New expectations for Rondo?

[Toine43]

The last 5 games Rondo has scored 83 points. The 4 games b4 that he only scored 13 points lol. I've never seen a player transform like this. Rondo was soooo bad calling it a slump would be unfair. I thought he was on the verge of getting kicked out of the league. If Rondo can score 15+ a game the Celtics will hit the 100 point mark every night.

Can I please ask how this, along with a few of J R's other original posts for threads , isn't violating this rule of Celticsblog? Yes some of his posts are good debate stuff but so much is incendiary trolling. I think this post is a perfect violation of this rule:

No “trolling”.  Commenting in a thread in a manner that is likely to provoke an angry response from others is not permitted.   Posters should appreciate that in many instances, commentary that would otherwise be appropriate may not be appropriate in a specific thread (i.e., bringing up rumors of alleged cocaine use by a beloved player in a tribute thread dedicated to the memory of that player, etc.)

In my opinion it was a stupid post, and it actually was likely to provoke an angry response, but for a different sort of reason than the example given in the CelticsBlog rules quote. Obviously, my opinion doesn't matter, only the mods' opinions do, but I figured I'd put my two cents in anyway.

[nickagneta]

So if it's not trolling I would just like to point out then that the current best player on the planet who happens to play for J R's favorite team that wears gold and purple once averaged a whopping 7.5 PPG over an 8 game stretch in March of 1998. That would be only about 1/2 a season less experience.

I said before that 4 game slump that Rondo would someday be and All-Star and now after it, I still feel that way. My guess is people thought that Kobe was an All-Star before that 8 game slump, he was as a matter of fact. And even after averaging a horrible 7.5 PPG for 8 games,low and behold, he actually became not only an All-Star again but also went on to score 81 in one game and is now the best player in the game.

No need to LOL because Rondo had a bad 4 game stretch. As Kobe's early career slump proves(game scoring totals of 4, 15, 7, 4 13, 6, 13 and 0), even the best can have a really, really bad week or two.

[guava_wrench]

The problem with Rondo, first and foremost, at the beginning of this season was that we ran an offense which continually took the ball out of his hands. That four game stretch was bad, and I think his groin pull and elbow injury didn't help, but it was the basic nature of our offense which was the main culprit. Personally, I think that Garnett's suspension was a blessing in that it forced Doc to actually give the kid the ball, and he came through for us. To Doc's credit he actually kept on giving Rondo the ball, and the kid kept on performing.

The talk of "aggressiveness" is misguided, IMO. How could Rondo be "aggressive" when he didn't have real control over the offense. Game after game he was dribbling down and handing off to Paul and Ray. They ran the offense, and they did not do a good job of it. Most possessions Rondo never touched the ball after he brought it up. We played 4 on 5 basketball BY DESIGN. We actually were the 27th ranked offense in the league 11 games into the season, efficiency-wise. Five games later - five games where Rondo actuially ran the offense - we are 14th. Pretty steep climb to say the least.

I just did a quick calculation regarding Rondo's PER over the last five games. It was about 13.7 after 11 games, and it is up to 17.85. To play 11 games at a 13.7 average and get it up to 17.85 in 5 means that Rondo's PER over these last 5 was approximately 27.0.  That is a very, very high PER and a huge one for a point guard. The main reason that he has that is he actually has had the ball in his hands the last 5 games. It has made a big difference. Mind you that he has not dominated the ball, he simply hasn't be forced to give it up almost every time down, and has actually had it passed back to him when he does pass it off. It is alot easier to be "aggressive" when things like that are happening.

Do I think that Rondo will keep this up at this level? I doubt it, but I do think that he can stay fairly close to it. I also think that the PER's of Paul, Ray and Kevin will also go up as a result. The beautiful part about all of this is that Rondo is a true point guard. Getting him the ball means that he will get everyone else involved as well. It is what he does. His defense is also a huge factor for us, and that really isn't related by his PER. Steals count, but Rondo'd defense goes beyond just getting those.

Doc actually thought that his "offensive lineup" was the one with House at the point - a spot up shooter. It turned out that it was the one with Rondo - with Rondo actually running it. Hey, it's better late than never that Doc learned this.

It seemed to me Rondo was the problem early on, not the system. He refused to shoot. He also got injured for a few days. Perhaps that hurt his confidence.

Rondo was not being forced to give up the ball. He was the one choosing not to be aggressive.

[BudweiserCeltic]

guava_wrench, that obviously is too logical and makes too much sense. It has to be Doc's fault, there's no other explanation. No argument needed.

