Will Rajon Rondo be better than Dennis Johnson?

[2short]

Now this is a post!
First I think you don't have to go further than Tommy's views on Rondo on just how good he can be.  But that is future.
DJ belongs in the hall of fame without a doubt and its a pity that he wasn't there on the 1st ballot.  As someone stated earlier, DJ in Seattle with downtown freddie brown, that was something to see.  We in Boston got to see DJ past his prime and Tiny well past his prime.  You "youngsters" out there have no idea how great Tiny was in his prime.
I think Rondo's game falls in between these 2 greats, chris paul is a lot like Tiny by the way.  Rondo is the same sort of defensive force DJ was throughout his career.  Can Rondo be a better player than dj, yes...but this if lots of improvement and a long healthy career.  By the way TA is nowhere near DJ.
So loved DJ think he belongs in the hall, think Rondo has what it takes to be great.  What I really like about both guys are they really understand the game.  Rondo is doing things that are so hard to do, tricky passes, spin on layups.  Seems to me our young guard needs to continue to improve and add an outside shot and improve ft to 80% then ask the question again (2 years).  IMO I wouldn't trade him for any pg in the league straight up except Paul.

[BballTim]

  If ever there was a player in the NBA who's impact on a game could not be measured by statistics it was DJ.

[QuinielaBox]

Time will tell on where Rondo ends up in Celtics history. Yeah, he could end up a lot better than DJ ever was.

But DJ was a tremendous player back in the day. When he took on the assignment of guarding Magic in 1984, that turned the series around and helped us to a memorable victory.

But as Bill Walton said last night, Rajon Rondo is on his way to the All-star game with his three teammates.

[Sweet17]

For the life of me I don't see how people are comparing Tiny with Rondo.  Aside from height and quickness, I don't see much of a connection in their games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9iHWG5kPV0

For real? Did you watch Tiny play at all. It was dribble penetration with crazy hard layups or nice dishes. That's pretty much Rondo's game on O. Now Rondo doesn't score like Tiny NOW..

But (and people will call me crazy) Rondo has real potential as a scorer with his quickness. I think in his later years he will become real high scoring. He is the guy that put 55 points on Sergio.

Obviously Tiny didn't really D up guys like Rondo does.. but the comparison really is there.

[incoherent]

After reading this thread I've learned that, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, have all said DJ is the best player or one of the best players they've ever seen / played with / against.

I'm not old enough to recall his game, I wish that I could.  Youtube, here I come.

[feckless]

For the life of me I don't see how people are comparing Tiny with Rondo.  Aside from height and quickness, I don't see much of a connection in their games.

Amen to that, or I agree Amenhotep04, Chris Paul is a better comparison to Tiny except that Nate was a much better shooter.  39 points in the college senior all-star game.  At Rondo's age Tiny was in my mind a combination of Chris Paul and AI.
 
Sweet17 the drive and dish or crazy lay-ups are right for Tiny but i also remember a strong stop on a dime pull-up jumper with range--am i wrong?  What a great clip but no jumpers and I remember that in his game.  Also note I think Cousy was coaching the Kings when Tiny came out.

[BrickJames]

  If ever there was a player in the NBA who's impact on a game could not be measured by statistics it was DJ.

Really?  I thought that was Scal...

[Sweet17]

 
 

Sweet17 the drive and dish or crazy lay-ups are right for Tiny but i also remember a strong stop on a dime pull-up jumper with range--am i wrong?  What a great clip but no jumpers and I remember that in his game.  Also note I think Cousy was coaching the Kings when Tiny came out.

Well there are no perfect comparisons. I totally see what your saying - Tiny did have a better outside J. But my point was that style wise the comparison is closer then DJ and Rondo if you just watch em play.

You don't have "DJ" flashbacks watching Rondo play. I think you absolutely do have Tiny flash backs on O. Tiny is kind of the archetype of all drive and dish PGs in the NBA so of course top tier guys with this style remind one of Tiny.

I don't really have many memories of DJ driving and dishing - though I am sure he did it on occasion. I remember more tough J's (much like PP on O) or scrappy hustle steals. DJ was a scrapper.

Rondo gets to the paint via dribble constantly.. He is more the talented smart alec type - not so much a scrapper. It is admittedly a kind of personal thing - these comparisons.

