Blakely: Will controversy erupt over Stevens' Smart-for-Rondo switch?

[BballTim]

First, I think it's unrealistic to think that Smart will consistently outplay Rondo for several games.

Second, I'm still a believer in loyalty.  You don't bench a guy like Rondo just to play the "hot hand".

Third, there's no way Rondo comes back to Boston if he's benched.  Stevens would be essentially showing him the door, while tanking his trade value at the same time.

It's not happening.  Blakely just needed something to write about.

Ditto.  Will controversy erupt over Stevens' Smart-for-Rondo switch? - it will as soon as I publish this article .  You know, Bradley didn't play much, either, and if Stevens is going to bench anyone or make changes to the starting lineup, I want to see Rondo and Smart play together.  Who knows, maybe this has the potential to be like what happened in Detroit when they drafted Dumars.  Later on that season, Daly put John Long on the bench and inserted Joe into the starting lineup, and the rest was history.  I'm not comparing any of our guys to Isiah or Joe, I'm just comparing the circumstances, as well as the changes in playing time and the starting lineup.

Smart and Rondo combo has not worked and imo it has little chance to work in general. Rondo is better suited to play beside a pure shooter like Ray Allen and while AB is not considered a deadly shooter, he runs around and is able to free himself like one.  When he is on, he is good.

MS from what i've seen , shoots better after having the ball in his hands. He is not much of a  catch and shooter, not right now anyways (or may never be)

In addition if Smart and Rondo pair up and Smart has to do the dirty work and guard the opposing teams pg ,  like he did with Wall last night, who is Rondo going to guard?  A 6'7 Klay Thompson?  6'4 Bradley Beal? 6'5 etc.

  Unsurprisingly. Smart's taken more catch and shoot shots than pullups, and he's hit the catch and shoots at a better clip. I sometimes wonder whether you're actually describing what you see or if you're just saying whatever you think makes a better reason to get rid of Rondo.

  Also, Rondo's been guarding the SGs when he's been paired with Bradley for the last 4 years or so, and we generally play better defense with them in the game together.

It hasn't even been close to 4 years.  I'll give you so far this season and the games that Rondo played last year, but prior to that, Bradley had always been guarding the opposition's sg.  He didn't come over from the week side when he stuffed Dwyane Wade in that nationally-televised matchup with Miami at the Garden in 2012.

  Bradley doesn't spend every single play of every game guarding point guards, but he guards point guards more than he guards shooting guards, and has since his insertion into the starting lineup.

[Sixth Man]

You know what's funny? Sunday, Rondo posted a triple double against Washington in a win = Ho hum.

Monday night, Marcus Smart posts an impressive stat line in a loss against the same team = OMGah! Smart is the future. Rondo sucks. Trade everyone!

Can't we pump the brakes a little? Did Marcus play terrific? Yes, he did. Has he earned the keys to the car already? Considering going into last night's game, he was shooting 29% from the field, I'm gonna say not just yet. Why not allow the kid the opportunity to develop his game further. See if his shooting really sticks. And in the meantime, see if he can play alongside Rondo.

That's a very poor shooting percentage, but it could be worse, as he could be shooting 30% from the charity stripe...

[Beat LA]

First, I think it's unrealistic to think that Smart will consistently outplay Rondo for several games.

Second, I'm still a believer in loyalty.  You don't bench a guy like Rondo just to play the "hot hand".

Third, there's no way Rondo comes back to Boston if he's benched.  Stevens would be essentially showing him the door, while tanking his trade value at the same time.

It's not happening.  Blakely just needed something to write about.

Ditto.  Will controversy erupt over Stevens' Smart-for-Rondo switch? - it will as soon as I publish this article .  You know, Bradley didn't play much, either, and if Stevens is going to bench anyone or make changes to the starting lineup, I want to see Rondo and Smart play together.  Who knows, maybe this has the potential to be like what happened in Detroit when they drafted Dumars.  Later on that season, Daly put John Long on the bench and inserted Joe into the starting lineup, and the rest was history.  I'm not comparing any of our guys to Isiah or Joe, I'm just comparing the circumstances, as well as the changes in playing time and the starting lineup.