[cordobes]

If he stays agressive and confident, sky is the limit for him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5oMVz3VV3c

This is an off-topic (on the topic, Rondo has always been, and it's going to be for a while, an inconsistent offensive player, and he'll never be an All-Star quality player until he improves the jumper;the C's aren't doing anything different now that they were doing his slump), but has anyone noticed the last play on that video, the Garnett dunk?

I'm glad I had the chance of catching it again, because when watching the game I thought it was one of the dumbest plays I've ever seen in a pro basketball game. Sometimes, when watching the Warriors, I find difficult to figure out what are players mistakes on defense and what are defensive gimmicks called by Nelson, but there's no way that was designed. The guy chases Rondo to the ball, then backpedals to the weakside creating a 2 on 1 for no reason and seeing the all thing going on?! It's impressive, I play pickup games where guys are called out if they do something like that. What was he thinking? What has Biedrins thought and said to him? I used to have high hopes for Azubuike, but I'm now convinced he's the second coming of Pietrus. Impressively dumb.

[crownsy]

If he stays agressive and confident, sky is the limit for him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5oMVz3VV3c

This is an off-topic (on the topic, Rondo has always been, and it's going to be for a while, an inconsistent offensive player, and he'll never be an All-Star quality player until he improves the jumper;the C's aren't doing anything different now that they were doing his slump), but has anyone noticed the last play on that video, the Garnett dunk?

I'm glad I had the chance of catching it again, because when watching the game I thought it was one of the dumbest plays I've ever seen in a pro basketball game. Sometimes, when watching the Warriors, I find difficult to figure out what are players mistakes on defense and what are defensive gimmicks called by Nelson, but there's no way that was designed. The guy chases Rondo to the ball, then backpedals to the weakside creating a 2 on 1 for no reason and seeing the all thing going on?! It's impressive, I play pickup games where guys are called out if they do something like that. What was he thinking? What has Biedrins thought and said to him? I used to have high hopes for Azubuike, but I'm now convinced he's the second coming of Pietrus. Impressively dumb.

The C's aren't doing anything diffrent, but rajon is. Slumping rajon pulled the ball out on fast breaks and refused to drive aggresivly. Rajon post slump is doing that quite well.

and yea, what was up with that play? was he hoping rondo would forget to pass and take an off balance jumper he could rebound rather than pass to KG for the easy flush?

[dark_lord]

The last 5 games Rondo has scored 83 points. The 4 games b4 that he only scored 13 points lol. I've never seen a player transform like this. Rondo was soooo bad calling it a slump would be unfair. I thought he was on the verge of getting kicked out of the league. If Rondo can score 15+ a game the Celtics will hit the 100 point mark every night.

Can I please ask how this, along with a few of J R's other original posts for threads , isn't violating this rule of Celticsblog? Yes some of his posts are good debate stuff but so much is incendiary trolling. I think this post is a perfect violation of this rule:

No “trolling”.  Commenting in a thread in a manner that is likely to provoke an angry response from others is not permitted.   Posters should appreciate that in many instances, commentary that would otherwise be appropriate may not be appropriate in a specific thread (i.e., bringing up rumors of alleged cocaine use by a beloved player in a tribute thread dedicated to the memory of that player, etc.)

nick, i definately hear where you are coming from.  the majority of the threads he has created walk a thin line between trolling and not.  rather than let it get to you, try the approach i have with it.....just read it like you read the national enquirer at the checkout line at the supermarket.....so assinine you find humor in it.

[nickagneta]

The last 5 games Rondo has scored 83 points. The 4 games b4 that he only scored 13 points lol. I've never seen a player transform like this. Rondo was soooo bad calling it a slump would be unfair. I thought he was on the verge of getting kicked out of the league. If Rondo can score 15+ a game the Celtics will hit the 100 point mark every night.

Can I please ask how this, along with a few of J R's other original posts for threads , isn't violating this rule of Celticsblog? Yes some of his posts are good debate stuff but so much is incendiary trolling. I think this post is a perfect violation of this rule:

No “trolling”.  Commenting in a thread in a manner that is likely to provoke an angry response from others is not permitted.   Posters should appreciate that in many instances, commentary that would otherwise be appropriate may not be appropriate in a specific thread (i.e., bringing up rumors of alleged cocaine use by a beloved player in a tribute thread dedicated to the memory of that player, etc.)

nick, i definately hear where you are coming from.  the majority of the threads he has created walk a thin line between trolling and not.  rather than let it get to you, try the approach i have with it.....just read it like you read the national enquirer at the checkout line at the supermarket.....so assinine you find humor in it.

