Rajon Rondo = BJ Armstrong.

[Roy Hobbs]

I remember the days where people would argue that Rondo is better than Jose Calderon and T.J. Ford.  I think those particular arguments should be put to rest.

Rondo looks overwhelmed right now, and also looks like he's not as quick as usual, suggesting perhaps an injury.  Mostly, though, the issue seems to be mental; he can't shoot anymore (he was decent last season) and he's out of control driving to the hoop lately.

I'm not going to panic, though.  He was inconsistent last season, but when he was "on", he was a perfectly viable point guard on a championship squad.  It is a little disappointing to see him regress, though.

[EJPLAYA]

We have some over and under reacting going on here. Rondo is a very solid defensive PG when he is playing aggressively on his man and rebounding. If he commits to driving to the basket with the intent to lay it up he is still only at best considered a bad offensive player.  We can pretty much face the fact he never will be a good shooter. If he works his tail off he can be an okay shooter. That's what we have in the guy.

Here's the thing though. When he plays like he did last night and doesn't play good defense, doesn't make an effort to get loose balls, and isn't attacking the rim, he looks like a very bad player out there. If he doesn't do those things there is no value to him being on the floor. That's why House stayed out there and Rondo sat. I think Rondo can remain our solid starting PG, however he needs to bring those things he does well every single night. Otherwise you will start seeing some more Eddie, and some Gabe.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Yep, there's an injury factor to consider. And I take that into account as far as production goes. So certainly this may be the cause for what the current regression we're seeing from him. But, my problem with Rondo has pretty much always been his decision making, and I wonder how much an injury can affect that.

[housecall]

We have some over and under reacting going on here. Rondo is a very solid defensive PG when he is playing aggressively on his man and rebounding. If he commits to driving to the basket with the intent to lay it up he is still only at best considered a bad offensive player.  We can pretty much face the fact he never will be a good shooter. If he works his tail off he can be an okay shooter. That's what we have in the guy.

Here's the thing though. When he plays like he did last night and doesn't play good defense, doesn't make an effort to get loose balls, and isn't attacking the rim, he looks like a very bad player out there. If he doesn't do those things there is no value to him being on the floor. That's why House stayed out there and Rondo sat. I think Rondo can remain our solid starting PG, however he needs to bring those things he does well every single night. Otherwise you will start seeing some more Eddie, and some Gabe.

I agree with Rondo being good on the D side of things usually but a pg job is to recognize also when his team could use some added(extra)scoring from him and apply it.Last night would have been the a great time to step it up on offense for Rondo.I will agree also with another poster thinking he might have some injuries at the moment.

[Redz]

His dog ate his jump shot

I liked the reference someone made to him being the reverse Ben Wallace in terms of limitations.

[EJPLAYA]

We have some over and under reacting going on here. Rondo is a very solid defensive PG when he is playing aggressively on his man and rebounding. If he commits to driving to the basket with the intent to lay it up he is still only at best considered a bad offensive player.  We can pretty much face the fact he never will be a good shooter. If he works his tail off he can be an okay shooter. That's what we have in the guy.

Here's the thing though. When he plays like he did last night and doesn't play good defense, doesn't make an effort to get loose balls, and isn't attacking the rim, he looks like a very bad player out there. If he doesn't do those things there is no value to him being on the floor. That's why House stayed out there and Rondo sat. I think Rondo can remain our solid starting PG, however he needs to bring those things he does well every single night. Otherwise you will start seeing some more Eddie, and some Gabe.

I agree with Rondo being good on the D side of things usually but a pg job is to recognize also when his team could use some added(extra)scoring from him and apply it.Last night would have been the a great time to step it up on offense for Rondo.I will agree also with another poster thinking he might have some injuries at the moment.

Sure. We could have used his scoring last night. The problem is that the guy isn't a scorer. When all you can do is drive to the basket, and you are being guarded by a very smart PG in Billups, he is just going to lay off you an extra step or two and shut your drive down. Especially when he is bigger and stronger and the refs let him manhandle Rondo. There is absolutely nothing Rondo can do offensively against a really good PG that plays any reasonable defense. All we can expect him to be able to do is play good defense and be aggressive on the boards. He did neither and looked bad.

[2short]

When Rondo plays well we win and look much much better.  Last night he wasn't good and that is when the coach has to coach and put pruitt in, or TA on Billups.  We can use this match up with Ray handling the ball or eddie.
As I remember it there was talk awhile ago of an injury which could put his jumper off just enough (since it wasn't that good to start with)
Its a long season, he'll be fine by playoffs time.  Eddie is a good backup who might not be a great 1 on 1 defender but he hustles.  Pruitt can help and last night I would have had him in pretty early.

[housecall]

We have some over and under reacting going on here. Rondo is a very solid defensive PG when he is playing aggressively on his man and rebounding. If he commits to driving to the basket with the intent to lay it up he is still only at best considered a bad offensive player.  We can pretty much face the fact he never will be a good shooter. If he works his tail off he can be an okay shooter. That's what we have in the guy.