Smart and Rondo combo has not worked and imo it has little chance to work in general. Rondo is better suited to play beside a pure shooter like Ray Allen and while AB is not considered a deadly shooter, he runs around and is able to free himself like one.  When he is on, he is good.

MS from what i've seen , shoots better after having the ball in his hands. He is not much of a  catch and shooter, not right now anyways (or may never be)

In addition if Smart and Rondo pair up and Smart has to do the dirty work and guard the opposing teams pg ,  like he did with Wall last night, who is Rondo going to guard?  A 6'7 Klay Thompson?  6'4 Bradley Beal? 6'5 etc.

  Unsurprisingly. Smart's taken more catch and shoot shots than pullups, and he's hit the catch and shoots at a better clip. I sometimes wonder whether you're actually describing what you see or if you're just saying whatever you think makes a better reason to get rid of Rondo.

  Also, Rondo's been guarding the SGs when he's been paired with Bradley for the last 4 years or so, and we generally play better defense with them in the game together.

It hasn't even been close to 4 years.  I'll give you so far this season and the games that Rondo played last year, but prior to that, Bradley had always been guarding the opposition's sg.  He didn't come over from the week side when he stuffed Dwyane Wade in that nationally-televised matchup with Miami at the Garden in 2012.

  Bradley doesn't spend every single play of every game guarding point guards, but he guards point guards more than he guards shooting guards, and has since his insertion into the starting lineup.

Right, and therefore, Rondo wouldn't spend the whole game guarding the opposing shooting guard, either.  Look, you're probably right about this whole thing, but I honestly don't remember seeing Bradley guard a lot of point guards when Rondo has been out there (before Rondo's injury), and, as I'm sure is the case with you, I've seen a ton of games over the last 10 seasons.

[Kadin]

Some of the posters here just make me shake my head at their blatant anti-Rondo agenda. Get over it, people. You can hate him all you want, but it doesn't change the fact that he is our starting PG.

[chambers]

First, I think it's unrealistic to think that Smart will consistently outplay Rondo for several games.

Second, I'm still a believer in loyalty.  You don't bench a guy like Rondo just to play the "hot hand".

Third, there's no way Rondo comes back to Boston if he's benched.  Stevens would be essentially showing him the door, while tanking his trade value at the same time.

It's not happening.  Blakely just needed something to write about.

Smart will consistently outplay Rondo on the defensive end. I mean Smart will  defensively outplay 80 percent of the guards in the league.  No question imo, I have seen enough

Offensively if Smart shoots the way he did yesterday on a more consistent basis, then Rondo better bring on Playoff Rondo mode on a nightly basis.

Danny is prob having some whisky right about now, smiling, knowing his plan is working out.  His plan to light a fire under Rondo's azz, then we will see from there

Then why can Rondo start with Bradley, but not with Smart?

If Smart at 6 foot 4 can start shooting like a starting caliber NBA shooting guard, and his defense is better, whilst being bigger, stronger and he starts getting to the free throw line in the NBA like he did in college, why couldn't he and Rondo be our starting guard tandem for the next 4-5 seasons?
I think you are outleveling yourself with your bias.

It's called having a double standard.

[BballTim]

First, I think it's unrealistic to think that Smart will consistently outplay Rondo for several games.

Second, I'm still a believer in loyalty.  You don't bench a guy like Rondo just to play the "hot hand".

Third, there's no way Rondo comes back to Boston if he's benched.  Stevens would be essentially showing him the door, while tanking his trade value at the same time.

It's not happening.  Blakely just needed something to write about.

Ditto.  Will controversy erupt over Stevens' Smart-for-Rondo switch? - it will as soon as I publish this article .  You know, Bradley didn't play much, either, and if Stevens is going to bench anyone or make changes to the starting lineup, I want to see Rondo and Smart play together.  Who knows, maybe this has the potential to be like what happened in Detroit when they drafted Dumars.  Later on that season, Daly put John Long on the bench and inserted Joe into the starting lineup, and the rest was history.  I'm not comparing any of our guys to Isiah or Joe, I'm just comparing the circumstances, as well as the changes in playing time and the starting lineup.

Smart and Rondo combo has not worked and imo it has little chance to work in general. Rondo is better suited to play beside a pure shooter like Ray Allen and while AB is not considered a deadly shooter, he runs around and is able to free himself like one.  When he is on, he is good.

