Rondo's defense is overrated

[yoursweatersux]

It had to be said, especially after Derrick Rose completely lit him up today. Why do you guys think Rondo resorts to poking at the ball from behind so often? His ability to stay in front of his man is really overhyped.

Frankly, the best backcourt defender on the court today was Hinrich, and he definitely won't be making any all-NBA defensive teams. Hence, it seems a little silly to me that Rondo might make the all-NBA second defensive team over a number of better defenders, such as but not limited to Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups, and even Jason Kidd.

[RAcker]

Well, Rose IS good.

I do agree that one on one, though, Rajon is average.  He is above average as a team defender.

[yoursweatersux]

And actually, I'd just like to point out that it would be a total "shamockery" if Dwayne Wade wasn't on the defensive first team. I forget what the exact record is, but he's the only guard since Jordan to have as many steals and blocks in a single season... his defense is simply insane.

[cornbreadsmart]

no, rondo IS excellent at keeping the opposing point in front of him. he does poke at it too much sometimes though, ya. he ain't perfect. rose did light him up bad but i think he's gonna be embarassing point guards thruought the league now. the guy is a chris paul,deron williams ,potential player.

[KCattheStripe]

To be fair, he hit some ridiculous shots today. And most of his points came off of picks, the bigs were slow to cover.

[vinnie]

Rondo is an aboev average defensive player when Garnett plays. He is average at best when Garnett does not play.

[yoursweatersux]

To be fair, he hit some ridiculous shots today. And most of his points came off of picks, the bigs were slow to cover.

Oh definitely, I'll give credit where credit is due. Rose made some absolutely insane buckets that shouldn't have gone in. And most point guards in the league get burned by Rose, as well, so Rondo's not alone. But from a strictly elite point of view, I couldn't imagine Dwayne Wade getting lit up like that. At 6'4, he's got size for a guard, plus quickness, speed and leaping ability. He usually guards twos but I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up guarding Rose in an important game.

[xmuscularghandix]

he gambles too much, but right now i think that ankle is worse then he's letting on.

[Change]

Great Game by Rondo. Rose is just on another level. He didn't only abuse Rondo, he abused the whole team especially our biggs. We need length to stop rose, and the only big with length(Moore) is a Grade A  SISSY!

Maybe TA would've done a better job, Who Know? All i Know is PIERCE MAKE the FT. Dam Pierce!

[KungPoweChicken]

Why didn't Doc put TA on rose at the end of the game? Rondo was getting abused by Rose. He should have had TA guard Rose and have Rondo guard Gordon. Sure, Gordon is much, much stronger than Rondo, but Rondo probably could have played the denial defense that TA was playing on Gordon. On the other hand, TA could have kept Rose in front of him a lot better than Rondo.

[CoachBo]

Rondo is wildly inconsistent, especially on the defensive end where he simply took possessions off today - and that's unacceptable.

He can play great defense - when he wants to. Clearly, he doesn't always want to.

[Coach]

His ability to stay in front of his man is really overhyped.

Amen....

everytime I hear one of the national talking heads talk about Rondo's defense, it just shows me that they just look at stats and they don't watch the games.

[xmuscularghandix]

i truly beleive that he's heavily favoring his ankle, which is the most important part in on ball defense, they don't even have to cross him over to break his ankles, he only has one to begin with.

[EJPLAYA]

no, rondo IS excellent at keeping the opposing point in front of him. he does poke at it too much sometimes though, ya. he ain't perfect. rose did light him up bad but i think he's gonna be embarassing point guards thruought the league now. the guy is a chris paul,deron williams ,potential player.

Yeah. He kept the opposing point guard in front of him all day today, if you are considering staring at the back of Rose's jersey being in front of him. I have been ripping Rondo's lack of effort defensively the entire year, and we just saw a prime example of why. He just gambles way too much. There is no reason a guy who can blow past Rose like he is standing still can't keep his defender between his knees. He is also much to blame for the bigs having trouble rotating when they have to leave their man to pick up Rondo's. That is why Noah had such a huge game. He was wide open way too often.

Rondo was an all-star offensively most of the game, but he was a scrub defensively. The reason we didn't have much of a chance to repeat even with KG this year was plain today. We have lost the hunger defensively and forgotten that the defense is what won ballgames for us last year. Q1 and Q3 we shut the other team down and coasted to a win. This year we are always coming from behind. This series should have been won in 4 games. I still think we win the series, but that was ridiculous play.

[CoachBo]

Precisely. TP for you.

Opening game of the playoffs and your alleged all-star point guard is waiving goodbye every time Rose takes off down the lane. That's unacceptable effort from a rookie, let alone a third-year player with a ring.

I wrote the other day that the Celtics' only chance in the playoffs is with fanatically strong defensive effort.

They weren't even close to that today. Rondo's defensive effort was embarrassing, the bigs weren't much, the bench was missing in action. Defense begins with understanding concepts, and then expending a bunch of effort. The effort wasn't there today, it hasn't been there for awhile and you can't flip a switch to get it. As EJ points out, the desire to play defense isn't there, and Rondo was the most glaring example of that today.

I'm telling you, this has to change or the off-season starts soon. Very soon.