Please Don't Ever Say Again Rondo Doesn't Turn it On and Off

[BballTim]

I don't think Rondo's problem is effort, I think it is talent.  The overwhelmingly significant difference between the two games for Rondo was that in game 2 he was hitting the wide open mid range shots.  That forced Miami to adjust how they were defending.  Everything else flowed from there.  Rondo played the game of his life in a big moment.

Think of this as compared to golf.  A golfer can go out and nail all the putts in a day and shoot the round of his life.  The difference between the scratch golfer and the average golfer is that the average golfer does not have the ability to nail the putts the next round where as the scratch golfer will.

To date, Rondo has not shown the ability to make the shots consistently.  He made them last night and he was awesome.  I feel there is the opportunity for Rondo to have the talent, like the scratch golfer, but so far he has not shown it.  It is still just potential at this point.

Even though I am critical of Rondo and feel he is often over-rated on this blog and in general, I actually do believe that he will get over the hump and actually be the player we saw last night but with consistency from game to game, week to week, etc.

Congrats Rondo on a great game.

  It's true that a big the difference between the two games was Rondo hitting his outside shots. It's also true that he's dominated plenty of games where he's either not hit or not taken outside shots.

[Boris Badenov]

  Sometimes he has big games during the season and Doc will say that before the game he told Rondo that he wanted him to do X or Y and he does it throughout the game, like that 30 point game vs the Bulls. More often than not he doesn't know what his role will be. Do they need him to take 20 shots? Get a dozen rebounds? Take 5 shots and get 20 assists? The fact that he can dominate a game in so many different ways is fairly unique. The question of what he'll accomplish when he's not trying to wring whatever he can from a group of aging stars is pretty interesting.

Yes. I mean, Paul Pierce goes into every game knowing exactly what the C's want from him. Same for Ray. Same for KG.

Rondo can't do that. If he takes 26 shots in every game, and happens to go 7-26 a couple of times, that will cripple the offense going forward. You think Ray and PP will work as hard to get open if Rondo's just going to launch a jumper?

He has to adjust based on the pre-game plan, and on how the game itself evolves. Sometimes it works perfectly. Other times, not.

[OmarSekou]

Rondo game 1 - Dribbling out the shot clock outside the three point line very rarely going to the basket. 2nd quarter plays like a beast getting much of those stat lines you everyone wants to post but ignoring the -15 he also posted with his lack of effort and aggressiveness.

Rondo game 2 - UNBELIEVABLE effort and intensity. From the moment they got their first possession he was attacking from every angle inside and out. One of the great performances I have seen out there.

I am NOT criticizing Rondo's game tonight. It was unreal. I AM criticizing the blatant change in his effort out there. This isn't the regular season where you take off some games because it really isn't a big deal. This is the Conference finals! You win you go to the Finals and play for another title. If you can't get yourself up for every single game in that scenario then maybe its time to rethink your commitment. Do you really think that Bird took games off?!

Also, I am not asking Rondo to produce at that level every night. I am only asking that he give that level of effort every night, or at least during the playoffs... That isn't too much to ask.

I can't believe I keep getting sucked into these threads.

I'm only going to address the points in bold and I am going to respond to you directly (Mods this isn't meant as an attack or anything).

1st point: When Rondo outplays his opponents and teammates it's unfair to single him out for criticism. He was the 4th best player on the court in game 1. Would you say Mario Chalmers played like a scrub last night?

A lot of people who support Rondo aren't ignoring his faults. We're recognizing that when he's off, he's still a valuable player by almost any objective analysis.

2nd point: Rondo probably just played the best game of his career. He's been our best player and most consistent player during the playoffs (I'd hear arguments for KG as well). Is now the best time to criticize him at all?

3rd point: Rondo played the entire game, and most of it at max effort. He worked harder than everyone. Asking him to do that on a regular basis isn't only too much to ask for, it's a recipe for disaster. Exhibit A: Derrick Rose.

Rondo has played more minutes than anyone in the league during the playoffs. He's probably put in as much effort as anyone. In spite of that you're basically saying, "Rondo doesn't have to be perfect, he just needs to work harder than anyone whose ever played...that shouldn't be hard for him to do."

Here's the thing: he does turn it on and off, that's a strategic move. It's call being a smart basketball player. Everyone does it. It's just more noticeable with Rondo because his top speed/max effort is blazing. This year is the Olympics. Watch the middle and distance runners. Find me one who sprints the entire race.

