Did The Jeremy Lin Experience Help Rajon Rondo Get His Swagger Back?

After Rajon Rondo’s triple double almost single handedly beat the Chicago Bulls yesterday, pundits such as myself were talking about how happy we are to see him back in top form. Did The Jeremy Lin Experience play a part in it?

It wasn’t that long ago that he was struggling with an injury, was the focus of Celtics trade rumors and even NESN.com was proclaiming that Boston was better off without him.

Rajon Rondo

In many situations, athletes fold up and become obstinate with their clubs. They feel as if they can coast and “save it all for the next team.”

But Rajon is obviously not buying into that.  Can we attribute some of this to New York Knicks breakout star Jeremy Lin?

If you walk down the street today and ask fans who the best point guard in the NBA today is, I would venture to say as many as 35 % would almost shriek Lin’s name.

The PG out of Harvard has literally become an overnight sensation and it’s got everyone from the front office to the baseline shaking their heads in befuddlement.

So much so, that it’s got me thinking that maybe Lin’s play is so good, so pure and so statistically off-the charts that other PGs  in the league have already had enough of this kind of talk.

To become someone that gets a check to play any sport, you have to have some sort of ego. You just do and despite his recent black cloud in Boston, there is a part of me that wonders’ is Rajon Rondo going on this tear to stake his claim as “the man” on the east coast?

The look in his eyes during yesterday’s contest against the Bulls was one of aggression.  It reminded me somewhat of that look that Michael Jordan used to get when he felt that he had been slighted in any way, shape or form.

Athletes at are fueled by a variety of different things. Some run better when the money is right. Some do it for the championships. Some want to be a shining light for kids living in a world of darkness. And some run on a fuel called ‘Oh Hell No.’

Oh Hell No is a brand that has gotten players to the annual All-Star Game. It is the unspoken sponsor of the dunk contest.

It can only be consumed by those that are ready to put themselves out there to prove that they alone are the best at their position.  Its motto is solid and stern.  “You think you are better than me? Oh hell no!”

These feelings can be incredibly off-target. But the timing with Rondo’s resurgence and Lin’s ascension is incredible.

Let’s hope that this may be the case. It’s better for Lin. It’s better for Rondo. It’s better for the Celtics and it’s better for the NBA.

In what has for the most part been an apathetic season on many levels. It’s nice to start seeing incredible performances again.  Go Jeremy go.