TP4U oh dark one, you are right. It's just feels like fingernails across a blackboard sometimes and I can't help myself.

[dark_lord]

The last 5 games Rondo has scored 83 points. The 4 games b4 that he only scored 13 points lol. I've never seen a player transform like this. Rondo was soooo bad calling it a slump would be unfair. I thought he was on the verge of getting kicked out of the league. If Rondo can score 15+ a game the Celtics will hit the 100 point mark every night.

Can I please ask how this, along with a few of J R's other original posts for threads , isn't violating this rule of Celticsblog? Yes some of his posts are good debate stuff but so much is incendiary trolling. I think this post is a perfect violation of this rule:

No “trolling”.  Commenting in a thread in a manner that is likely to provoke an angry response from others is not permitted.   Posters should appreciate that in many instances, commentary that would otherwise be appropriate may not be appropriate in a specific thread (i.e., bringing up rumors of alleged cocaine use by a beloved player in a tribute thread dedicated to the memory of that player, etc.)

nick, i definately hear where you are coming from.  the majority of the threads he has created walk a thin line between trolling and not.  rather than let it get to you, try the approach i have with it.....just read it like you read the national enquirer at the checkout line at the supermarket.....so assinine you find humor in it.

TP4U oh dark one, you are right. It's just feels like fingernails across a blackboard sometimes and I can't help myself.

lol, i feel your pain my friend.  TP for u too

[rondilla]

The problem with Rondo, first and foremost, at the beginning of this season was that we ran an offense which continually took the ball out of his hands. That four game stretch was bad, and I think his groin pull and elbow injury didn't help, but it was the basic nature of our offense which was the main culprit. Personally, I think that Garnett's suspension was a blessing in that it forced Doc to actually give the kid the ball, and he came through for us. To Doc's credit he actually kept on giving Rondo the ball, and the kid kept on performing.

The talk of "aggressiveness" is misguided, IMO. How could Rondo be "aggressive" when he didn't have real control over the offense. Game after game he was dribbling down and handing off to Paul and Ray. They ran the offense, and they did not do a good job of it. Most possessions Rondo never touched the ball after he brought it up. We played 4 on 5 basketball BY DESIGN. We actually were the 27th ranked offense in the league 11 games into the season, efficiency-wise. Five games later - five games where Rondo actuially ran the offense - we are 14th. Pretty steep climb to say the least.

I just did a quick calculation regarding Rondo's PER over the last five games. It was about 13.7 after 11 games, and it is up to 17.85. To play 11 games at a 13.7 average and get it up to 17.85 in 5 means that Rondo's PER over these last 5 was approximately 27.0.  That is a very, very high PER and a huge one for a point guard. The main reason that he has that is he actually has had the ball in his hands the last 5 games. It has made a big difference. Mind you that he has not dominated the ball, he simply hasn't be forced to give it up almost every time down, and has actually had it passed back to him when he does pass it off. It is alot easier to be "aggressive" when things like that are happening.

Do I think that Rondo will keep this up at this level? I doubt it, but I do think that he can stay fairly close to it. I also think that the PER's of Paul, Ray and Kevin will also go up as a result. The beautiful part about all of this is that Rondo is a true point guard. Getting him the ball means that he will get everyone else involved as well. It is what he does. His defense is also a huge factor for us, and that really isn't related by his PER. Steals count, but Rondo'd defense goes beyond just getting those.

Doc actually thought that his "offensive lineup" was the one with House at the point - a spot up shooter. It turned out that it was the one with Rondo - with Rondo actually running it. Hey, it's better late than never that Doc learned this.

It seemed to me Rondo was the problem early on, not the system. He refused to shoot. He also got injured for a few days. Perhaps that hurt his confidence.

Rondo was not being forced to give up the ball. He was the one choosing not to be aggressive.

So us starting games off by having Rondo bring the ball down for the firts 8 minutes of a game, and either give it to Pierce and Ray was just Rondo "not being aggressive", and not Doc's real plan? I actually make a point of counting how many picks are set for the kid, and quite often he wouldn't see one until we were 8 minutes into a game. Now if Doc didn't want that to happen he could always say during a timeout "OK, we're going pick and roll with Rondo for the next 5 or 6 possessions", that is his prerogative. Did that actually happen? Nope... not until the Knick game. Then, to get his "offensive lineup" out there he'd have Eddie at the point... so that the guys who really ran the offense - Pierce and Allen - could have someone to space the floor for them.

