Rondo Trade Puts More Burden on James Harden

Now that Dallas has made a blockbuster move to acquire Rajon Rondo, the pressure is all on James Harden. The man has been playing like the MVP of late, especially with Dwight Howard out with injury. Harden has almost single handedly kept the Houston Rockets at the top of the Western Conference standings. His play has been great, but with the Grizzlies, Spurs and Mavs all in their division (not to mention the Pelicans, currently the eighth seed), it will be tough going forward for the Rockets to grab home court advantage. Perhaps this move will spark the Rockets to counter with a trade of their own. Rondo was the target but maybe Houston can grab a Goran Dragic from Phoenix. The Rockets need an upgrade if they want to compete for a title this year.

Rondo to the Mavs Equals Instant Contenders

The Boston Celtics have finally moved their All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo. He is being traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Brendan Wright, Jameer Nelson, Jae Crowder and 2 future draft picks. So, the move has finally been made. After the past couples years of trade speculation, Rondo is out of Boston. As a Celtics fan its sad to see the only player I really care about leave the team, but part of me is very excited. I will get to see more of Rondo now that he is playing for a contender. Rondo always used to play even better during nationally televised games, and more importantly...during the playoffs. Dallas was already a sleeper in the loaded west, but now that they have added Rondo, they immediately move into title contender status. No team in the league can say they have a more talented, yet well-rounded team following this move. The Mavericks love to push the ball and get quick hoops, so look for Rondo to be in heaven. It would not surprise me if he averaged close to 15 assists per game, nor would it surprise me if the Mavericks end up in the NBA finals.

Warriors Just Keep Winning

Golden State got another win last night over the Houston Rockets. That moves them to 19-2 on the young season, and still the best record in the NBA. The team is one of the best offensive and defensive teams in the league. Last nights win was especially impressive, because of the way they closed the game, leaving no doubt who was still the best team in the league. Now Houston did not have Dwight Howard, but Golden State did not have Bogut either. In the upcoming week the Warriors will be tested by some of the best in the west, including Oklahoma City, Dallas and Memphis. If the team is able to come out of this stretch will just two losses, I may be writing about how good this team could really be.