Say we do go on a run for the rest of the year and make a little noise in the playoffs.
Who's to say that Rondo wouldn't recognize that and adapt to it? He's stubborn, but he's also very intelligent. If he sees that something is working well, I'd say chances are very good that he'd make an effort to fit in, rather than forcing the Celtics back into a stagnant offense. I don't think he likes losing any more than we do.
The problem is that Rondo is a flawed player and there are some issues that aren't on Doc but on him. Is he going to adapt by getting a jump shot so we're not playing 4 on 5? Obviously, if he could, he would have done that already.
Um, he already is. He's been shooting jumpshots - and making a solid percentage of them - all year.
Bad example. If you brought up the free throw issue I would have agreed with you, but Rondo is showing every sign of trying to become a better shooter.
Rondo may be shooting some wide open jump shots, and hitting a decent percentage given that they are wide open. But, teams still aren't guarding him out there. They still leave him to double team and go under every screen. They still clog up the paint for other players when rondo is on the floor.
So no, the fact that rondo is hitting some shots here and there does NOT erase the fact that his lack of a good jump shot still hinders the team.
Rondo shoots 48% from 16-23FT on 3.5 attempts per game (a career high)...that's hardly "hitting a few shots here and there"
For comparison to other top guards...
(field goal% - attempts per game)
Nash: 58%-1.8, Irving: 49%-4.6, CP3: 48%-3.3, Parker: 42%-4.3, Westbrook: 34%-4.1, Deron: 38%-3, Jennings: 36%-3.8, Ellis: 33%-5.6, Holliday: 32%-5.6, Wall: 26%-4.5
Whether opposing guards respect it or not, that's not really on Rondo...look at what Doc had to say about it two weeks ago:
"They don't believe it," Rivers said. "At the end of the day, that's not going to change this year. He can make 30 in a row, and that's not going to change."
That's not a problem for Rondo who came into Friday's game as the third-highest shooting percentage among guards in the NBA, and is currently shooting 49.6 percent from the field.
Celtics guard Courtney Lee remembers how his former teams in Houston, Orlando and New Jersey, would prepare to face Rondo and the C's.
"When we played against him, we wanted him to shoot the jump-shot," said Lee, who added that Rondo's play of late will change that.
"Teams are going to have to start respecting it," Lee said. "Because he's been putting in a lot of work after practice. I try to be the last one out of there, but he's in there shooting shots, too. You can see it's paying off."
Not only does Rivers not anticipate teams changing up their approach to Rondo now, he believes the same strategy will apply to whoever the C's might face in the playoffs.
"That's just how our league works. You have to make them a believer for about year before they believe it."
Look, he will obviously never shoot like Nash or Ray Allen, but I think he has shown over the season how improved his jump shot is and I'm not sure how much more development you expect out of him at this point. Personally, I'm glad he knows his limits/ability rather than jacking up shots like Ellis or Wall while being incredibly inefficient doing so.