Rondo's impressive road trip by the numbers, could it lead to banner 18?

[ma11l]

Rajon Rondo has had some very tough matchups during this West Coast swing through the All Star Break.  So far he has been dazzling, matching up against some of the best PGs in the league, both young and explosive, and old and savvy.  The numbers have been pretty decisive.


Rondo      6 pts, 11 asts, 8 rebs, +13
Chris Paul 13 pts, 5 asts, 2 rebs, -8

Rondo      19 pts, 14 asts, 15 rebs, +10
Jason Kidd 3 pts, 10 asts, 6 rebs, -9

Rondo      15 pts, 7 asts, 1 reb, -5
Deron Williams 18 pts, 10 asts, 3 rebs, +8

Rondo      32 pts, 10 asts, 6 rebs, +16
Steve Nash 19 pts, 11 asts, 0 rebs, -13


Rondo started the trip against a less than 100% Chris Paul.  However Paul did play 30+ minutes and Rondo soundly outplayed him.  Celts cruised on the road.

Rondo made Jason Kidd look like he was 60 years old.  He was overshadowed by Pierce's heroics, but still played a great game, ending with a "good" triple double.  Obviously they're all good, but this was no 10, 10, 10 game.  He was comfortably over every stat.

Rondo was outplayed by Williams.  Neither played great, and the matchup was a push until the end when Williams hit some big time shots to win the game.  Not surprisingly the only blemish on the trip to this point came during Rajon's worse game.

Rondo ran circles around Nash and the rest of the Suns on his birthday.  Eclipsed his career high a few minutes into the third, and was the headlining story in a blowout on the road.

The most telling stat is the overall plus minus over the last four games.  Rondo is a +34, while the other four starting PGs are a combined -22.



What's my point to all of this?  I think we might look back on this trip this year similarly to how we looked at the Texas Triangle sweep last year.  That was when many across the nations knew that we were legit title contenders.  According to repeat this year, Rondo needs to continue to get better.  We've lost Posey, Brown and TA, and Mikki Moore is not going to replace any of them.  The only way this roster can look better as constituted is improving from within.  Rondo has done that all year, and is shining currently against some of the best the game has to offer.  The trial will continue against Billups tonight.  This was a tough matchup for Rajon last year, it'll be interesting to see what he can do tonight.


The most important thing is that all of this is being done on the road.  I think as Rajon goes, this team goes.  We struggled in the playoffs away from the Garden last year because Rondo was not as confident on the road.  He is playing with supreme confidence on this trip away from Boston, and if he does it in the playoffs, we will be a better team than last year and will be well on our way to raising number 18.

[ma11l]

Nice little update to add from tonight's game.  The impressive streak definitely continues.

Rondo               14 pts, 8 asts, 8 rebs, +25
Chauncey Billups    3 pts, 5 asts, 0 rebs, -38



Rondo was on a triple double pace but barely even had to play in the fourth.  He set the pace early and clearly outplayed his nemesis from last year.  Remember when people thought we might not be able to get past Detroit because of Chauncey's advantage over Rondo, those days are long gone.  This was one of Billups' worst game as a pro.

[illantari]

Certainly looking like a coming out party for R2.  Led the team in rebounds and assists tonight as well.  Even had a block.

[Toine43]

One thing that people tend to ignore when comparing this year's team to last year's is the improvement of the Celtics' backcourt. Rondo is getting better and maturing every game, and Ray is way more comfortable in the offense this year. We may have taken some obvious losses (Posey, PJ), but some of our gains, although subtle, could be just as substantial, if not more substantial than those losses.

There's no doubt that the improvement of Rondo is key to raising that next banner.

[jimmehx]

Billups didn't turn up.
I've been astounded by Rondo's form this trip. His first quarter offensive rebound and 2nd chance lay-in was crazy, He's 6"1! Seriously impressive stuff. And I really like how the league is starting to take notice.

[xmuscularghandix]

There's no doubt that the improvement of Rondo is key to raising that next banner.

and any banners in the next 10-15 years.

[Birdbrain]

He use to be our little secret now he's out there for everyone to enjoy.  The offensive rebound in traffic lefty put back was a thing of beauty.

[the_Bird]

Rondo just gets better and better.  What's been especially impressive about this trip is that historically, it seems that he's played a lot worse on the road than at home (or at least when he laid a real stinker, it always seemed to be on the road).

Now, it seems like every time he steps on the floor he's controlling the game; he's in charge, he's the driving force behind the team.  Hell, if the game wasn't a blowout, he could easily have thrown up a triple-double; he and Chris Paul are taking over the mantle of guys who threaten to do that it seems every time they step on the court.

[JBcat]

Ever since wearing the white sleeve on his arm he has taken his game to another level.

[Fafnir]

Rondo just gets better and better.  What's been especially impressive about this trip is that historically, it seems that he's played a lot worse on the road than at home (or at least when he laid a real stinker, it always seemed to be on the road).

Now, it seems like every time he steps on the floor he's controlling the game; he's in charge, he's the driving force behind the team.  Hell, if the game wasn't a blowout, he could easily have thrown up a triple-double; he and Chris Paul are taking over the mantle of guys who threaten to do that it seems every time they step on the court.

