Jeremy Lin, meet Rajon Rondo – a man obviously tired of hearing best point guard in the NBA conversations focused around Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook and Deron Williams. A man obviously not thrilled about having the  ”Linsanity” circus brought into his house. A man who is tired of the trade rumors, and ultimately a man who turns it up to another level when he’s playing with a chip on his shoulder. Yesterday, in my opinion, was the best day of NBA basketball yet this season, with both Kobe Bryant and Rajon Rondo dropping classic “chip on the shoulder” performances. But it was Rondo’s day that truly shined.

Rondo’s performance – 18 points, 17 rebounds, and 20 assists – was one of the best regular season performances in the history of the NBA. The triple-double aside, only one on other player in NBA history has ever had a 15 point, 15 rebound, 15 assist game. Not Magic. Not Jordan. Not Lebron. (Jason Kidd was the other) And for the Celtics, they took a 2-1 season series lead against the Knicks, making this a meaningful game that could have playoff implications.

Rondo’s stat line aside, he also played stellar defense on Jeremy Lin – he only managed 14 points and 5 assists for the game. Lost in the wake of Rondo’s performance was Paul Pierce’s game, which included a 3-pointer that sent the game to overtime and 34 points. You know something special went down when 34 points is a secondary story line.

As for the Celtics, they’ve suddenly begun to play great. Kevin Garnett getting more time at center is the primary difference that I’ve seen, and while it was a move made out of necessity I say ride the wave as long as you can. This was a huge win for the Celtics, but I’m not going to get overly excited about it. This game to me was about Rondo saying “shut the *uck up” to his doubters – it was not about the Celtics making a statement that they are still a contender. The bitter lining of this game was that in my eyes, this will go down as the Celtic’s signature win this season. I still give them no real shot at a title.

Danny Ainge, you said it best. Rondo’s not going anywhere.

At this point everybody has heard of Jeremy Lin – he’s the NBA’s version of Tim Tebow. And as the Celtics are busy sucking (I’m going to see the suckage in person tonight, courtesy of my favorite Cape Verdean), I figured it’s time I weigh in on the issue.

With Jeremy Lin playing for the Knicks, I’m inherently not allowed to be a fan of his. I wouldn’t be anyway – smart Harvard Asian guy dominating the NBA just really isn’t that compelling to me. That said, this is a great story, no doubt. Averaging 27.2 PPG and 8.8 APG in your first week of starting in the NBA is remarkable. Working Kobe is even better, and nothing tops last night’s game-winning three pointer (Lin had the final 6 points of the game). Very cool. While I hope the Knicks lose every game, I hope Lin keeps playing well. Bostonians love themselves an underdog.

That said, I was looking for some sort of unique angle on the hurricane that is Linsanity. While the Boston media hasn’t been nearly as saturated with Lin stories as New York, I feel like everyone has heard the same old schtick – last week Jeremy Lin was sleeping on his brother’s couch, playing D-league ball, etc. With all of that in mind I set out to take a closer look at Lin’s time spent here in Boston, playing ball at Harvard.

What immediately struck me? Jeremy Lin was not very good at basketball at Harvard. He was a pretty good player his junior and senior seasons, averaging 16 points per game and 4 assists. But hell, those numbers don’t get you anywhere near the NBA, even if you played at a Kentucky or a Duke. They weren’t the best stats among Ivy League point guards, and frankly Lin was not a big story during his time at Harvard. In order to draw any NBA attention, I’d expect a point guard out of the Ivy League to average 25 PPG and 15 APG. Hell, I think that each year only a handful of Ivy League players could even contend in big Division I basketball, let alone the NBA.

Given that 09-10 was Lin’s senior season, I can’t help but ask; “What the hell happened in such a short period of time that Jeremy Lin is now dominating in the NBA?” He couldn’t dominate a Harvard arena filled with 500 nerds two years ago and now he’s selling out Madison Square Garden? Amazing. Behind Lin’s story needs to be an amazing coach, an amazing work ethic, or some kind of magical balance bracelet that improves your shooting and cures world hunger. I’m not sure how much of Lin’s full back story has truly been flushed out, but that’s a story worth telling.