[ChainSmokingLikeDino]

http://www.csnne.com/pages/celticsvideo?PID=uvXM2-4CIhqZPR3hQNi_LvhLhGZ298_lVVMwKx

I'll let Tommy say it.

The myth of disinterest and on/off is just that, a myth. It is looking for only one type of play/action to be a sign of a well played game or effort. And it dismisses any influence of gameplan, coaching, other players and reading the game. To look at game 1 and say Rondo turned it off is absurd. To come out after that game 2 and use it to nitpick Rondo is offensive.

[CelticsFanNC]

  Sometimes he has big games during the season and Doc will say that before the game he told Rondo that he wanted him to do X or Y and he does it throughout the game, like that 30 point game vs the Bulls. More often than not he doesn't know what his role will be. Do they need him to take 20 shots? Get a dozen rebounds? Take 5 shots and get 20 assists? The fact that he can dominate a game in so many different ways is fairly unique. The question of what he'll accomplish when he's not trying to wring whatever he can from a group of aging stars is pretty interesting.

Yes. I mean, Paul Pierce goes into every game knowing exactly what the C's want from him. Same for Ray. Same for KG.

Rondo can't do that. If he takes 26 shots in every game, and happens to go 7-26 a couple of times, that will cripple the offense going forward. You think Ray and PP will work as hard to get open if Rondo's just going to launch a jumper?

He has to adjust based on the pre-game plan, and on how the game itself evolves. Sometimes it works perfectly. Other times, not.

 +1

  Rondo not only goes into each game searching for what his team needs from him tonight, who is hitting shots and who has dead legs, if they're up to running with him or not, he has never played with a supporting cast that suites his unique and special abilities.

 Put him, with his passing ability, his brilliance in the open court and his tenacity in Miami with those gazelles and they might actually win all those titles LeBron promised.  If Danny can add an elite rebounder and a couple of athletic (Bradley although I see him more as a 3rd guard) guys on the wings to run with Rondo and we're back in business IMO.  

[Celtics18]

I don't think the difference in the two games is necessarily effort, but there was a clear difference in Rondo's intention.  What I mean is, in game 1, it seemed like Rondo wanted to be a facilitator and shot or drove as a second or third thought on each possession.  Most of his drives and shots at the hoop were with the shot clock winding down.  He also clearly dribbled through a lot of open looks waiting for people to get open.  In game 2, he determined he was going to be the man and pushed out on breaks, took pull up jumpers, took the open shots, and aggressively drove to the hoop with plenty of time left on the shot clock.  

If Boston is going to win the series (or even a game in it), Rondo has to be the player from game 2.  He has to be that player next year as well.  Sure his shots won't always fall, but Rondo needs to be a 25/8 type player rather than 11/12 type player.  He absolutely needs to be more like Westbrook and Rose and less like Nash given the current makeup of the team.  Sure if Boston has two or three elite players in its prime (as it has in the past), then Rondo the facilitator is probably what is best for the team, but right now the team doesn't have those two or three elite players so it needs Rondo the scorer.  

TP. THIS is what I am basically meaning by my comments. He makes a decision as to which player he is going to be from the opening tip. Yes it takes a lot of effort to decide to be the second, but that is exactly what we need. It is what I expect since he is capable of being the man. He is clearly our best player when he does this and I don't understand mentally how he would shy away from that.

I don't ever want to see Rajon Rondo playing like Russell Westbrook full time.  He's way to good of a passer, distributor, and floor general for that.  I think some are questioning his effort if he's not John Stockton, Derrick Rose, and Gary Payton all rolled into one every single time he steps on the floor.  That sure is a lot to ask, but Rajon sure seems to be working on it.

[LarBrd33]

I don't think Rondo's problem is effort, I think it is talent.  The overwhelmingly significant difference between the two games for Rondo was that in game 2 he was hitting the wide open mid range shots.  That forced Miami to adjust how they were defending.  Everything else flowed from there.  Rondo played the game of his life in a big moment.

Think of this as compared to golf.  A golfer can go out and nail all the putts in a day and shoot the round of his life.  The difference between the scratch golfer and the average golfer is that the average golfer does not have the ability to nail the putts the next round where as the scratch golfer will.

To date, Rondo has not shown the ability to make the shots consistently.  He made them last night and he was awesome.  I feel there is the opportunity for Rondo to have the talent, like the scratch golfer, but so far he has not shown it.  It is still just potential at this point.

