Rondo's recent play

[EJPLAYA]

He's been open.  He has had the space to create. 


He is being aggressive. 

He has taken poor shots, forced floaters over athletic jumpers that weren't close, tried laying it off the backboard at the very top because he hadn't beaten his man. What games have you been watching?! This is not the Rondo that was blowing past his guy and getting to the rim for an uncontested shot. He is missing tons of layups because they are so tough that high off the glass with that much spin because he isn't open. Hence the horrendous shooting percentage and benching last game.

I'm looking at the guy that has raised his scoring, assists, rebounding and steals while lowering his turnovers.


I am looking at the guy who has outplayed his counterpart.


I am looking at the guy who isn't afraid to attack. 

Then you must have been closing your eyes the last three games because Bibby has been the better guard for at least the last 2.

I am not saying that Rondo hasn't been very impressive this year. I am saying that as the pressure increases he sure seems to be trying to force things. He had quite a few of those drives that he could have pulled up over the screen from about 12 feet but didn't. He has been knocking that down well all year. Once again. He is trying to do too much. It isn't about being "afraid" to attack, rather smart enough to realize that he isn't going to get that same easy layup with this athletic long Hawks squad. Then it just becomes a poor shot. Anyone that has played the point knows that the best thing you can do to a squad like this is to go to the rim, draw that shot blocked, and dump it off to the cutter. Rondo hasn't been doing that.

Really?

39 minutes.  2 for 8.  1 assist.  3 Tos.



Rondo has had one bad game.  In his other two sub par shooting games, he put up 19 assists.  2 TOs. 

And the previous 2 games 5-14 and 6-16. I know you like to disagree with every comment I make, but at least read the post first. My comment is that he has started forcing shots the last three games and I think he is doing it so that he can generate offense so he doesn't lose minutes to Sam. That's the only possible reason that Sam is in there, so he must think that if he scores more he will keep his minutes from falling.

[clover]

Where is MikeDfromNP?  I'd like his take on Rondo's play in the series.

[CoachBo]

Rondo was nothing short of ghastly Friday night, and his play has regressed in the last three games. Do not discount the fact that Doc lost enough confidence in him to bench him at key stretches in the fourth quarter.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Rondo has been quite bad in the last 4 games.  He's running the offense quite poorly, taking bad shots after bad shots.  It's quite impressive how keeps at it after a poor shooting night.  Being aggressive is NOT about taking a ton of shots.  Being aggressive is to attack the offense to see if he can get an easy layup (which he isn't getting) and try to open up the floor to find open teammates.  He isn't doing that.  He's not playing smart. He's holding the ball too, without being able to produce anything on the floor.  That hasn't been his game all year, and he's doing a poor job at it right now.

[footey]

Rondo has struggled against the Hawks because he can't dominate them athletically the way he can other teams. His speed and quickness is less an advantage against a team that is built on speed and quickness. I think that has frustrated him somewhat, especially when he goes on a breakaway only to have it swatted away by Josh Smith. I also agree that he is trying to do too much sometimes. Last game (6) was his worst.

[Who]

Rondo has struggled against the Hawks because he can't dominate them athletically the way he can other teams. His speed and quickness is less an advantage against a team that is built on speed and quickness. I think that has frustrated him somewhat, especially when he goes on a breakaway only to have it swatted away by Josh Smith. I also agree that he is trying to do too much sometimes. Last game (6) was his worst.

He has Mike Bibby on him who on him who's an awful defender and has the slowest lateral quickness out of every starting point guard in the league and is incapable of pressuring the ball, denying penetration, cutting off passing lanes.

Rajon Rondo has been able to get whatever he wants against Bibby because of his huge athletic advantage. Bibby's complete lack of athleticism and defensive skills is why Rondo is averaging only 1.17 turnovers to 7.5 dimes. Rondo can get whatever he wants whenever he wants.

[jay_jay54]

Sorry to say,but i have to agree with those who think Rondo has played poorly throughout this series.He looks rattled at times,and just not playing Rondo type basketball a good part of the time.He is the quarterback,so to speak... we need him to play a solid game today.

[td450]

Rondo has made a few mental errors, but the team is still much stronger with him on the floor pressuring the ball and attacking the lanes. I hate the defensive drop-off with Cassell. We have not lost because we can't score. We've lost because we haven't been the same defensive team for the road games in this series. Playing Rondo 10 more minutes is significant when the alternative is Cassell. Doc has made a big mistake fooling around with him at the end of games. I would be playing him 40 minutes. He is the least likely guy on the team to have fatigue issues.

[EJPLAYA]

I swear Rondo must be reading this blog. He did exactly what we have been saying he needed to do. Drive to the basket and dish off for easy layups. Take smart shots. (4-5) Let the stars do their thing. Great defense. THAT is the Rondo we know and love. Most importantly he kept himself on the floor and Sam on the bench. Keep this style up Rondo!

[BudweiserCeltic]

I swear Rondo must be reading this blog. He did exactly what we have been saying he needed to do. Drive to the basket and dish off for easy layups. Take smart shots. (4-5) Let the stars do their thing. Great defense. THAT is the Rondo we know and love. Most importantly he kept himself on the floor and Sam on the bench. Keep this style up Rondo!

Nothing to do with Sam, since he had a nice game himself, but Rondo played today as he's supposed to. Picked his spots well, and moved the ball like he did in the first couple of games.  At the beginning of the game, he was once again doing what he was doing wrong in the last 4 games, but he managed to correct himself and play a more intelligent game.

[Bahku]

It's amazing to me how much abuse this little guy takes ... not only has he far exceeded expectations this year, but he's got more cajones than the entire Hawks team put together!! Gotta love Rage!!

[celticmaestro]

the kid is great. he's a vital part of this team and his play in this series, particularly at home, was instrumental. assist-turnover ration was something like 30:1 in games at the garden.

[Who]

the kid is great. he's a vital part of this team and his play in this series, particularly at home, was instrumental. assist-turnover ration was something like 30:1 in games at the garden.

That's a crazy stat. Very impressive from Rondo.

He benefited a lot from Mike Bibby's terrible defense though. There was hardly any ball pressure and Rondo could do whatever he wanted against Mike all series long. Bibby is the worst defensive starting point guard in the league today. Still, great work to avoid turnovers from the help D and the mental mistakes. Well done Rondo.

[EJPLAYA]

I swear Rondo must be reading this blog. He did exactly what we have been saying he needed to do. Drive to the basket and dish off for easy layups. Take smart shots. (4-5) Let the stars do their thing. Great defense. THAT is the Rondo we know and love. Most importantly he kept himself on the floor and Sam on the bench. Keep this style up Rondo!

Nothing to do with Sam, since he had a nice game himself, but Rondo played today as he's supposed to. Picked his spots well, and moved the ball like he did in the first couple of games.  At the beginning of the game, he was once again doing what he was doing wrong in the last 4 games, but he managed to correct himself and play a more intelligent game.

1-3 and no assists in 7 minutes? You're quite liberal with this "nice game" label. I am not saying he hurt us, but he sure wasn't valuable on the floor for those minutes like Rondo was in his.

[MaineBleedsGreen]

I thought rondo played pretty well the whole series. but I don't think he took one jump shot today. even when he was open he was driving. I'm mean it's great, but he's gotta pull the trigger every now and then. I guess if that's my biggest gripe then he's doing ok tho.