Then Garnett gets suspended and, voila, Rondo gets going, and our offensive lineup doesn't include Eddie. It isn't as if that hadn't happened before, as Rondo went bonkers last season when K.G. went down and Doc had to run the offense through Rajon. Unfortunately, when K.G. came back Doc thought "Now my offense will really work wonders". That didn't happen, though, and it was our defense which had to carry us. This time Doc didn't say that, he actually let the kid keep the ball.

I find it interesting how people could talk of Ray's struggles last season having to do with his being taken out of his comfort zone. That he wasn't used to being a spot up shooter and was more comfortable shooting off the dribble, yet many of the same people think using a guy like Rondo as a spot up shooter was acceptable. It was not. The kid needs the ball, like most point guards do. He is getting the ball now, and has broken out as a result. Has this hurt his teammates? With the exception of Pierce, I would say no. Ray, K.G. and Perk are all playing better as a result. Paul seems to be coming around, though he still is forcing things a bit.... because he has been taken out of his comfort zone. Rondo has the ball more, so he has the ball less. The offense as a whole has been fanastic, so Paul will just have to adjust. Once he does, he'll be the better for it.

Has the system been radically altered to do this? Absolutely not. It was simply a matter of running more of Rondo's stuff and less of the other things. It needed to be done, and the benefits are obvious. We have actually won a couple of games where our defense did not win it for us. How often did that happen last season?

[nickagneta]

The problem with Rondo, first and foremost, at the beginning of this season was that we ran an offense which continually took the ball out of his hands. That four game stretch was bad, and I think his groin pull and elbow injury didn't help, but it was the basic nature of our offense which was the main culprit. Personally, I think that Garnett's suspension was a blessing in that it forced Doc to actually give the kid the ball, and he came through for us. To Doc's credit he actually kept on giving Rondo the ball, and the kid kept on performing.

The talk of "aggressiveness" is misguided, IMO. How could Rondo be "aggressive" when he didn't have real control over the offense. Game after game he was dribbling down and handing off to Paul and Ray. They ran the offense, and they did not do a good job of it. Most possessions Rondo never touched the ball after he brought it up. We played 4 on 5 basketball BY DESIGN. We actually were the 27th ranked offense in the league 11 games into the season, efficiency-wise. Five games later - five games where Rondo actuially ran the offense - we are 14th. Pretty steep climb to say the least.

I just did a quick calculation regarding Rondo's PER over the last five games. It was about 13.7 after 11 games, and it is up to 17.85. To play 11 games at a 13.7 average and get it up to 17.85 in 5 means that Rondo's PER over these last 5 was approximately 27.0.  That is a very, very high PER and a huge one for a point guard. The main reason that he has that is he actually has had the ball in his hands the last 5 games. It has made a big difference. Mind you that he has not dominated the ball, he simply hasn't be forced to give it up almost every time down, and has actually had it passed back to him when he does pass it off. It is alot easier to be "aggressive" when things like that are happening.

Do I think that Rondo will keep this up at this level? I doubt it, but I do think that he can stay fairly close to it. I also think that the PER's of Paul, Ray and Kevin will also go up as a result. The beautiful part about all of this is that Rondo is a true point guard. Getting him the ball means that he will get everyone else involved as well. It is what he does. His defense is also a huge factor for us, and that really isn't related by his PER. Steals count, but Rondo'd defense goes beyond just getting those.

Doc actually thought that his "offensive lineup" was the one with House at the point - a spot up shooter. It turned out that it was the one with Rondo - with Rondo actually running it. Hey, it's better late than never that Doc learned this.

It seemed to me Rondo was the problem early on, not the system. He refused to shoot. He also got injured for a few days. Perhaps that hurt his confidence.

Rondo was not being forced to give up the ball. He was the one choosing not to be aggressive.

So us starting games off by having Rondo bring the ball down for the firts 8 minutes of a game, and either give it to Pierce and Ray was just Rondo "not being aggressive", and not Doc's real plan? I actually make a point of counting how many picks are set for the kid, and quite often he wouldn't see one until we were 8 minutes into a game. Now if Doc didn't want that to happen he could always say during a timeout "OK, we're going pick and roll with Rondo for the next 5 or 6 possessions", that is his prerogative. Did that actually happen? Nope... not until the Knick game. Then, to get his "offensive lineup" out there he'd have Eddie at the point... so that the guys who really ran the offense - Pierce and Allen - could have someone to space the floor for them.