Even though I am critical of Rondo and feel he is often over-rated on this blog and in general, I actually do believe that he will get over the hump and actually be the player we saw last night but with consistency from game to game, week to week, etc.

Congrats Rondo on a great game.

  It's true that a big the difference between the two games was Rondo hitting his outside shots. It's also true that he's dominated plenty of games where he's either not hit or not taken outside shots.

Personally I thought the "big difference" between game 2 and game 1 was that in Game 1 Rondo got to the line 0 times... in Game 2, he got to the line 10 times in the first half alone. 

That comes down to aggression.  This isn't even arguable... Rondo has an on/off switch.  Again, I don't know if it's because he's a headcase or because he doesn't have the energy to go that hard every night.  He takes a beating driving to the hoop.

As someone commented... yes, I agree that every player has their effort fluctuate.  Yes, LeBron has nights where he's going at it harder... he'll throw up 40+ pretty frequently, but still manage to average his 27, 7 and 7 consistently.  Last night was probably the best game Rondo will ever have in his career and a lot of it came down to effort.  Having (by far) the best shooting night of his life certainly helped... but normally you can rely on Rondo to give you 11 points consistently and last night he was in full-blown attack mode... dropped 44. 

I lean more towards the idea that he simply doesn't have it in him to go that hard every night.  I don't mean he's wired differently than KG or Kobe... i just mean that I literally don't think he can take the pain of attacking the rim like that every game.  Part of the reason I think the next two games will be won by Miami easily.  Game 2 was our 1 game to steal.  Rondo doesn't have another one of these in him this year.

[KGs Knee]

Sigh...

Threads like these is what is pushing me away from the blog.  The last few weeks have seen a huge jump in reactionary posts and other absurd criticisms of players (specifically Rondo).

I get that we are all allowed an opinion.  I'm just so tired of the site being overrun with absurd statements that inevitably lead to bickering.

Anyways, my point I want to make is simply this.  Regardless of whatever happens this season, and subsequent off-season, the Celtics are in good hands with Rondo.  I think these playoffs have clearly shown Rondo is fully capable of leading a team.

Rondo has always been in a role on the team where his facilitation has been most needed.  As this season has progressed though, we've seen what Rondo is fully capable of and also seen glimpses of what he can do with players on his side who compliment his style of play.

Think of it this way.  After seeing what Rondo can do, as evidenced by his performance in the stretch run here (including the last 1/3 of the reg season), ask yourself what player wouldn't want to play with him.

I'll be the one to say it, when Rondo is at his best he may very well be the most unstoppable player in the league.  And now more than ever, really seems to be at his best quite consistently lately.

[BballTim]

I don't think Rondo's problem is effort, I think it is talent.  The overwhelmingly significant difference between the two games for Rondo was that in game 2 he was hitting the wide open mid range shots.  That forced Miami to adjust how they were defending.  Everything else flowed from there.  Rondo played the game of his life in a big moment.

Think of this as compared to golf.  A golfer can go out and nail all the putts in a day and shoot the round of his life.  The difference between the scratch golfer and the average golfer is that the average golfer does not have the ability to nail the putts the next round where as the scratch golfer will.

To date, Rondo has not shown the ability to make the shots consistently.  He made them last night and he was awesome.  I feel there is the opportunity for Rondo to have the talent, like the scratch golfer, but so far he has not shown it.  It is still just potential at this point.

Even though I am critical of Rondo and feel he is often over-rated on this blog and in general, I actually do believe that he will get over the hump and actually be the player we saw last night but with consistency from game to game, week to week, etc.

Congrats Rondo on a great game.

  It's true that a big the difference between the two games was Rondo hitting his outside shots. It's also true that he's dominated plenty of games where he's either not hit or not taken outside shots.

Personally I thought the "big difference" between game 2 and game 1 was that in Game 1 Rondo got to the line 0 times... in Game 2, he got to the line 10 times in the first half alone. 

That comes down to aggression.  This isn't even arguable... Rondo has an on/off switch.  Again, I don't know if it's because he's a headcase or because he doesn't have the energy to go that hard every night.  He takes a beating driving to the hoop.

As someone commented... yes, I agree that every player has their effort fluctuate.  Yes, LeBron has nights where he's going at it harder... he'll throw up 40+ pretty frequently, but still manage to average his 27, 7 and 7 consistently.  Last night was probably the best game Rondo will ever have in his career and a lot of it came down to effort.  Having (by far) the best shooting night of his life certainly helped... but normally you can rely on Rondo to give you 11 points consistently and last night he was in full-blown attack mode... dropped 44. 