MS from what i've seen , shoots better after having the ball in his hands. He is not much of a  catch and shooter, not right now anyways (or may never be)

In addition if Smart and Rondo pair up and Smart has to do the dirty work and guard the opposing teams pg ,  like he did with Wall last night, who is Rondo going to guard?  A 6'7 Klay Thompson?  6'4 Bradley Beal? 6'5 etc.

  Unsurprisingly. Smart's taken more catch and shoot shots than pullups, and he's hit the catch and shoots at a better clip. I sometimes wonder whether you're actually describing what you see or if you're just saying whatever you think makes a better reason to get rid of Rondo.

  Also, Rondo's been guarding the SGs when he's been paired with Bradley for the last 4 years or so, and we generally play better defense with them in the game together.

It hasn't even been close to 4 years.  I'll give you so far this season and the games that Rondo played last year, but prior to that, Bradley had always been guarding the opposition's sg.  He didn't come over from the week side when he stuffed Dwyane Wade in that nationally-televised matchup with Miami at the Garden in 2012.

  Bradley doesn't spend every single play of every game guarding point guards, but he guards point guards more than he guards shooting guards, and has since his insertion into the starting lineup.

Right, and therefore, Rondo wouldn't spend the whole game guarding the opposing shooting guard, either.  Look, you're probably right about this whole thing, but I honestly don't remember seeing Bradley guard a lot of point guards when Rondo has been out there (before Rondo's injury), and, as I'm sure is the case with you, I've seen a ton of games over the last 10 seasons.

  Bradley isn't really guarding point guards any more this year than he ever has before. You could also throw in the time Rondo was paired with Terry, when Rondo frequently covered the better offensive guard no matter the position. He's spent a lot of time covering SGs over the last 4 years or so, at least as much as he's spent covering PGs.

[moiso]

I like Smart a lot, but he's had one good game and people have been talking like he has arrived at allstar level.  People have mentioned Smart's rapid arc of improvement but he has only played one game on a great level.  It's likely in a couple weeks that we look back on the Wizards game as more of a fluke than the norm.

[Eddie20]

First, I think it's unrealistic to think that Smart will consistently outplay Rondo for several games.

Second, I'm still a believer in loyalty.  You don't bench a guy like Rondo just to play the "hot hand".

Third, there's no way Rondo comes back to Boston if he's benched.  Stevens would be essentially showing him the door, while tanking his trade value at the same time.

It's not happening.  Blakely just needed something to write about.

Ditto.  Will controversy erupt over Stevens' Smart-for-Rondo switch? - it will as soon as I publish this article .  You know, Bradley didn't play much, either, and if Stevens is going to bench anyone or make changes to the starting lineup, I want to see Rondo and Smart play together.  Who knows, maybe this has the potential to be like what happened in Detroit when they drafted Dumars.  Later on that season, Daly put John Long on the bench and inserted Joe into the starting lineup, and the rest was history.  I'm not comparing any of our guys to Isiah or Joe, I'm just comparing the circumstances, as well as the changes in playing time and the starting lineup.

Smart and Rondo combo has not worked and imo it has little chance to work in general. Rondo is better suited to play beside a pure shooter like Ray Allen and while AB is not considered a deadly shooter, he runs around and is able to free himself like one.  When he is on, he is good.

MS from what i've seen , shoots better after having the ball in his hands. He is not much of a  catch and shooter, not right now anyways (or may never be)

In addition if Smart and Rondo pair up and Smart has to do the dirty work and guard the opposing teams pg ,  like he did with Wall last night, who is Rondo going to guard?  A 6'7 Klay Thompson?  6'4 Bradley Beal? 6'5 etc.

  Unsurprisingly. Smart's taken more catch and shoot shots than pullups, and he's hit the catch and shoots at a better clip. I sometimes wonder whether you're actually describing what you see or if you're just saying whatever you think makes a better reason to get rid of Rondo.

  Also, Rondo's been guarding the SGs when he's been paired with Bradley for the last 4 years or so, and we generally play better defense with them in the game together.

It hasn't even been close to 4 years.  I'll give you so far this season and the games that Rondo played last year, but prior to that, Bradley had always been guarding the opposition's sg.  He didn't come over from the week side when he stuffed Dwyane Wade in that nationally-televised matchup with Miami at the Garden in 2012.

