Bring on the playoffs, baby.

With less than 20 games remaining in the season, the Celtics proved they are still the team to beat in the East with a dominant win over the powerful Pistons Wednesday night. And despite skepticism around the league, the Green is still holding it down better than steel-plated bungee cords strapped over an SUV.

While all the limelight is being focused on the Big Three, the little point guard—who has received so much criticism for being Boston’s greatest weakness—has been quietly enriching his game. Many haven’t acknowledged Rondo’s incredible growth over the course of the season and still consider him highly inferior to his peers. Well, the PG is beginning to show the doubters otherwise, staging the basketball equivalent of Rocky desperately clinging to the neck of Thunderlips in his impressive match-up against Billups last night.

So here’s my two cents on the matter, from a fan who believes in the kid’s capabilities…four reasons to like Rajon Rondo.

1. He’s gaining confidence and making more smart plays
One of the most common faults pointed to in Rondo’s game has been his proclivity to panic when KG, Pierce and Allen are all covered, making a hasty (and often inaccurate) jump shot. But in the past couple of months, his decision-making skills have radically improved; more and more you’ll see him driving to the basket or making a play when the 3party is unavailable. Take that brawny dunk last night…ripping past Rip and ramming it over the meaty Jason Maxiell as prime example of the new level on which this kid is playing.

2. He’s always had the gear
From his Kentucky WildCat days, Rondo has had the tools: great passing skills, racks up a lot of rebounds for a PG, brings pressure defensively, is quick on his feet. Now he’s learning to be more of a true point guard, supporting his teammates and making unselfish plays. Rondo came up to the NBA like the most popular chick in Jr. High hitting the high school halls for the first time. She stayed the same, but the competition around her mounted, and trying to land a homecoming date with the varsity quarterback suddenly became a little more intimidating. Rajon Rondo is trying to lead the charge to the finals with an All-Star cast whose radiance makes the 22 year old seem dull in comparison, but the truth is this: sometimes the seniors need a spunky little freshman to keep them on their toes.

3. He’s young. He’s impressionable
And in case you haven’t noticed, he’s surrounded by absurd talent. If that doesn’t help a guy get better, I don’t know what will. From people who have admitted his vastly superior season to the previous one, I’ve heard the following response: “he’s only so much better because of the greatness of the guys around him”. Um…fine. I’ll take that, as long as KG and gang aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. If I got to hang out with Dan Haren everyday, would I start whipping my gym shorts from washer to dryer at 97 mph? I don’t know. But I feel like I’d improve somehow, some way, even if it was just learning how to grow a better mane. If I got to hang out with Bill Simmons everyday, I’d probably be able to come up with a more legitimate analogy than comparing a professional basketball player to a dopey-eyed fourteen year old girl. I’d have to, right? Greatness breeds greatness…and if you hang around it long enough you can usually at least learn to imitate it.

4. He’ll surprise you (in good ways).
An NBA season is full of surprises. Surprise, your entire team is going down with injuries. Surprise, your owner is going to uproot the entire franchise and move them half-way across the country. Surprise, it turns out there is some scandal in effect keeping one of the worst coaches in the history of the game in control of your team. Rondo, conversely, is full of good surprises, exciting surprises. Surprise, the little guy can keep up after all. Surprise, what was perhaps the “greatest weakness” of the team seems to work pretty well with the big guys. And he shows us new sides of himself all the time. After his huge dunk on Wednesday, perhaps the most thrilling part about it was the way he handled himself after getting up from the hard foul. While the rest of the crowd was captivated with what may have been one of the more aggressive plays of his short career, Rondo strutted away from the performance like he had just successfully tossed his lunch leftovers in the trash can. Or the other night when he got into it with Doc on the bench, with KG eventually having to plant his massive body between the two of them. Whether Rondo’s point was wrong or right, I don’t care. At that moment he proved that he was not a voiceless pawn on the court.

Rondo still has a ways to go to even be referenced in the same conversations with the greats of the position. While nearly doubling his numbers from last year, he still posts fairly modest stats, averaging 10.7 ppg and 5.1 assists. But it should be noted too, that these numbers were greatly boosted during Garnett’s nine game absence, during which he averaged 16 ppg, led the team in rebounds, and had 1.8 bpg. And that’s what really matters, isn’t it? It’s the fact that he is able to step up when the team truly needs him to perform, right? It’s hard to measure clutch-ness, but few would argue that its one of the most crucial qualities to possess as a professional athlete.

And so a playoff spot has been established, 24 days earlier than the Boston team was officially eliminated last season. The Green is ON. And holding it down in the backcourt is your homecoming queen, Rajon Rondo. (Wow that’s absurd).