I lean more towards the idea that he simply doesn't have it in him to go that hard every night.  I don't mean he's wired differently than KG or Kobe... i just mean that I literally don't think he can take the pain of attacking the rim like that every game.  Part of the reason I think the next two games will be won by Miami easily.  Game 2 was our 1 game to steal.  Rondo doesn't have another one of these in him this year.

  Again, Rondo took *13* shots at the rim in game 1. For those who don't know, that's a huge number for a point guard. Go ahead, start looking for games in the playoffs where other point guards have taken significantly more shots at the rim. My guess is you won't find them. I'd be tempted to say the people who claim he wasn't attacking the rim didn't actually see the game but sadly I doubt that's true.

  PS... Rondo's played harder than KG in both games of the series, and that's really not arguable.

[Fafnir]

I don't think Rondo's played harder than KG, I don't think KG is physically capable of expending as much energy as Rondo at age 36 with his much greater defensive role.

[Celtics18]

I don't think Rondo's problem is effort, I think it is talent.  The overwhelmingly significant difference between the two games for Rondo was that in game 2 he was hitting the wide open mid range shots.  That forced Miami to adjust how they were defending.  Everything else flowed from there.  Rondo played the game of his life in a big moment.

Think of this as compared to golf.  A golfer can go out and nail all the putts in a day and shoot the round of his life.  The difference between the scratch golfer and the average golfer is that the average golfer does not have the ability to nail the putts the next round where as the scratch golfer will.

To date, Rondo has not shown the ability to make the shots consistently.  He made them last night and he was awesome.  I feel there is the opportunity for Rondo to have the talent, like the scratch golfer, but so far he has not shown it.  It is still just potential at this point.

Even though I am critical of Rondo and feel he is often over-rated on this blog and in general, I actually do believe that he will get over the hump and actually be the player we saw last night but with consistency from game to game, week to week, etc.

Congrats Rondo on a great game.

  It's true that a big the difference between the two games was Rondo hitting his outside shots. It's also true that he's dominated plenty of games where he's either not hit or not taken outside shots.

Personally I thought the "big difference" between game 2 and game 1 was that in Game 1 Rondo got to the line 0 times... in Game 2, he got to the line 10 times in the first half alone. 

That comes down to aggression.  This isn't even arguable... Rondo has an on/off switch.  Again, I don't know if it's because he's a headcase or because he doesn't have the energy to go that hard every night.  He takes a beating driving to the hoop.

As someone commented... yes, I agree that every player has their effort fluctuate.  Yes, LeBron has nights where he's going at it harder... he'll throw up 40+ pretty frequently, but still manage to average his 27, 7 and 7 consistently.  Last night was probably the best game Rondo will ever have in his career and a lot of it came down to effort.  Having (by far) the best shooting night of his life certainly helped... but normally you can rely on Rondo to give you 11 points consistently and last night he was in full-blown attack mode... dropped 44. 

I lean more towards the idea that he simply doesn't have it in him to go that hard every night.  I don't mean he's wired differently than KG or Kobe... i just mean that I literally don't think he can take the pain of attacking the rim like that every game.  Part of the reason I think the next two games will be won by Miami easily.  Game 2 was our 1 game to steal.  Rondo doesn't have another one of these in him this year.

You're probably right.  It's not likely that Rondo goes for 44 again in these playoffs.  Personally I'd love to see him get about 20 assists and maybe no more than 10 shot attempts in a total team effort in game 3 where everybody's hitting shots and Rondo's running the show with, of course, the end result being a nice Celtic victory.

Of course, if that happens, some of you will be talking about what a lazy game he had.  

[LarBrd33]

I don't think Rondo's problem is effort, I think it is talent.  The overwhelmingly significant difference between the two games for Rondo was that in game 2 he was hitting the wide open mid range shots.  That forced Miami to adjust how they were defending.  Everything else flowed from there.  Rondo played the game of his life in a big moment.

Think of this as compared to golf.  A golfer can go out and nail all the putts in a day and shoot the round of his life.  The difference between the scratch golfer and the average golfer is that the average golfer does not have the ability to nail the putts the next round where as the scratch golfer will.