Pete

[Redz]

For the life of me I don't see how people are comparing Tiny with Rondo.  Aside from height and quickness, I don't see much of a connection in their games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9iHWG5kPV0

For real? Did you watch Tiny play at all. It was dribble penetration with crazy hard layups or nice dishes. That's pretty much Rondo's game on O. Now Rondo doesn't score like Tiny NOW..

But (and people will call me crazy) Rondo has real potential as a scorer with his quickness. I think in his later years he will become real high scoring. He is the guy that put 55 points on Sergio.

Obviously Tiny didn't really D up guys like Rondo does.. but the comparison really is there.

We have a Matty Guolas sighting ladies and gentlemen!

Great video. And yes, I can see some Rondo there. 

Tiny did have that 10-12 foot pullup too (as someone mentioned), as I recall.

[amenhotep04]

For the life of me I don't see how people are comparing Tiny with Rondo.  Aside from height and quickness, I don't see much of a connection in their games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9iHWG5kPV0

For real? Did you watch Tiny play at all. It was dribble penetration with crazy hard layups or nice dishes. That's pretty much Rondo's game on O. Now Rondo doesn't score like Tiny NOW..

But (and people will call me crazy) Rondo has real potential as a scorer with his quickness. I think in his later years he will become real high scoring. He is the guy that put 55 points on Sergio.

Obviously Tiny didn't really D up guys like Rondo does.. but the comparison really is there.

Thanks for the video, but to answer your question, yeah, I was a fan of Tiny's his entire career, and watched him play many a time.  He was probably one of the more under-appreciated players during his time.

Offensively I don't see much comparison because Tiny was way more of an offensive threat, and could score from just about any place after he got into the front court.  He typically didn't have the players around him that Rondo currently enjoys, so often times was a one man show. Yes, there was the drive and dish, but if we're going to go that route, then there are a lot of players that Rondo compares with.

[gustusias]

Dennis Johnson won championships with Seattle and Boston. His game was entirely different. Even in his younger days he never was close to Rondo in speed. I mean how many pgs are? Rondo also can penetrate and find open guys much better than DJ.His handle is superior. His athleticism is off DJ's charts for sure. Dennis had very long arms as well as being taller than most of his opponents. He was strong too. In those days it was ok to handcheck and to lay your body on someone.Physically then DJ knew how to use his superior tools; length, strength, long arms. He always played better in the big games. That is what I remember most about him. Come playoff time, he would up the ante and then beat you. An extremely good and dependable clutch player anyways, come playoffs he was the best. So there it is. In actuality Rajon Rondo is in my opinion the best pure point guard we've had since Cousy with the exception of Tiny. DJ, slower, pounding the ball into the floor, methodically setting up the offense, was a superior defender, a better shooter, and one of the best when the heat was turned up. If Rondo's shot improves and he's consistent for the next decade, then yeah, he will be better than DJ, HOF or not.

[Finkelskyhook]

The only way they compare is that they are both Celtics.  Tiny is a closer comparison.  But still not close.  It was very impressive to see how Rondo did guarding Johnson last night.  DJ, if he was on today's C's, would certainly get that assignment.  Tiny could have never done that. 

I would rather have Rondo than Tiny on this current time.  Tiny would make for too many scorers.  DJ would have fit into any squad.

 

[gustusias]

Wait a minute here. Tiny Archibald was as special as they get at the point guard spot. I swear he could score almost at will.  When he started to play there were no three point fgs. His outside shot was incredible. Stop and bomb. He played on some very poor teams and was always the center piece. Yet, through it all he always had the whole package. He could go wherever he wanted to on the court as well as shoot the lights out. With Boston it was different. There was Bird, etc... to go along with him. He retired and they lost the next year. That's when they got DJ ....to deal with Mo Cheeks and Andrew Toney.

[2short]

I did think of a comparison between Rondo and DJ !  They both are excellant at poking the ball away from their opponent after the man has gone past them.  DJ was the best I've ever seen at this and Rondo is quite good himself.  Maybe its the extra long arms?

[Michael Anthony]

The Greats - the real all timers - know how to add to thier games over time. They study the predescesors and contemporaries, and absorb what they see. Jordan of course comes to mind. He did not have much of a post game or three point shot early in his career, but he added them. His handle improved too. That baseline turnaround came with some assembly required...

You watch Rondo, and see new elements in his game. The improved free throws. The Steve Nash dribble under the basket. The solid form on his outside shot. What will he add next? How will he adapt as his body slows, but his experience grows? These questions will determine his place in history.