Who would have thought two Rajon Rondo threes would save the season?

[Greg]

Heading into the season, a lot of people had questions about Rondo's jump-shooting.  The first half of the season, he wouldn't even dare put up a three.

But now, Rondo is in "year three" (yes, I understand he is actually in year 2, read my explanation below), and it's evident he now has the confidence to take the three.  He didn't even hesitate on those two.

In fact, the two threes he took arguably saved the season.  They were clearly the turning point of game 5.  If Rondo didn't hit those, Cleveland would have gone into the half with the momentum and a big lead.  Boston probably would have lost, and likely wouldn't have pulled out the series.

Even though it's a little premature, you can say that the Rajon Rondo threes saved the Boston Celtics series.

Who would have thunk that?

UPDATE: I understand Rondo is technically in his second season, but he's gone long enough that he's kind of in his "third season".  Rather, he has the experience of a third year guy.

[bopna]

I just hope he does not fall in love with it like employee no. 8 did...

I certainly don't want us to be a jump shooting live by the 3, die by the three type of team....

What Rondo should emulate is Tony Parker...He is getting there but I have seen a couple of open spots for KG and Paul whenever rajon drives but did not dish, I just hope he spots them early and often....

I also saw a about a couple of times that Ray Allen drove baseline and Rondo open from about 10 ft from the opposite side but Allen misses him and instead looked for his shot, one of which resulted in a turnover....This is unacceptable and that the C's should always look for the very best option on offense.

[Frontierboy]

Yeah, once those shots went in, Cleveland had to play him tight.... that allowed him to drive more the rest of the game and do what he does best....

I felt that if Rondo was nailing 3's, then it was a sign that we would win the game...

Don't get me wrong, we were about to give the game to Cleaveland with Posey's and Ray's bonehead turnovers..... but Pierce was finally money from the free-throw line.

[Edgar]

Sky is blue
birds sing
grass is green
and girsl are pretty.... 


Man if he open his range like Gomes he will carry this team for years to come.
Man i am starting to worry less about older players

[jgod213]

TP for the thread, couldn't of put it better myself...

I believe, before his first of those 2 3's, the Celts were down 14 - and losing ground with LBJ on the bench!  If he had clanked that first one, no way do i think he even gets in position for the 2nd one; i say that because, if you watch the replay, Rajon actually drifted out to the 3-point line during that fast break and threw his hand in the air to get Ray Allen's attention - something i really don't think he would've done if he missed the 1st one.

Granted those looks were WIDE open, but - as much as we wan't to ignore regular season terms like "progression" and "development" - you can't ignore the huge strides Rajon is making in just the past couple of weeks.  He's had so many ups and downs in the playoffs alone, on a game by game basis - these roller-coaster like performances aren't ideal in the playoffs, but when you take a step back from the situation and remember this is his first rodeo, you can't help but fantasize about how good this kid is GOING to be.

[Cassidy122690]

Fully recognizing that Rondo's 3s marked the biggest momentum swing, I'd also like to point out Ray's baseline 3 that preceeded them was pretty darn pivotal too.  At that point in the game (around the 6:40 mark in the 2nd q), Cle was really digging in and getting comfy with a double digit lead, and the Cs were showing NO life.  On that possession, we moved the ball very nicely (5 quick, crisp passes), didn't rush things and found Ray in rhythm.  That cut the lead from 11 to 8 and, to me, was the first sign that the Cs were actually going to fight.  The crowd woke-up, and my girlfriend officially took me off of suicide-watch.

That forced the Cavs to take a timeout, and even though Cassell got the assist on that bucket, he was pulled for Rondo - and the fight was on.

[ManUp]

Correction Rondo's in his second year.

Just think he only had one off season to become this solid.

What can we expect from him next year? A double Double maybe

[X Man]

I would like to know who here would agree/disagree with the notion that Rondo might, suprisingly enough, be the real leader of this team.  In someways it shouldn't come as a surprise since he was the one player on the team that was under adversity the whole season since the media(and some fans) didn't think he would deliver.  It would be interesting to get your opinions on this.  What do you guys think??