To date, Rondo has not shown the ability to make the shots consistently.  He made them last night and he was awesome.  I feel there is the opportunity for Rondo to have the talent, like the scratch golfer, but so far he has not shown it.  It is still just potential at this point.

Even though I am critical of Rondo and feel he is often over-rated on this blog and in general, I actually do believe that he will get over the hump and actually be the player we saw last night but with consistency from game to game, week to week, etc.

Congrats Rondo on a great game.

  It's true that a big the difference between the two games was Rondo hitting his outside shots. It's also true that he's dominated plenty of games where he's either not hit or not taken outside shots.

Personally I thought the "big difference" between game 2 and game 1 was that in Game 1 Rondo got to the line 0 times... in Game 2, he got to the line 10 times in the first half alone. 

That comes down to aggression.  This isn't even arguable... Rondo has an on/off switch.  Again, I don't know if it's because he's a headcase or because he doesn't have the energy to go that hard every night.  He takes a beating driving to the hoop.

As someone commented... yes, I agree that every player has their effort fluctuate.  Yes, LeBron has nights where he's going at it harder... he'll throw up 40+ pretty frequently, but still manage to average his 27, 7 and 7 consistently.  Last night was probably the best game Rondo will ever have in his career and a lot of it came down to effort.  Having (by far) the best shooting night of his life certainly helped... but normally you can rely on Rondo to give you 11 points consistently and last night he was in full-blown attack mode... dropped 44. 

I lean more towards the idea that he simply doesn't have it in him to go that hard every night.  I don't mean he's wired differently than KG or Kobe... i just mean that I literally don't think he can take the pain of attacking the rim like that every game.  Part of the reason I think the next two games will be won by Miami easily.  Game 2 was our 1 game to steal.  Rondo doesn't have another one of these in him this year.

You're probably right.  It's not likely that Rondo goes for 44 again in these playoffs.  Personally I'd love to see him get about 20 assists and maybe no more than 10 shot attempts in a total team effort in game 3 where everybody's hitting shots and Rondo's running the show with, of course, the end result being a nice Celtic victory.

Of course, if that happens, some of you will be talking about what a lazy game he had. 

No... if he goes for 20 assists the storyline will be, "RAY AND PAUL ARE BACK BABY!!!", because that's the only way he'll be dropping 20 assists.   

And for the record... I'm with you.  I'd love to see that happen.  But I don't know if ROndo can drop 20 assists with Ray's ankle spurs and Paul's sprained MCL.

[BballTim]

I don't think Rondo's played harder than KG, I don't think KG is physically capable of expending as much energy as Rondo at age 36 with his much greater defensive role.

  Tomayto, tomahto. Rondo's leading the league in minutes played in the playoffs and he has a much greater role on offense than KG. That doesn't get him any slack. He's also spent much of his time guarding Wade and James, which is harder than it looks at his size.

[LarBrd33]

I don't think Rondo's played harder than KG, I don't think KG is physically capable of expending as much energy as Rondo at age 36 with his much greater defensive role.

KG is dominating defensively while managing to average 20 and 10.  Nobody does more for this team on both ends of the court.  I didn't want to say it... glad you said it instead. 

[Yogi]

Name one human being in the history of anything, not just sports, who didn't have good days and bad days.  Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlin all had good games and bad games.  That doesn't mean inconsistent.  Consistent is effort day in and day out.  Rondo leads the entire league in MPG in the playoffs.  It's not even close.  He's had fewer bad games and more triple doubles than anyone in the playoffs.  He's making history left and right.  If anyone here thinks he's inconsistent, not only are they simply ignoring facts, they are denying themselves the pleasure of appreciating Rondo show Queen James and D is for Dirty what a true champion is.  
   Who cares if the Refs give games to the heat.  Nothing brings me more pleasure than watching Rondo and the Celtics expose how pathetic and helpless the Heat are.  I have respect for Miller, Chalmers, Haslem, Anthony and Turiaf.  Those guys play with heart. Unfortunately Chalmers is learning all the wrong things from Wade and Lebron.  Lebron had 2 fouls defending Pierce who had 6.  Wade had 2 fouls guarding Rondo.  Wade and James combined to foul out Pierce, Dooling and Pietrus as well.  They won by 4 points.  Don't forget the stupid T they gave Kevin Garnett after Jones hits him in the face, grabs him, AND confronts him when KG shrugs him off and walks away.  Wade and LeQueen spent the rest of the game trying to goad KG into another T.  It was pathetic and embarassing and I enjoyed every second of it.