Lightning Bolt!

For me, there are two reasons the Celtics are all of the sudden watchable...and their names are Glen Davis and Rajon Rondo. The pageantry of guys like Paul Pierce, Kobe Bryant, and Pau Gasol is what has made basketball repulsive to people like me over the years, but now there is a refreshing "new look" to the NBA Finals. Sure, the NBA will always be the NBA, and there will always be diving, whining, and poor officiating, but at least this NBA Finals features a new element. I've been a casual Big Baby fan since LSU made their run to national prominence a few years ago in the NCAA tournament. Now, he's developed into the kind of player that isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. He's got the same type of skill that allowed the Tigers to make their Final Four run in '06, and now he's the ferocious rebounder who lays-out for loose balls. That's the kind of player in basketball that is fun to watch.

Rondo, on the other hand, is fun to watch for the same reasons, plus much more. My NHL parallel to Rajon? Pavel Bure. When Bure had the puck on his stick, the guy was an absolute magician. He had unthinkable speed and made the unimaginable happen. Rondo is the same way. He's got the speed, he's got the tenacity, and he's got the creativity to glue eyeballs to the TV-screen whenever he's near the ball. Rondo's "Gary Payton-like" hands on defense, his speed in the front-court, and his "wow" factor make him the most pleasurable NBA player to watch. Simply put...he's a lightning bolt! Him and Baby have made the NBA Finals must-see TV (at least for a quarter per game) for even the biggest of NBA haters.