Yes, that actually happened, and at long last we finally get some rivalry fueled by some intense hatred.

I know this has been said, but the Heat look indestructible. Boston came out to play tonight, keeping the score close until the end and still couldn't be any farther from beating Miami. LeBron left the game early with another leg cramp early 4th quarter, and was still able to register a double double with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Remember when we all criticized him for his inconsistent jumper, well, it was hitting tonight.

Without the MVP, the rest of the roster stepped up. Dwyane Wade struggled early, but still managed to pour in 29 points (scored his 15,000th career point in this game) . Bosh sneaked in 19 points and Ray Allen just shredding his former team with 19 points, establishing himself as a potential 6th man of the year candidate. The all time leader in three pointers made, hit his first bucket in less a minute in to the game, and of course it was a buzzer beater (shot clock). He capitalized on his defenders, using his pump fakes at the three point line to create a space for a easy twos and it was unstoppable.

On the Boston side, Paul Pierce put in 23 points, looking surprisingly ageless in his 14th season and even pulled out a dunk in transition. Unfortunately for the Truth, he didn't get much help early, as Rondo refused to look for his shot in the 1st quarter, however, he ended up with 20 points and 13 assists, by being more aggressive in the second half.

Kevin Garnett was left out offensively finishing with 9 points and 12 boards, his defensive production is still just as stellar, without him the defense collapsed. Jeff Green couldn't pick up the effort on defense or offense, looking as lost as Danny Ainge when he signed him to that 36 million deal. I thought Brandon Bass should have gotten more touches, with Shane Battier guarding him, he can easily out power him and put in more than 15 points. And who wouldn't want to see him dunk more, looking like he is always about to get rim stuffed with that low vertical of his.

The entire game was in Miami's control dominating on both ends of the floor. Boston made a late run (7-0) with Leandro Barbosa (16 points) pushing the ball on the floor, but it wasn't enough to spoil the glorious return of the reigning champions. The Celtic's depth that has been raved about all summer, didn't make a dent. Terry was out of control to start, throwing away passes and contributed to Boston's 16 turnovers to Heat's 8.

Funny things of note:

• Norris Cole's flat top could not be any more leveled.
• I am a 100% sure, NBA made a thicker headband just for LeBron.
• TNT really likes to film LeBron drinking his Gatorade, which was useless in helping him prevent cramps.
• Rashard Lewis's facial hair is disgusting and his jump shot is still super weird.
• Rondo pulled a Raja Bell on Dwyane Wade out of frustration.
• Kevin Garnett got a technical for faking an elbow to Mario Chalmers.
• Paul Pierce didn't take advantage when Mike Miller and his deteriorated body was guarding him.
• Wade complained just about every singe call and non call.

Offensive Set:
Miami returned to their strengths in the half court, using LeBron as the post to draw defenders close to kick out to more capable shooters. If they don't go to the post, they use the shooters to spread the floor for either Dwyane Wade and LeBron to attack the basket. They did run a similar double screen play Boston used to run for Ray Allen, but they abandoned that early when he was able to find his own offense. Their main weapon is still transition. They move the ball so quick, it is almost unbelievable. When they push against a unsettled defense, there is no doubt the ball will end up in the basket. 

Without Ray Allen to use as a decoy, Boston had to find a new offense. It mainly incorporates Rondo and Paul Pierce. Rondo obivously does Rondo things, weaving through the defense to find the wide open guys. If the ball lands in Paul Pierce's hands, he will either go for an iso, or a high post up that forces Heat's attention, allowing him to look for cutters.

Defensive Set:

The Heat is not only fast on offense, they are ridiculous with their rotations. They can afford to double and still recover just in time. Their specialty is still a ball handler trap at the top corner of the court, forcing lots of turnovers on any guard that is not prepared. 

Boston is without out a doubt still a great defensive team, but against a team loaded with this many weapons, they can only hope to slow them down. They like to double up on the stars for obvious reasons, rather risk the kick out then an easy basket. They have great communication for smooth rotations and props to Courtney Lee for his defense on Wade, that really bothered the star early in the game.

