Niko Regalbuto-

Chris Paul, Ricky Rubio, Derrick Rose: the short list of point guards that have torn knee ligaments over the past few seasons, and today, we add another all-star to the growing list. The Celtics organization announced that Rajon Rondo has officially been diagnosed with a torn ACL, leaving the future of this Celtics team in limbo.

Already barely holding onto a playoff spot as the eight seed in the East, Boston has been struggling all season. Though acting as their motor, not even Rondo could disguise this team as a legitimate title contender. Now, with their driving force gone, GM Danny Ainge has some tough decisions to make regarding the future of the franchise.  Avery Bradley is a good player, but is he good enough to keep the Celtics in the playoff race? Even Rondo was struggling with such a daunting task. The three words that eventually become inevitable for every franchise, yet have eluded the Celtics for so many years, may finally be the only course of action.

Blow it up.

Or as NBA analyst Noam Schiller put it:

Now I’m not advocating tanking into the lower echelon of the league (though it may happen anyway), I just think that the the Pierce-Garnett title shot era is over. There’s no way the Celtics win it all this year without getting a superstar to replace their fallen, and they definitely don’t have the trade assets to make that happen. So will they be able to win it next year? Pierce and Garnett will both be another year into their inescapable demise, and judging by their performance this year, making the playoffs may even be a tough task.

Will they get rid of pieces and use the cap room to pursue Josh Smith, Al Jefferson, or maybe another big name free agent? Could be an idea.

The way I see it, this year is the final Hoo-Rah for a Rondo-Pierce-Garnett core. Ainge knows it, Celtics fans know it, and the NBA general audience knows it. It’s a terrible situation, but hopefully judging by the strong returns of recent players with similar conditions, Rondo will come back just as dominant. Only one thing is for sure: he is one of the premier players in this league, and on behalf of every fan, we on the Stoop Sports staff wish him a speedy recovery.

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