If you read CB, you would think Rondo has such a miserable and prickly personality that there's no way he would handle a benching well. Especially for a rookie PG and a bunch of bench players and especially when he's a 4-time allstar in a contract year...
Instead, Rondo was up cheering, rooting, and encouraging Smart.
"I'm very competitive," [Rondo] said. "I wanted to play. I wanted to compete and be on the floor. But the guys in front of me, the guys who were out there, were playing great. And I didn't want to mess up any momentum."
The guard added: "There was no communication (between him and Stevens) but there was nothing needed. Like I said, the guys did a great job making a run out there. Our bench did a great job tonight and they deserved to play."
“Give Rondo as much credit as anyone else on our team,” Stevens told reporters after the game. “Rondo’s the loudest guy on the bench. Rondo’s running out at timeouts. Rondo was active. I think Rondo was very comfortable in saying, ‘Let’s bring this home.’ I give him a lot of credit for being that kind of guy, because he doesn’t have to be.”
I know a pro-Rondo thread is about as cool as taxes around here, but this was really cool for me to see.
I'm a rondo fan and I think it's completely lame that C's fans feel they need to applaud rondo for not being upset and being a cheerleader. the whole thing just makes me cringe.
and as much as it "looks" great that Rondo appears to be a team guy by doing this, I think it solidifies the argument of "is he a superstar/leader type". he's not, these types have egos & they explode in similar situations.
could you imagine pierce being in a similar situation here(in fact I think doc did bench him one time early on and pierce was pretty upset)? pierce would have blown up or sulked on the bench if he wasn't put back in. like it or not it's true.
It did happen from time to time that Doc would leave the bench guys in for long stretches because the starters were playing poorly and the bench was mounting a comeback. None of the big three would blow up or sulk. I guess this somehow disqualifies them from being considered leaders or superstars, although this is one of the more bizarre litmus tests for stars I've ever seen.
Yeah, I think there is sometimes a lot of inconsistency with these types of arguments.
If Boogie Cousins blows up because he's benched or because a call goes against him, he isn't in control of his emotions and isn't ready to be a superstar. If Rondo doesn't sulk, it's because he's not passionate enough, and isn't a superstar.
In terms of Rondo's cheering from the bench, I'm glad he did it, but it's what I expect him to do. I don't see it as something he deserves a lot of credit for, but I certainly don't read anything negative into it.
Topic: Rondo deserves more credit for his leadership and comradery last night (Read 5614 times)