  Bradley doesn't spend every single play of every game guarding point guards, but he guards point guards more than he guards shooting guards, and has since his insertion into the starting lineup.

Right, and therefore, Rondo wouldn't spend the whole game guarding the opposing shooting guard, either.  Look, you're probably right about this whole thing, but I honestly don't remember seeing Bradley guard a lot of point guards when Rondo has been out there (before Rondo's injury), and, as I'm sure is the case with you, I've seen a ton of games over the last 10 seasons.

  Bradley isn't really guarding point guards any more this year than he ever has before. You could also throw in the time Rondo was paired with Terry, when Rondo frequently covered the better offensive guard no matter the position. He's spent a lot of time covering SGs over the last 4 years or so, at least as much as he's spent covering PGs.

Bradley covers the better offensive player. Since there are better PG's than SG's throughout the league, more often than not you see Bradley covering them. When we play against Wade, Harden, Kobe, etc. Bradley gets them. Similarly, when we're facing great scoring PG's Lillard, Paul, Westbrook, etc. it'll be Bradley on them too. 

[BballTim]

First, I think it's unrealistic to think that Smart will consistently outplay Rondo for several games.

Second, I'm still a believer in loyalty.  You don't bench a guy like Rondo just to play the "hot hand".

Third, there's no way Rondo comes back to Boston if he's benched.  Stevens would be essentially showing him the door, while tanking his trade value at the same time.

It's not happening.  Blakely just needed something to write about.

Ditto.  Will controversy erupt over Stevens' Smart-for-Rondo switch? - it will as soon as I publish this article .  You know, Bradley didn't play much, either, and if Stevens is going to bench anyone or make changes to the starting lineup, I want to see Rondo and Smart play together.  Who knows, maybe this has the potential to be like what happened in Detroit when they drafted Dumars.  Later on that season, Daly put John Long on the bench and inserted Joe into the starting lineup, and the rest was history.  I'm not comparing any of our guys to Isiah or Joe, I'm just comparing the circumstances, as well as the changes in playing time and the starting lineup.

Smart and Rondo combo has not worked and imo it has little chance to work in general. Rondo is better suited to play beside a pure shooter like Ray Allen and while AB is not considered a deadly shooter, he runs around and is able to free himself like one.  When he is on, he is good.

MS from what i've seen , shoots better after having the ball in his hands. He is not much of a  catch and shooter, not right now anyways (or may never be)

In addition if Smart and Rondo pair up and Smart has to do the dirty work and guard the opposing teams pg ,  like he did with Wall last night, who is Rondo going to guard?  A 6'7 Klay Thompson?  6'4 Bradley Beal? 6'5 etc.

  Unsurprisingly. Smart's taken more catch and shoot shots than pullups, and he's hit the catch and shoots at a better clip. I sometimes wonder whether you're actually describing what you see or if you're just saying whatever you think makes a better reason to get rid of Rondo.

  Also, Rondo's been guarding the SGs when he's been paired with Bradley for the last 4 years or so, and we generally play better defense with them in the game together.

It hasn't even been close to 4 years.  I'll give you so far this season and the games that Rondo played last year, but prior to that, Bradley had always been guarding the opposition's sg.  He didn't come over from the week side when he stuffed Dwyane Wade in that nationally-televised matchup with Miami at the Garden in 2012.

  Bradley doesn't spend every single play of every game guarding point guards, but he guards point guards more than he guards shooting guards, and has since his insertion into the starting lineup.

Right, and therefore, Rondo wouldn't spend the whole game guarding the opposing shooting guard, either.  Look, you're probably right about this whole thing, but I honestly don't remember seeing Bradley guard a lot of point guards when Rondo has been out there (before Rondo's injury), and, as I'm sure is the case with you, I've seen a ton of games over the last 10 seasons.

  Bradley isn't really guarding point guards any more this year than he ever has before. You could also throw in the time Rondo was paired with Terry, when Rondo frequently covered the better offensive guard no matter the position. He's spent a lot of time covering SGs over the last 4 years or so, at least as much as he's spent covering PGs.