[libermaniac]

Correction Rondo's in his second year.

The original poster put "year three" in quotes ... because the playoffs are supposed to be a "second season."  I think he's aware of what year Rondo is in.

[BringToughnessBack]

The most important thing Rondo showed me last night at the ripe age of 21 is his Heart...and Man, was I impressed!!

I thought it would be interesting to go back to 2002-03 and look at Tony Parkers playoff run and by the way, he was 21 years old for that glorious playoff run for the Spurs that led to the title.....I remember people thinking a young PG could not take a team to the finals and win.....

3.54 assists per game, 2.75 rebounds, 14.6 pts, .91 steals for Mr. Parker as he led his team to the promised land in those playoffs

Now, 12 games into the playoffs we have Mr. Rondo...12.1 pts/game, 6.7 APG, 3.8 RPG and 1.58 steals per game...one could argue, that so far, he is ahead of where Tony P was and is putting up big numbers with not as many minutes...I like the similarities in their numbers and will like them even more as we continue our march toward 17..

[Edgar]

yes but he need consistance AND a championship if he ever wants to be called between
CP3 and Deron ( Deron amaze me every single minute i see him in court, not that i have anything to add about CP3)
probably the best 2 point guards in the league since
nash and kidd
I dont dream that much for the kid, but if its posibible then GO FOR IT Rajon

[Who]

The most important thing Rondo showed me last night at the ripe age of 21 is his Heart...and Man, was I impressed!!

I thought it would be interesting to go back to 2002-03 and look at Tony Parkers playoff run and by the way, he was 21 years old for that glorious playoff run for the Spurs that led to the title.....I remember people thinking a young PG could not take a team to the finals and win.....

3.54 assists per game, 2.75 rebounds, 14.6 pts, .91 steals for Mr. Parker as he led his team to the promised land in those playoffs

Now, 12 games into the playoffs we have Mr. Rondo...12.1 pts/game, 6.7 APG, 3.8 RPG and 1.58 steals per game...one could argue, that so far, he is ahead of where Tony P was and is putting up big numbers with not as many minutes...I like the similarities in their numbers and will like them even more as we continue our march toward 17..

Worth noting that Parker disappeared for part of every round in that playoff run. They don't win the title without Speedy Claxton. Speedy was huge stepping up when Parker vanished.

[heatnum119]

I love rondo (i have an 8X10 autograph of him hanging over my bed and im not afraid to admit it) and i truely believe that he is mentally tougher than any of "The ____ Three" and those 3's proved it.  Ive seen this kid clutch up since he was in Kentucky his soph season.  Also, the great thing is that the way this team is constructed he does not need to be CP3 or Deron, he needs to be Rondo night in and night out, and if that happens we will be just fine.

Oh yeah, another correction, he's 22 not 21.

-heat

[lon3lytoaster]

Not to rain on the parade, because I do love Jonny Rondo but he didn't even take one free-throw last night. He still isn't very aggressive when attacking the basket, and most of the time he will be hot for a short stretch and score maybe 10 or so points, but then he fades off for the rest of the game.

I love the strides Rajon has taken this post-season and in the regular season for that matter, but the kid still has a long way to go. Luckily, though he is only 22 and that does leave a lot of time for learning.

[heatnum119]

Not to rain on the parade, because I do love Jonny Rondo but he didn't even take one free-throw last night. He still isn't very aggressive when attacking the basket, and most of the time he will be hot for a short stretch and score maybe 10 or so points, but then he fades off for the rest of the game.

I love the strides Rajon has taken this post-season and in the regular season for that matter, but the kid still has a long way to go. Luckily, though he is only 22 and that does leave a lot of time for learning.

He cant get all the way into the lane cuz hell get ball the stuffed down his throat and yanked by doc. Besides, he was knocking down that floater all night in game 5, why bother taking into traffic?

-heat