Rajon Rondo. Number 9. NBA Assist Leader for the 2011-2012 Season. Leader of the NBA with 6 triple doubles this season. And lastly, the Celtics biggest advantage over all the other teams.

How many teams in the NBA have a pointguard who can control the game like Rondo? You could argue the Clippers with Chris Paul, or Tony Parker on the Spurs, or even the Bulls' Derrick Rose. Out of those three, only one is in the Eastern Conference, and when (notice the when not if) the Celtics get to the Finals the chances of them facing either of the two other teams is two in eight. So whenever the Celtics will match up with any other team they will have the advantage with Rondo playing at the point.

Not only does he dish out assists at an unbelievable rate, but he also puts a lot of pressure on the defensive end; and when Rondo plays point, he has the ability to control the game. He leads our fastbreaks, he finds the open man, he runs past defenders, he grabs the rebounds, and he brings so much energy to the game and on the floor. Add to all that his improved jumpshot, his competitive nature, and his ability to play through great pain.

Even more is his recent streak of double digit assists, and his very consistent and terrific play coming out of the All-Star break. Rondo has proven all of those saying he's inconsistent wrong. He came out of the All Star break playing some of the most inspired and best basketball of his career. A record for himself (and for the league since John Stockton) of 23 consecutive games of double digit assists was the answer to all those critics. And even when he came back from not playing for a few games, he still got 15 assists. Even though many of us have gotten used to Rondo's crazy assist numbers, it is still pretty crazy, so lets just take a moment to fully realize how amazing that streak is and how much it says about Rondo's improved and consistent play. He has found a way to control the floor and help his team game after game after game.

This can honestly go on for much longer, because there is just so much to be said about Rajon Rondo. But the main point is that Rondo is our key factor for this playoff run. Sure there are many other key players and factors for us: Kevin Garnett as center, Paul Pierce as himself, Avery Bradley as the newly emerged starter, Brandon Bass as a hidden consistent player, Ray Allen (if he gets healthy) as the 6th man, our entire bench (on their good nights), and Doc Rivers as coach. But even with all of these players, the one guy who can affect the game the most is number 9 himself, Rajon Rondo. If Rondo plays as well as he has and as well as he usually plays during playoffs, then this team can go really far in this postseason. Right now, no other pointguard in the league can match up with Rondo when Rondo plays his best, and by his best we can all bring back the stat line from that Knicks game, 17-20-18.