Then Garnett gets suspended and, voila, Rondo gets going, and our offensive lineup doesn't include Eddie. It isn't as if that hadn't happened before, as Rondo went bonkers last season when K.G. went down and Doc had to run the offense through Rajon. Unfortunately, when K.G. came back Doc thought "Now my offense will really work wonders". That didn't happen, though, and it was our defense which had to carry us. This time Doc didn't say that, he actually let the kid keep the ball.

I find it interesting how people could talk of Ray's struggles last season having to do with his being taken out of his comfort zone. That he wasn't used to being a spot up shooter and was more comfortable shooting off the dribble, yet many of the same people think using a guy like Rondo as a spot up shooter was acceptable. It was not. The kid needs the ball, like most point guards do. He is getting the ball now, and has broken out as a result. Has this hurt his teammates? With the exception of Pierce, I would say no. Ray, K.G. and Perk are all playing better as a result. Paul seems to be coming around, though he still is forcing things a bit.... because he has been taken out of his comfort zone. Rondo has the ball more, so he has the ball less. The offense as a whole has been fanastic, so Paul will just have to adjust. Once he does, he'll be the better for it.

Has the system been radically altered to do this? Absolutely not. It was simply a matter of running more of Rondo's stuff and less of the other things. It needed to be done, and the benefits are obvious. We have actually won a couple of games where our defense did not win it for us. How often did that happen last season?

As big of a Rondo fan and schill as I am, and I am one, even I have to admit that Rondo's 4 game slump had nothing to do with the system or schemes being run and had everything to do with Rondo's performance and decision making. Rondo shot 5 for 25 (20%) from the field and I am sure if I went back and counted the amount of times he passed up on layups to pass out of the paint for an outside shot or other option I will find a great, great many of occurances where that happened.

Sorry, but Rondo is not going to have a ton of plays called for him where picks are being set up to free him up. He is this team's fourth offensive option. Fourth. His job is to facilitate, score on the fast break as an outlet on steals, and hit the mid range jumper when left open due to excellent defense elsewhere. When the mismatch is there he needs to take advantage of it and get a bit selfish then because that mismatch elevates him from fourth scoring option to first or second.

When used in the above manner and Rondo is making the right decisions about where and when to strike and when to finish and when not to he is a weapon. When hesitant as he was in that four game stretch and for various other games this early season, he has a less than stellar effect on this team. When knowing he has the mismatch, he takes advantage of it and yet still creates for others while scoring off his defense, he is a weapon. An All-Star caliber weapon, which is what he has been the last 5 games.

[hwangjini_1]

If he stays agressive and confident, sky is the limit for him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5oMVz3VV3c

This is an off-topic (on the topic, Rondo has always been, and it's going to be for a while, an inconsistent offensive player, and he'll never be an All-Star quality player until he improves the jumper;the C's aren't doing anything different now that they were doing his slump), but has anyone noticed the last play on that video, the Garnett dunk?

...

well said. rondo's problem with shooting did not go away. i am hopeful he can work on his shooting form because i like to imagine rondo being able to do all the things folks here love AND consistently make a mid-range jump shot.

once (if?) rondo can make jump shots with reliability, then he will be able to drive to the basket even more easily.

once he does that, then he has a chance to be an all-star.

until then, he will have some awful scoring slumps and he will continue to pass up shots when he shouldnt.

[moiso]

His main job is obviously to get everyone involved, but i think its important for him that when he has an open path to the hoop he needs to put on the jets and go take and make that layup.  Even if its 3 times per game, that is 6 easy points for the C's.

[Toine43]

The problem with Rondo, first and foremost, at the beginning of this season was that we ran an offense which continually took the ball out of his hands. That four game stretch was bad, and I think his groin pull and elbow injury didn't help, but it was the basic nature of our offense which was the main culprit. Personally, I think that Garnett's suspension was a blessing in that it forced Doc to actually give the kid the ball, and he came through for us. To Doc's credit he actually kept on giving Rondo the ball, and the kid kept on performing.

The talk of "aggressiveness" is misguided, IMO. How could Rondo be "aggressive" when he didn't have real control over the offense. Game after game he was dribbling down and handing off to Paul and Ray. They ran the offense, and they did not do a good job of it. Most possessions Rondo never touched the ball after he brought it up. We played 4 on 5 basketball BY DESIGN. We actually were the 27th ranked offense in the league 11 games into the season, efficiency-wise. Five games later - five games where Rondo actuially ran the offense - we are 14th. Pretty steep climb to say the least.

