Yeah FatJohnReturns, I agree regarding Rondo's D.
There is no questions Rondo can be an elite defender, when he wants to...
The problem I have is that he seems very lackadaisical a large part of the time on D. I watched a one play in a recent game where I think the kid "Ivan" from Atlanta was barreling up the court and Rondo could easily have made him pick up his dribble but instead he let the guy go by him and then tried to reach around for a steal. Result - dunk or something at the rim.
101 says "stop the ball"...
Anyway, I know some people say he's moving his man towards the help in the half court by letting them go by. What I see is a lot of easy baskets because of it.
Bradley and Lee first and foremost try like hell to saty in front of their guys and if they do get beat or picked off by a screen, they then try like hell to catch up to their man.
Generally once a guy blows by Rondo, he's usually not exhausting himself pursuing them and trying to catch up.
The most frustrating part of it is that he's fully capable of playing elite D any time he wants.
if he dedicated himself to the defensive end of the floor like KG does, he "would be" the best all around point guard in the league, period.
And I don't buy that he has to conserve his energy. It's been the same when he's had no one behind him versus this year when he's had 3 legit back ups in Bradley, Barbosa and Terry...
I'm not saying he's a "horrible" defender, but his effort and grit on that side of the ball, in comparison to Bradley, Lee, KG and Pierce is pathetic.