6 Becomes 5

Boston Celtics locker room:

"Sorry, this was my fault. I couldn't contain Rondo," Tony Allen said, his face full of self-reproach.

In this game, Rondo seemed to have suddenly unlocked a shooting skill set, catching Tony Allen—and even the entire Boston Celtics—completely off guard.

After all, Rondo had never been known for his shooting, yet he was now displaying excellent shooting ability. Tony Allen had never expected it and struggled to adjust in the moment.

Moreover, Rondo was not only an outstanding scorer but also an excellent point guard with superb playmaking ability.

Better scoring ability would make his playmaking even more dangerous.

Once his outside shot became reliable, the entire Boston Celtics defensive strategy would have to change accordingly.

More importantly, Tony Allen could no longer roam freely on defense the way he had before.

The reason the Boston Celtics had defeated the New York Knicks so convincingly in the first two games was largely because Rondo lacked an outside shot.

At the time, Tony Allen could stand directly near the free-throw line, allowing the Boston Celtics to form an extremely compressed defensive setup.

That meant if the New York Knicks wanted to break the deadlock, they had to rely on outside offense. Unfortunately, the Celtics had two excellent perimeter defenders in Goodwin and Paul Pierce, greatly hampering the Knicks' attack.

Even when the New York Knicks fed the ball inside to Kevin Garnett and Tyson Chandler, they would occasionally be double-teamed.

But this game was completely different. Kevin Garnett had gained much more room to operate, making this the most comfortable game he had played all series.

"No, it wasn't your fault. It was mine. I should've taken up the offensive burden earlier. No matter how hot he was, we could've kept the score close, waited for our