I just did a quick calculation regarding Rondo's PER over the last five games. It was about 13.7 after 11 games, and it is up to 17.85. To play 11 games at a 13.7 average and get it up to 17.85 in 5 means that Rondo's PER over these last 5 was approximately 27.0.  That is a very, very high PER and a huge one for a point guard. The main reason that he has that is he actually has had the ball in his hands the last 5 games. It has made a big difference. Mind you that he has not dominated the ball, he simply hasn't be forced to give it up almost every time down, and has actually had it passed back to him when he does pass it off. It is alot easier to be "aggressive" when things like that are happening.

Do I think that Rondo will keep this up at this level? I doubt it, but I do think that he can stay fairly close to it. I also think that the PER's of Paul, Ray and Kevin will also go up as a result. The beautiful part about all of this is that Rondo is a true point guard. Getting him the ball means that he will get everyone else involved as well. It is what he does. His defense is also a huge factor for us, and that really isn't related by his PER. Steals count, but Rondo'd defense goes beyond just getting those.

Doc actually thought that his "offensive lineup" was the one with House at the point - a spot up shooter. It turned out that it was the one with Rondo - with Rondo actually running it. Hey, it's better late than never that Doc learned this.

It seemed to me Rondo was the problem early on, not the system. He refused to shoot. He also got injured for a few days. Perhaps that hurt his confidence.

Rondo was not being forced to give up the ball. He was the one choosing not to be aggressive.

So us starting games off by having Rondo bring the ball down for the firts 8 minutes of a game, and either give it to Pierce and Ray was just Rondo "not being aggressive", and not Doc's real plan? I actually make a point of counting how many picks are set for the kid, and quite often he wouldn't see one until we were 8 minutes into a game. Now if Doc didn't want that to happen he could always say during a timeout "OK, we're going pick and roll with Rondo for the next 5 or 6 possessions", that is his prerogative. Did that actually happen? Nope... not until the Knick game. Then, to get his "offensive lineup" out there he'd have Eddie at the point... so that the guys who really ran the offense - Pierce and Allen - could have someone to space the floor for them.

Then Garnett gets suspended and, voila, Rondo gets going, and our offensive lineup doesn't include Eddie. It isn't as if that hadn't happened before, as Rondo went bonkers last season when K.G. went down and Doc had to run the offense through Rajon. Unfortunately, when K.G. came back Doc thought "Now my offense will really work wonders". That didn't happen, though, and it was our defense which had to carry us. This time Doc didn't say that, he actually let the kid keep the ball.

I find it interesting how people could talk of Ray's struggles last season having to do with his being taken out of his comfort zone. That he wasn't used to being a spot up shooter and was more comfortable shooting off the dribble, yet many of the same people think using a guy like Rondo as a spot up shooter was acceptable. It was not. The kid needs the ball, like most point guards do. He is getting the ball now, and has broken out as a result. Has this hurt his teammates? With the exception of Pierce, I would say no. Ray, K.G. and Perk are all playing better as a result. Paul seems to be coming around, though he still is forcing things a bit.... because he has been taken out of his comfort zone. Rondo has the ball more, so he has the ball less. The offense as a whole has been fanastic, so Paul will just have to adjust. Once he does, he'll be the better for it.

Has the system been radically altered to do this? Absolutely not. It was simply a matter of running more of Rondo's stuff and less of the other things. It needed to be done, and the benefits are obvious. We have actually won a couple of games where our defense did not win it for us. How often did that happen last season?

Rondilla, the debate about how much Rondo's performance is affected by Doc has been raging ever since Rondo's rookie season. Perhaps the argument you're using may have made sense 2 years ago, or even last year, but at this point I think your argument has run its course. Do you honestly think that after coaching Rondo for 2 full seasons, and winning an NBA Championship with Rondo as his point guard, that Doc still doesn't know how to use him properly? It can be tough to quantify if the the offense is or isn't being run through someone, but I know what I saw with Rondo during his slump. He just wasn't aggresive enough. Forget about how many times Rondo dribbled down the floor and immediately dished it off to Pierce or Ray, because we ran our offense that way a lot last year, and we're still going to see that a lot this year. Rondo has his share of possesions when he's the one making the plays, and earlier on in the season he wasn't making the right decisions. It's as simple as that. The decisions Doc makes are going to have an impact on what's happening on the court, I'm not denying that. But the NBA is a players league. The players are the ones you give the credit to in success, and the players are the ones you blame in failure. It's Rondo's responsibility to make the most out of his playing time. If anything, Rondo's sudden transformation proves that his slump had nothing to do with Doc. If Doc's offensive system wasn't "radically altered," then explain how Rondo's radical alteration has anything at all to do with the system. I don't buy that Doc slightly tweaked the gameplan, and that all of a sudden Rondo magically went from Marcus Banks to Chris Paul.