Rookie Watch:
Sulllinger is not ready, at least not against the heat. He might need to be in better shape, because he is a bit slow guarding Chris Bosh.

Conan throws an alley-oop to Blake Griffin in Video Game form.

That now makes the greatest red head basketball duo since ever. Also probably the first and last red head to red head alley-oop. The reason why Conan was traded because there is a NBA rule where you are only allowed to have one red head per team in order maintain competitive balance. When Scalabrine left, it only makes sense for the Celtics to sign Conan to become their new man and personality wise he would be a perfect fit. He should however, consider changing his number, 20 is not very hot right now in Boston.

Bonus clip of faces that Blake Griffin makes when he is dunking:

The Feed: Washington Wizards vs. Cleveland Cavaliers [10/30/12]

Recap:

Kyrie Irving and company defeated the Wall-less Wizards 94 to 84 in the first official game of the 2012 - 2013 season. I know it was not the best way to start the NBA off, but this was surprisingly entertaining to watch. For those who missed out on Kyrie Irving in the previous hectic 66 game season, the reigning Rookie of the Year was ready to put on a show. The Wizards had no answers for the sophomore allowing him to finish the game with 29 points. Without John Wall, and Nene, Washington could not buy any offense, relying on Jordan Crawford, which turned out like you would have guessed. The kid jacked up a shot every time he got the ball, scoring 11 points on 13 attempts.

Anderson Varejao put in a near triple-double performance, with 9 points, 9 assists and a ridiculous 23 boards, something no one has ever done in an opener since Wilt chamberlain in 1967. The "Wild Thang," (Yes, that is his actual nickname, I found out today too.) probably broke another record today, drawing two charges in two consecutive possessions against the same player and no, he did not do any flopping except for the curly locks on his magnificent head. His contribution on the offensive glass (12) created multiple offensive opportunities that eventually led his team to victory. 

Cleveland was in total control of the entire game, leading every quarter except the fourth, where they blew a 16 point lead. The Cav's second unit were just unable to find points and play defense, they got outscored by the Wiz's bench 46 to 23. It didn't really matter though, once Byron Scott re-inserted his starters, the lead was quickly erased, handing Washington, their first loss of the season.
 

Offensive Set:

Cleveland often struggled to score in a half court set, if they don't put a shot up before the opponent's defense are set, they will usually run a pick and roll with the ball handler, who will shoot or attack the basket off the screen. They are most successful with Kyrie and Dion on the floor pushing the pace for a quick bucket.

Majority of the time, Washington, tends to set up in the half court (this is likely not going to become their offensive scheme when John is back, but with A.J. Price as your starting point, somethings had to change). The set they ran the most was a on ball screen, where the ball handler passes to a forward standing on the wing, and cuts through the right side with the help of another 2 screens. The recipient of the ball returns it to the original ball handler who has now on the weak side, where he will either have a shot or a pass to the big man.The Wizards seem to favor an attack on the weak side.

Defensive Set: 

The Cavs traps the ball handler hard when their opponents are setting a screen, this was effective in forcing a few turnovers. However, neither teams played great defensively, Wizards' rotations were horrible, they were either too slow, or late. In the 4th quarter at around the 2 minute mark, Tristan Thompson was left open in the same spot for 3 straight possessions, where he threw down three back-to-back-to-back dunks that were so similar, you would have thought there was a disruption of the TV signal, causing a weird loop.


Rookie Watch:

Dion Waiters simply outplayed Bradley Beal. He has great awareness, taking good shots, making the right plays and oozes confidence. He finished with 17 points in 28 minutes.

Tyler Zeller wasn't really a factor in this game, he did seem nervous to start but managed to get 5 points and 2 boards.

Bradley Beal made a good debut, 8 points, 2/4 from three point within 21 minutes. Wittman should have gave him more opportunities, needs to draw up a few plays for him to be effective as a shooter.