Bradley covers the better offensive player. Since there are better PG's than SG's throughout the league, more often than not you see Bradley covering them. When we play against Wade, Harden, Kobe, etc. Bradley gets them. Similarly, when we're facing great scoring PG's Lillard, Paul, Westbrook, etc. it'll be Bradley on them too.

   In general that hasn't been the case in the past, as Bradley has more trouble against taller players than Rondo does. This year (and last, after Rondo came back) that might be true, although (as you mentioned) it doesn't come up that often.

[Celtics18]

First, I think it's unrealistic to think that Smart will consistently outplay Rondo for several games.

Second, I'm still a believer in loyalty.  You don't bench a guy like Rondo just to play the "hot hand".

Third, there's no way Rondo comes back to Boston if he's benched.  Stevens would be essentially showing him the door, while tanking his trade value at the same time.

It's not happening.  Blakely just needed something to write about.

Ditto.  Will controversy erupt over Stevens' Smart-for-Rondo switch? - it will as soon as I publish this article .  You know, Bradley didn't play much, either, and if Stevens is going to bench anyone or make changes to the starting lineup, I want to see Rondo and Smart play together.  Who knows, maybe this has the potential to be like what happened in Detroit when they drafted Dumars.  Later on that season, Daly put John Long on the bench and inserted Joe into the starting lineup, and the rest was history.  I'm not comparing any of our guys to Isiah or Joe, I'm just comparing the circumstances, as well as the changes in playing time and the starting lineup.

Smart and Rondo combo has not worked and imo it has little chance to work in general. Rondo is better suited to play beside a pure shooter like Ray Allen and while AB is not considered a deadly shooter, he runs around and is able to free himself like one.  When he is on, he is good.

MS from what i've seen , shoots better after having the ball in his hands. He is not much of a  catch and shooter, not right now anyways (or may never be)

In addition if Smart and Rondo pair up and Smart has to do the dirty work and guard the opposing teams pg ,  like he did with Wall last night, who is Rondo going to guard?  A 6'7 Klay Thompson?  6'4 Bradley Beal? 6'5 etc.

  Unsurprisingly. Smart's taken more catch and shoot shots than pullups, and he's hit the catch and shoots at a better clip. I sometimes wonder whether you're actually describing what you see or if you're just saying whatever you think makes a better reason to get rid of Rondo.

  Also, Rondo's been guarding the SGs when he's been paired with Bradley for the last 4 years or so, and we generally play better defense with them in the game together.

It hasn't even been close to 4 years.  I'll give you so far this season and the games that Rondo played last year, but prior to that, Bradley had always been guarding the opposition's sg.  He didn't come over from the week side when he stuffed Dwyane Wade in that nationally-televised matchup with Miami at the Garden in 2012.

  Bradley doesn't spend every single play of every game guarding point guards, but he guards point guards more than he guards shooting guards, and has since his insertion into the starting lineup.

Right, and therefore, Rondo wouldn't spend the whole game guarding the opposing shooting guard, either.  Look, you're probably right about this whole thing, but I honestly don't remember seeing Bradley guard a lot of point guards when Rondo has been out there (before Rondo's injury), and, as I'm sure is the case with you, I've seen a ton of games over the last 10 seasons.

  Bradley isn't really guarding point guards any more this year than he ever has before. You could also throw in the time Rondo was paired with Terry, when Rondo frequently covered the better offensive guard no matter the position. He's spent a lot of time covering SGs over the last 4 years or so, at least as much as he's spent covering PGs.

Bradley covers the better offensive player. Since there are better PG's than SG's throughout the league, more often than not you see Bradley covering them. When we play against Wade, Harden, Kobe, etc. Bradley gets them. Similarly, when we're facing great scoring PG's Lillard, Paul, Westbrook, etc. it'll be Bradley on them too.

   In general that hasn't been the case in the past, as Bradley has more trouble against taller players than Rondo does. This year (and last, after Rondo came back) that might be true, although (as you mentioned) it doesn't come up that often.

Either way, I can see the point in using Smart's offense as an argument against playing him alongside Rondo.  However, I don't see much argument against the pairing from a defensive perspective.  One of the main knocks on the Rondo/Bradley combination has been that they are too small collectively to cover opposing back courts.  Smart has the size to check the bigger guards in the league. 