[rondilla]

The problem with Rondo, first and foremost, at the beginning of this season was that we ran an offense which continually took the ball out of his hands. That four game stretch was bad, and I think his groin pull and elbow injury didn't help, but it was the basic nature of our offense which was the main culprit. Personally, I think that Garnett's suspension was a blessing in that it forced Doc to actually give the kid the ball, and he came through for us. To Doc's credit he actually kept on giving Rondo the ball, and the kid kept on performing.

The talk of "aggressiveness" is misguided, IMO. How could Rondo be "aggressive" when he didn't have real control over the offense. Game after game he was dribbling down and handing off to Paul and Ray. They ran the offense, and they did not do a good job of it. Most possessions Rondo never touched the ball after he brought it up. We played 4 on 5 basketball BY DESIGN. We actually were the 27th ranked offense in the league 11 games into the season, efficiency-wise. Five games later - five games where Rondo actuially ran the offense - we are 14th. Pretty steep climb to say the least.

I just did a quick calculation regarding Rondo's PER over the last five games. It was about 13.7 after 11 games, and it is up to 17.85. To play 11 games at a 13.7 average and get it up to 17.85 in 5 means that Rondo's PER over these last 5 was approximately 27.0.  That is a very, very high PER and a huge one for a point guard. The main reason that he has that is he actually has had the ball in his hands the last 5 games. It has made a big difference. Mind you that he has not dominated the ball, he simply hasn't be forced to give it up almost every time down, and has actually had it passed back to him when he does pass it off. It is alot easier to be "aggressive" when things like that are happening.

Do I think that Rondo will keep this up at this level? I doubt it, but I do think that he can stay fairly close to it. I also think that the PER's of Paul, Ray and Kevin will also go up as a result. The beautiful part about all of this is that Rondo is a true point guard. Getting him the ball means that he will get everyone else involved as well. It is what he does. His defense is also a huge factor for us, and that really isn't related by his PER. Steals count, but Rondo'd defense goes beyond just getting those.

Doc actually thought that his "offensive lineup" was the one with House at the point - a spot up shooter. It turned out that it was the one with Rondo - with Rondo actually running it. Hey, it's better late than never that Doc learned this.

It seemed to me Rondo was the problem early on, not the system. He refused to shoot. He also got injured for a few days. Perhaps that hurt his confidence.

Rondo was not being forced to give up the ball. He was the one choosing not to be aggressive.

So us starting games off by having Rondo bring the ball down for the firts 8 minutes of a game, and either give it to Pierce and Ray was just Rondo "not being aggressive", and not Doc's real plan? I actually make a point of counting how many picks are set for the kid, and quite often he wouldn't see one until we were 8 minutes into a game. Now if Doc didn't want that to happen he could always say during a timeout "OK, we're going pick and roll with Rondo for the next 5 or 6 possessions", that is his prerogative. Did that actually happen? Nope... not until the Knick game. Then, to get his "offensive lineup" out there he'd have Eddie at the point... so that the guys who really ran the offense - Pierce and Allen - could have someone to space the floor for them.

Then Garnett gets suspended and, voila, Rondo gets going, and our offensive lineup doesn't include Eddie. It isn't as if that hadn't happened before, as Rondo went bonkers last season when K.G. went down and Doc had to run the offense through Rajon. Unfortunately, when K.G. came back Doc thought "Now my offense will really work wonders". That didn't happen, though, and it was our defense which had to carry us. This time Doc didn't say that, he actually let the kid keep the ball.

I find it interesting how people could talk of Ray's struggles last season having to do with his being taken out of his comfort zone. That he wasn't used to being a spot up shooter and was more comfortable shooting off the dribble, yet many of the same people think using a guy like Rondo as a spot up shooter was acceptable. It was not. The kid needs the ball, like most point guards do. He is getting the ball now, and has broken out as a result. Has this hurt his teammates? With the exception of Pierce, I would say no. Ray, K.G. and Perk are all playing better as a result. Paul seems to be coming around, though he still is forcing things a bit.... because he has been taken out of his comfort zone. Rondo has the ball more, so he has the ball less. The offense as a whole has been fanastic, so Paul will just have to adjust. Once he does, he'll be the better for it.