Here's the thing though. When he plays like he did last night and doesn't play good defense, doesn't make an effort to get loose balls, and isn't attacking the rim, he looks like a very bad player out there. If he doesn't do those things there is no value to him being on the floor. That's why House stayed out there and Rondo sat. I think Rondo can remain our solid starting PG, however he needs to bring those things he does well every single night. Otherwise you will start seeing some more Eddie, and some Gabe.

I agree with Rondo being good on the D side of things usually but a pg job is to recognize also when his team could use some added(extra)scoring from him and apply it.Last night would have been the a great time to step it up on offense for Rondo.I will agree also with another poster thinking he might have some injuries at the moment.

Sure. We could have used his scoring last night. The problem is that the guy isn't a scorer. When all you can do is drive to the basket, and you are being guarded by a very smart PG in Billups, he is just going to lay off you an extra step or two and shut your drive down. Especially when he is bigger and stronger and the refs let him manhandle Rondo. There is absolutely nothing Rondo can do offensively against a really good PG that plays any reasonable defense. All we can expect him to be able to do is play good defense and be aggressive on the boards. He did neither and looked bad.

TP to you for admitting Rondo stunk up the place last night but he did have some opportunities to score and help on the D.I didnt see any focus on his part throughout the game.I even noticed when he was on the bench Cassell was trying to explain something to him,he just looked out in space.Maybe im wrong here but i think when the pg is out of sorts there isnt much chance in the rest of the team succeeding that night,he is the floor general and his leadership is expected each time he hits the floor.Maybe he needs a few nights on the pine to watch the game and see where he needs to improve?

[thecaptain34]

why couldnt cassell get into playing shape and come out with something to prove? i mean he was a viable starter his entire career including last year before  coming here.
We're not gonna win alot of games with rondo playing like this..Its PATHETIC guys...really he looks like the worst PG in the league right now....Pruitt needs to play
BTW, what are the excuses for TA now? sorry but hes a disaster and he had one fluke game against the pistons...whats up with him thinking "he cant finish" so he just dives into people? hard to watch

[housecall]

I really thought Gabe had a pretty good preseason and looked ready to get some burn not to start but in cases like last night or mix and match him at the sg also.But as a lot of people have said Doc doesnt like to give rookies a chance but i dont see Gabe as being a rookie or fresh off the streets.The guy has earned a chance (imo).Maybe it will wake Rondo up if he got a little competition.

[housecall]

why couldnt cassell get into playing shape and come out with something to prove? i mean he was a viable starter his entire career including last year before  coming here.
We're not gonna win alot of games with rondo playing like this..Its PATHETIC guys...really he looks like the worst PG in the league right now....Pruitt needs to play
BTW, what are the excuses for TA now? sorry but hes a disaster and he had one fluke game against the pistons...whats up with him thinking "he cant finish" so he just dives into people? hard to watch

I agree with you here about TA.It seems the focus is dumping on Rondo today :)but TA is not playing much better.He had 1 good game in Detroit and some on here are using that as leverage for excusing his poor showings.

[thecaptain34]

I remember reading rondos blog over the summer and being a little concerned...He didnt pick up a basketball at all or practice his jumpshot for months...Im sorry but for him to do that just wasnt a good idea...highly doubt gabe didnt practice.
rondos getting a little arrogant all of a sudden, and he really just doesnt seem to care...wake this kid up and bench him, seriously i never said this once last year either

[housecall]

I remember reading rondos blog over the summer and being a little concerned...He didnt pick up a basketball at all or practice his jumpshot for months...Im sorry but for him to do that just wasnt a good idea...highly doubt gabe didnt practice.
rondos getting a little arrogant all of a sudden, and he really just doesnt seem to care...wake this kid up and bench him, seriously i never said this once last year either

I heard that some where else myself.But i also heard from Danny Ainge's mouth Rondo was in the gym practicing a day after the celebration.That could have been a 1 time thing though but he was trying to paint the picture that Rondo is taking his game serious and wants to improve for the following season. I dont believe half of what comes out of any of those guys mouths,especially Doc.I remember he was ready to feed Tony Allen to the wolves until he found out Posey wasn't going to resign then all of a sudden Tony is his main man again,go figure.

[wdleehi]

It is just to early to worry about the starting PG.  He is in a slump. 


With the team around him, there is plenty of players that can take the pressure off him and allow him to get out of the slump.

[Steve Weinman]

We're not gonna win alot of games with rondo playing like this..Its PATHETIC guys...really he looks like the worst PG in the league right now....Pruitt needs to play

While I'll overlook "worst point guard in the league" as hyperbole, our starting point guard (who started for a championship team last year, showed flashes of brilliance and is in his third year in the league at age 22) starts the season in a slump, and we've won 80 percent of our first ten games.  And while whether he plays like a 'star' or anything close to it remains to be seen, the likelihood is certainly that he will play better through the season's last 72 games than he has so far. 

All that in mind, this analysis seems just a bit panicky for November 15, no?

-sw