2007-2008
      G MIN FGM-FGA FG% 3PM-3PA 3P% FTM-FTA FT% STL BLK TO PF OFF DEF TOT AST PTS
Home 38 30.4 4.8-9.4 50.700 0.1-0.3 .200 1.2-2.1 59.494 1.66 0.18 1.9 2.4 1.1 3.1 4.1 5.8 10.8
     G MIN FGM-FGA FG% 3PM-3PA 3P% FTM-FTA FT% STL BLK TO PF OFF DEF TOT AST PTS
Road 39 29.5 4.4-9.1 47.753 0.1-0.2 .333 1.5-2.5 62.500 1.69 0.15 1.9 2.4 0.9 3.3 4.2 4.4 10.3

2008-2009
      G MIN FGM-FGA FG% 3PM-3PA 3P% FTM-FTA FT% STL BLK TO PF OFF DEF TOT AST PTS
Home 28 32.4 5.1-9.6 53.358 0.1-0.5 .308 2.5-3.8 66.355 2.18 0.18 2.1 2.2 1.3 4.0 5.3 8.9 12.9
      G MIN FGM-FGA FG% 3PM-3PA 3P% FTM-FTA FT% STL BLK TO PF OFF DEF TOT AST PTS 
Road 30 33.8 4.3-8.6 49.807 0.2-0.7 .333 1.8-3.0 59.551 1.83 0.13 3.3 2.7 1.5 3.9 5.4 8.0 10.6

His overall play has risen and the difference in performances has evened out somewhat. Still better at home, but that is normal.

I would like to add that his overall numbers still are just below elite level. But its getting close. All he needs to do to get over the hump in my opinion is develop and be confident in a pull up jumper from 18-15 feet. That will force teams to defend him normally and greatly enhance his value to our team.

[MMacOH]

While Rondo has played well, lets not get ahead of ourselves here.  Kidd, Nash and Billups definitely are not known for their defense.  Rondo has great quickness which is a huge strength but strong defensive teams will make him hit a jumper to beat them. 

[Fafnir]

While Rondo has played well, lets not get ahead of ourselves here.  Kidd, Nash and Billups definitely are not known for their defense.  Rondo has great quickness which is a huge strength but strong defensive teams will make him hit a jumper to beat them. 

Billups is a good defender. Just not against smaller/quicker guards. He's much better at this point of his career against bigger 1s or even 2s.

[Bankshot]

Rondooooooooooooooooooooo!

[acieEarl]

Billups didn't turn up.
I've been astounded by Rondo's form this trip. His first quarter offensive rebound and 2nd chance lay-in was crazy, He's 6"1! Seriously impressive stuff. And I really like how the league is starting to take notice.

Yea that board was great. You couldn't even see Rondo as he was between two taller Nugget players and then you just see these big hands rise above the two players, snatch the ball and put it right back up.

Rondo is playing like a top 3 point guard right now. I'd put him right behind Paul and D Williams.

[nickagneta]

I keep hearing how Rondo HAS to develop a mid range jumper in order to be considered an elite PG and I just don't understand that thinking. When he develops his jumper he will become nearly unstoppable as a scoring option from the PG position but as an overall PG, he can be an elite PG just by honing the skills that he is already dominant at.

Let's face it, by most accounts just about every team that plays him now is sagging off him to force him to shoot from the outside and yet he is still scoring at a 14.5 PPG rate over the last 10 games while having a FG% of 53.6. He doesn't have an outside shot and yet he is 9th in the league amongst PGs at points per shot.

When he starts hitting his outside jumper that everyone wants him to hit, at exactly what rate do you think his FG% will be at then? If teams are sagging off of him to force him to shoot and yet he is still shooting over 51% for the year, leading all NBA guards BTW, exactly how high will his FG% be expected to go? If team's are sagging off of him and yet he can still blow by them and score and have a FG% of over 51% for the year, why exactly is that skill not celebrated as being unworldly and all anyone can say is that he has to develop a jumper?

I don't get it.

At 23 years old Rondo is already the 2nd best rebounding PG in the league.

At 23 years old Rondo is already the fastest PG in the league.

At 23 years old Rondo is already the 2nd or third best defensive PG in the league.

At 23 years old Rondo is already the best finishing PG in the league.

At 23 years old Rondo already has the best FG% of any guard in the league.

At 23 years old Rondo already has the fourth most assists per game of any PG in the league.

At 23 years old Rondo already the 3rd most steals per game of any PG in the league.

Exactly what does he have to do to be considered amongst the elite PGs? Score more or just score more in a manner that is pleasing esthetically to people? The supposed elite PGs in the league all shoot over 14 shots per game. Rondo averages 9.1. If Rondo wants to score, he's not going to have any trouble scoring. None whatsoever.

But like everyone else in the starting five he sacrifices his game a bit for the betterment of the team as a whole. And, even though he is sacrificing his overall game for the team he is still statistically amongst the top 5-6 PGs in the league when looking at his overall stats. Where would he be if he took 5-6 more shots per game? My guess is if the Big Three becomes the Dynamic Duo at any point Rondo's scoring numbers will surge into the 20 PPG range and suddenly everyone will be talking about him in the same breath as Williams and Paul.

Sometimes, I just don't think people understand this kid's overall game and can see just how dominant he is without even having a reliable outside shot.