[Celtics18]

There are 96 available minutes at the guard position.  A three guard rotation of Rondo/Smart/Bradley would allow for 32 MPG for each of those guys (or something close to that). 

Where's the problem?

[Tr1boy]

First, I think it's unrealistic to think that Smart will consistently outplay Rondo for several games.

Second, I'm still a believer in loyalty.  You don't bench a guy like Rondo just to play the "hot hand".

Third, there's no way Rondo comes back to Boston if he's benched.  Stevens would be essentially showing him the door, while tanking his trade value at the same time.

It's not happening.  Blakely just needed something to write about.

Ditto.  Will controversy erupt over Stevens' Smart-for-Rondo switch? - it will as soon as I publish this article .  You know, Bradley didn't play much, either, and if Stevens is going to bench anyone or make changes to the starting lineup, I want to see Rondo and Smart play together.  Who knows, maybe this has the potential to be like what happened in Detroit when they drafted Dumars.  Later on that season, Daly put John Long on the bench and inserted Joe into the starting lineup, and the rest was history.  I'm not comparing any of our guys to Isiah or Joe, I'm just comparing the circumstances, as well as the changes in playing time and the starting lineup.

Smart and Rondo combo has not worked and imo it has little chance to work in general. Rondo is better suited to play beside a pure shooter like Ray Allen and while AB is not considered a deadly shooter, he runs around and is able to free himself like one.  When he is on, he is good.

MS from what i've seen , shoots better after having the ball in his hands. He is not much of a  catch and shooter, not right now anyways (or may never be)

In addition if Smart and Rondo pair up and Smart has to do the dirty work and guard the opposing teams pg ,  like he did with Wall last night, who is Rondo going to guard?  A 6'7 Klay Thompson?  6'4 Bradley Beal? 6'5 etc.

  Unsurprisingly. Smart's taken more catch and shoot shots than pullups, and he's hit the catch and shoots at a better clip. I sometimes wonder whether you're actually describing what you see or if you're just saying whatever you think makes a better reason to get rid of Rondo.

  Also, Rondo's been guarding the SGs when he's been paired with Bradley for the last 4 years or so, and we generally play better defense with them in the game together.

It hasn't even been close to 4 years.  I'll give you so far this season and the games that Rondo played last year, but prior to that, Bradley had always been guarding the opposition's sg.  He didn't come over from the week side when he stuffed Dwyane Wade in that nationally-televised matchup with Miami at the Garden in 2012.

  Bradley doesn't spend every single play of every game guarding point guards, but he guards point guards more than he guards shooting guards, and has since his insertion into the starting lineup.

Right, and therefore, Rondo wouldn't spend the whole game guarding the opposing shooting guard, either.  Look, you're probably right about this whole thing, but I honestly don't remember seeing Bradley guard a lot of point guards when Rondo has been out there (before Rondo's injury), and, as I'm sure is the case with you, I've seen a ton of games over the last 10 seasons.

  Bradley isn't really guarding point guards any more this year than he ever has before. You could also throw in the time Rondo was paired with Terry, when Rondo frequently covered the better offensive guard no matter the position. He's spent a lot of time covering SGs over the last 4 years or so, at least as much as he's spent covering PGs.

Bradley covers the better offensive player. Since there are better PG's than SG's throughout the league, more often than not you see Bradley covering them. When we play against Wade, Harden, Kobe, etc. Bradley gets them. Similarly, when we're facing great scoring PG's Lillard, Paul, Westbrook, etc. it'll be Bradley on them too.

   In general that hasn't been the case in the past, as Bradley has more trouble against taller players than Rondo does. This year (and last, after Rondo came back) that might be true, although (as you mentioned) it doesn't come up that often.

Either way, I can see the point in using Smart's offense as an argument against playing him alongside Rondo.  However, I don't see much argument against the pairing from a defensive perspective.  One of the main knocks on the Rondo/Bradley combination has been that they are too small collectively to cover opposing back courts.  Smart has the size to check the bigger guards in the league.

But Smart cant guard the opposing teams bigger guard and their pg.  Smart usually guards the opposing teams pg . so who is rondo going to guard?

[BballTim]

First, I think it's unrealistic to think that Smart will consistently outplay Rondo for several games.

Second, I'm still a believer in loyalty.  You don't bench a guy like Rondo just to play the "hot hand".

