Once again, Rondo dials it up on the dish

The number of assists (16) wasn’t the dazzling part of the operation Rajon Rondo performed on the Miami Heat last night in the Celtics’ 112-107 win. It was the ease with which the assists were recorded.
At points, Rondo looked like a quarterback in the pocket — with no pass rush.

He dribbled on the left wing in the second quarter, waiting as everyone else on the floor raced past him. He could have made any number of bad passes — a bounce pass to Kevin Garnett or a skip pass to Paul Pierce.

He waited, and when Ray Allen finally sprinted behind him, Rondo simply handed the ball off for one of Allen’s seven 3-pointers.

“Patience,’’ Rondo said, trying to explain it. “Knowing what’s about to happen. Seeing the play before it happens. It’s not easy. That’s the kind of chemistry [we have]. I know where Ray’s going to be, I know where he wants the ball. I can almost throw some blind passes once in a while.’’