And I’m not talking about the game 5 free throw miss. I’m talking about his series play, which has been spotty, and downright sloppy at times. Too many turnovers, too man ymental lapses and as expected, some porous defense. How poetic was it that he hit the free throws at the end?

Is there any doubt that Rondo is a thug? Grabbing Hinrich’s arm and throwing him out of bounds. Who does that? Rondo has made 2 thug-like plays in this series that would even make Ron Artest wince. Rondo had 19 assists but was just 4-17 from the field.

And if Ben Gordon wants to go ahead and work around screens and keep track of his man on defense, I’ll go ahead and throw out that game 7 would be a really good time to start. If your hammy is healthy enough to get to the basket and get elevation on your shot, surely you can fight a little harder on D.

Other quick thoughts:

Kirk Hinrich: Onions.

John Salmons: 13-22, 5-9 from 3, 35 points and 60 minutes played. Wow. And he took it to the rack hard in the OTs. PLAYA. (more…)