Third, there's no way Rondo comes back to Boston if he's benched.  Stevens would be essentially showing him the door, while tanking his trade value at the same time.

It's not happening.  Blakely just needed something to write about.

Ditto.  Will controversy erupt over Stevens' Smart-for-Rondo switch? - it will as soon as I publish this article .  You know, Bradley didn't play much, either, and if Stevens is going to bench anyone or make changes to the starting lineup, I want to see Rondo and Smart play together.  Who knows, maybe this has the potential to be like what happened in Detroit when they drafted Dumars.  Later on that season, Daly put John Long on the bench and inserted Joe into the starting lineup, and the rest was history.  I'm not comparing any of our guys to Isiah or Joe, I'm just comparing the circumstances, as well as the changes in playing time and the starting lineup.

Smart and Rondo combo has not worked and imo it has little chance to work in general. Rondo is better suited to play beside a pure shooter like Ray Allen and while AB is not considered a deadly shooter, he runs around and is able to free himself like one.  When he is on, he is good.

MS from what i've seen , shoots better after having the ball in his hands. He is not much of a  catch and shooter, not right now anyways (or may never be)

In addition if Smart and Rondo pair up and Smart has to do the dirty work and guard the opposing teams pg ,  like he did with Wall last night, who is Rondo going to guard?  A 6'7 Klay Thompson?  6'4 Bradley Beal? 6'5 etc.

  Unsurprisingly. Smart's taken more catch and shoot shots than pullups, and he's hit the catch and shoots at a better clip. I sometimes wonder whether you're actually describing what you see or if you're just saying whatever you think makes a better reason to get rid of Rondo.

  Also, Rondo's been guarding the SGs when he's been paired with Bradley for the last 4 years or so, and we generally play better defense with them in the game together.

It hasn't even been close to 4 years.  I'll give you so far this season and the games that Rondo played last year, but prior to that, Bradley had always been guarding the opposition's sg.  He didn't come over from the week side when he stuffed Dwyane Wade in that nationally-televised matchup with Miami at the Garden in 2012.

  Bradley doesn't spend every single play of every game guarding point guards, but he guards point guards more than he guards shooting guards, and has since his insertion into the starting lineup.

Right, and therefore, Rondo wouldn't spend the whole game guarding the opposing shooting guard, either.  Look, you're probably right about this whole thing, but I honestly don't remember seeing Bradley guard a lot of point guards when Rondo has been out there (before Rondo's injury), and, as I'm sure is the case with you, I've seen a ton of games over the last 10 seasons.

  Bradley isn't really guarding point guards any more this year than he ever has before. You could also throw in the time Rondo was paired with Terry, when Rondo frequently covered the better offensive guard no matter the position. He's spent a lot of time covering SGs over the last 4 years or so, at least as much as he's spent covering PGs.

Bradley covers the better offensive player. Since there are better PG's than SG's throughout the league, more often than not you see Bradley covering them. When we play against Wade, Harden, Kobe, etc. Bradley gets them. Similarly, when we're facing great scoring PG's Lillard, Paul, Westbrook, etc. it'll be Bradley on them too.

   In general that hasn't been the case in the past, as Bradley has more trouble against taller players than Rondo does. This year (and last, after Rondo came back) that might be true, although (as you mentioned) it doesn't come up that often.

Either way, I can see the point in using Smart's offense as an argument against playing him alongside Rondo.  However, I don't see much argument against the pairing from a defensive perspective.  One of the main knocks on the Rondo/Bradley combination has been that they are too small collectively to cover opposing back courts.  Smart has the size to check the bigger guards in the league.

But Smart cant guard the opposing teams bigger guard and their pg.  Smart usually guards the opposing teams pg . so who is rondo going to guard?

  Rondo's been dividing his time between guarding shooting guards and point guards for years. Why would it suddenly be a problem?

[Celtics18]

First, I think it's unrealistic to think that Smart will consistently outplay Rondo for several games.

Second, I'm still a believer in loyalty.  You don't bench a guy like Rondo just to play the "hot hand".

Third, there's no way Rondo comes back to Boston if he's benched.  Stevens would be essentially showing him the door, while tanking his trade value at the same time.

It's not happening.  Blakely just needed something to write about.

