After Rajon Rondo went down for the year with a torn ACL, even the most optimistic Boston Celtics fan was fearing the end was nigh for the current team and the Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett era, let alone winning a title this season. It was time to hit reset on the game console and trade away veterans for younger players. One local writer dubbed it "Black Sunday."
But as Doc Rivers famously told everyone, it's too early to write the obituary, and Rivers has largely been proved right, as the Celtics have gone 14-5 in Rondo's absence, with numbers that would suggest they are doing more than just surviving without him, as Kevin Pelton outlined recently. Why? The Celtics' system, not to mention their roster, has allowed them to compensate for the loss of their point guard. Other teams, however, wouldn't be so lucky. So who are the most important point guards in the league? Meaning: Which five are simply indispensible to their teams?