Often times when things are going incredibly well for one team and painfully terrible for another in a playoff series, there are one or two defining moments that we’ll look back on as a microcosm for the entire series. When the Celtics dominated the Magic last night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals to take a 3-0 lead over Orlando, Rajon Rondo provided us with one of those moments. Check out the video of Rajon Rondo beating Jason Williams to a loose ball and laying it in, courtesy of YouTube user NBARauf:
It’s pretty rare that you can declare a basketball game over at the beginning of the second quarter, but this play was one that showed everyone which team wanted it more. Yes, Rajon Rondo is much faster than Jason Williams. That doesn’t excuse a lack of hustle, and after getting a three-foot head start to chase down the loose ball Williams was completely blindsided by Rondo’s speed and determination. Not only did he not hit the floor to fight for the loose ball; he didn’t even try to contest the lay-up or commit a foul to prevent the easy two. You would think after all the buzz surrounding Paul Pierce’s twitter and his post-game comments that Orlando would at least go down with a fight if they were going to lose again. Aside from Matt Barnes’ cheap shot on Kevin Garnett that caused his own coach to get flattened, the Magic showed no sign of life for 48 minutes. They’re on the verge of going home and they don’t even seem to care.
Video Credit: YouTube user NBARauf