Ditto.  Will controversy erupt over Stevens' Smart-for-Rondo switch? - it will as soon as I publish this article .  You know, Bradley didn't play much, either, and if Stevens is going to bench anyone or make changes to the starting lineup, I want to see Rondo and Smart play together.  Who knows, maybe this has the potential to be like what happened in Detroit when they drafted Dumars.  Later on that season, Daly put John Long on the bench and inserted Joe into the starting lineup, and the rest was history.  I'm not comparing any of our guys to Isiah or Joe, I'm just comparing the circumstances, as well as the changes in playing time and the starting lineup.

Smart and Rondo combo has not worked and imo it has little chance to work in general. Rondo is better suited to play beside a pure shooter like Ray Allen and while AB is not considered a deadly shooter, he runs around and is able to free himself like one.  When he is on, he is good.

MS from what i've seen , shoots better after having the ball in his hands. He is not much of a  catch and shooter, not right now anyways (or may never be)

In addition if Smart and Rondo pair up and Smart has to do the dirty work and guard the opposing teams pg ,  like he did with Wall last night, who is Rondo going to guard?  A 6'7 Klay Thompson?  6'4 Bradley Beal? 6'5 etc.

  Unsurprisingly. Smart's taken more catch and shoot shots than pullups, and he's hit the catch and shoots at a better clip. I sometimes wonder whether you're actually describing what you see or if you're just saying whatever you think makes a better reason to get rid of Rondo.

  Also, Rondo's been guarding the SGs when he's been paired with Bradley for the last 4 years or so, and we generally play better defense with them in the game together.

It hasn't even been close to 4 years.  I'll give you so far this season and the games that Rondo played last year, but prior to that, Bradley had always been guarding the opposition's sg.  He didn't come over from the week side when he stuffed Dwyane Wade in that nationally-televised matchup with Miami at the Garden in 2012.

  Bradley doesn't spend every single play of every game guarding point guards, but he guards point guards more than he guards shooting guards, and has since his insertion into the starting lineup.

Right, and therefore, Rondo wouldn't spend the whole game guarding the opposing shooting guard, either.  Look, you're probably right about this whole thing, but I honestly don't remember seeing Bradley guard a lot of point guards when Rondo has been out there (before Rondo's injury), and, as I'm sure is the case with you, I've seen a ton of games over the last 10 seasons.

  Bradley isn't really guarding point guards any more this year than he ever has before. You could also throw in the time Rondo was paired with Terry, when Rondo frequently covered the better offensive guard no matter the position. He's spent a lot of time covering SGs over the last 4 years or so, at least as much as he's spent covering PGs.

Bradley covers the better offensive player. Since there are better PG's than SG's throughout the league, more often than not you see Bradley covering them. When we play against Wade, Harden, Kobe, etc. Bradley gets them. Similarly, when we're facing great scoring PG's Lillard, Paul, Westbrook, etc. it'll be Bradley on them too.

   In general that hasn't been the case in the past, as Bradley has more trouble against taller players than Rondo does. This year (and last, after Rondo came back) that might be true, although (as you mentioned) it doesn't come up that often.

Either way, I can see the point in using Smart's offense as an argument against playing him alongside Rondo.  However, I don't see much argument against the pairing from a defensive perspective.  One of the main knocks on the Rondo/Bradley combination has been that they are too small collectively to cover opposing back courts.  Smart has the size to check the bigger guards in the league.

But Smart cant guard the opposing teams bigger guard and their pg.  Smart usually guards the opposing teams pg . so who is rondo going to guard?

Depends on the matchup.  If they were both starting tonight, for example, I would put Rondo on Walker and Smart on Stephenson to start the game. 

[Vermont Green]

Rondo and Smart have been on the court together for about 33 min and the net is a +6 according to 82games.  I am not sure that is enough of a sample size to support an argument either way (although it certainly doesn't look bad) but my personal opinion is that Smart should be playing the point.  I think his future is very bright as a PG so let him focus on one position.  This means that the Rondo-Smart combo is probably not the best.

In terms of rotation, I think Rondo should start.  That could change in 10 games or so if Rondo continues to play like he did in DC (which I don't think will be the case) but I do not think it would be good coaching to be switching around the starting line up just based on who was hot last game.