Has the system been radically altered to do this? Absolutely not. It was simply a matter of running more of Rondo's stuff and less of the other things. It needed to be done, and the benefits are obvious. We have actually won a couple of games where our defense did not win it for us. How often did that happen last season?

As big of a Rondo fan and schill as I am, and I am one, even I have to admit that Rondo's 4 game slump had nothing to do with the system or schemes being run and had everything to do with Rondo's performance and decision making. Rondo shot 5 for 25 (20%) from the field and I am sure if I went back and counted the amount of times he passed up on layups to pass out of the paint for an outside shot or other option I will find a great, great many of occurances where that happened.

Sorry, but Rondo is not going to have a ton of plays called for him where picks are being set up to free him up. He is this team's fourth offensive option. Fourth. His job is to facilitate, score on the fast break as an outlet on steals, and hit the mid range jumper when left open due to excellent defense elsewhere. When the mismatch is there he needs to take advantage of it and get a bit selfish then because that mismatch elevates him from fourth scoring option to first or second.

When used in the above manner and Rondo is making the right decisions about where and when to strike and when to finish and when not to he is a weapon. When hesitant as he was in that four game stretch and for various other games this early season, he has a less than stellar effect on this team. When knowing he has the mismatch, he takes advantage of it and yet still creates for others while scoring off his defense, he is a weapon. An All-Star caliber weapon, which is what he has been the last 5 games.

I could be wrong about this, but I think that you have been watching this team too long and misunderstand how a guy like Rondo should be used. A good example of how to do it is how Popovich has used Parker from his rookie season on. Setting picks for Parker, as with Rondo, is a mismatch in itself. Stopping them from getting into the paint is easier said than done, and "going under the pick" isn't a reliable way of effecting that. The only way to consistently stop them from doing so is to switch, but that opens up a whole other can of worms.

It has taken Doc a long time to figure this out. He drove Darrell Armstrong crazy with his wing run offense in Orlando, and Gary Payton usually ignored him when he was here. Doc's ideal offense was run by the wings, with the point guard being used as a spot up shooter. Why do think that he actually thought that Eddie House was a better fit in it than a real point guard? It isn't as if he just started doing that when he got here, or started doing it when Ray joined Paul - he tried to have Ricky run it, and even Wally. His track record of having troubles with his point guards has revolved around this issue.

Ray and Paul are good playmakers for wings, but they are not on Rondo's level. Not even close. They do not have his handle, his speed, his court vision or his passing ability. We were dead last in turnovers (still are actually, that's how many we had). Over these past 5 games we are only averaging 14.4 (18th fewest in the league), and that is with the second unit and the end of the bench throwing the ball all over the place in the fourth quarters of our blowout wins! What is the reason behind this? Rondo running the offense, not watching others cough it up while he watches from the weakside. He simply has the ball in his hands more. Not dominating it, just controlling where it goes.

The crazy part is that his teammates are actually not used to playing off of him yet. Paul, K.G. and Perk have had a lot of "Holy ----, I'm wide open" moments over these last 5 games. In complete shock that they have such an easy look at the basket. Rondo is freestyling out there making something out of nothing, and they are still plugged into the mechanical offense we were running before "I pass it to you, then you pass it to him, then he passes it to this guy, then this guy passes it to that guy, and then if everything works out OK I get it back here and maybe I'm open."

I think that K.G. has been unnerved by how wide open he is getting on jumpers via Rondo. He's used to a hand being in his face. He'll get over that. Rondo is hitting Perk wide open underneath, but Perk isn't anticipating the pass. He catches it, THEN he steps in, THEN he gathers himself (bringing his hands down in the process), and THEN he tries to dunk it- all of which allows the defense a chance to recover. Once he gets used to it, he'll be stepping into the pass and dunking it, or laying it up, much more quickly. He's getting Paul wide open looks from the top of the arc where he can either shoot a three or straight-line drive right down the middle of the lane. Paul is not used to this. The only guy who is actually already comfortable is Ray, because playing like this just feeds into his game and he's done it before.

If we keep on playing this way the best is yet to come, and it was not just a matter of Rondo being "more aggressive". You cannot use a player any which way you feel like and then reasonably expect good results. More so, a guy like Rondo has a fundamental unbderstanding of where the ball is supposed to go. Paul and Ray do not. They are good passers for their positions, but any offense needs to have someone at the wheel in CONTROL of what is happening out there. When Rondo was coming down ,on possession after possession, passing it off to them he did not have that control. It makes a big difference when he does.