The Rondo Mystery

[EJPLAYA]

Wow.  So Rondo has one "off" game and it's back to this type of thread for Rondo.  How soon we forget who led them out of a grueling first round.

The man had a bad game, simple as that.  All of this other stuff is garbage.

Can you truly not see a difference in having an off shooting night if you are Ray Allen or PP taking good shots but them just not falling and what Rondo is doing?! It is the equivalent of Paul trying to dribble between his legs between three defenders and losing the ball again and again making no attempt to change what he is doing. Or Ray taking and missing 15 off balance contested shots when they aren't falling.

Rondo is playing "stupid basketball" and it just wasn't one game. It has been quite a few now off and on. The stakes are too high to sit there and make dumb decisions. He doesn't HAVE to throw the impossible pass. He doesn't HAVE to force bad shots. He doesn't HAVE to play lazy defense. Those 3-4 turnovers when we were making that run likely cost us that comeback. NONE of them were smart decisions. 

[BballTim]

  It's amazing how quickly people on this board can turn on a player. He's a punk, a thug, a poor decision maker. Where are all of the threads about the other players who played equally badly? Paul Pierce? Ray Allen? People don't want to give Rondo any credit for getting us back into the game. Do Paul and Ray get credit for the runs they started? I'm sorry, but that didn't happen. After all the threads attacking Doc and Rondo for not having Ray take the last shot the other night, the offense withered and died with Rajon and Paul on the bench and Ray "carrying" the load. And how much did we improve our chances when Paul got that 3rd foul? He comes back in the game with the Magic on a run and the offense struggling greatly and lasts exactly 13 seconds. Rondo played poorly, but you can only lay so much at his feet.

[Roy Hobbs]

 It's amazing how quickly people on this board can turn on a player. He's a punk, a thug, a poor decision maker. Where are all of the threads about the other players who played equally badly? Paul Pierce? Ray Allen? People don't want to give Rondo any credit for getting us back into the game. Do Paul and Ray get credit for the runs they started? I'm sorry, but that didn't happen. After all the threads attacking Doc and Rondo for not having Ray take the last shot the other night, the offense withered and died with Rajon and Paul on the bench and Ray "carrying" the load. And how much did we improve our chances when Paul got that 3rd foul? He comes back in the game with the Magic on a run and the offense struggling greatly and lasts exactly 13 seconds. Rondo played poorly, but you can only lay so much at his feet.

You don't think Paul and Ray get criticized on this blog?  After Game 1 of the Bulls series, Ray was eviscerated.  Paul was criticized all series long by some for appearing disinterested; his clutchness and heart were questioned.  It's not like people are going out of their way to pick on Rondo; every player on the team gets criticized on here.

The current criticism of Rondo is mostly directed at figuring out what's wrong with him.  He went from playing smart, superstar level basketball for five games, to shooting terribly and making atrocious decisions in the past three games.  That type of dichotomy is going to get people interested in what's going on.

To me, Rondo hasn't looked at all like the same player in the last three games.  He's turnover prone, he's making stupid decisions, and he's shooting 21%.  What happened?  Is it physical?  Mental?  Just a slump?  Is the pressure getting to him?  Is he buying into his hype?  Those, to me, are all valid questions to be explored.

(By the way, I stand by my statement that Rondo *acted like* a punk when he threw Hinrich down and then threw his elbow up.  While he may not be a punk normally, that was certainly a punk move, which could have -- and luckily didn't -- cost this team dearly.)

[MrTripleDouble10]

Wow.  So Rondo has one "off" game and it's back to this type of thread for Rondo.  How soon we forget who led them out of a grueling first round.

The man had a bad game, simple as that.  All of this other stuff is garbage.

Can you truly not see a difference in having an off shooting night if you are Ray Allen or PP taking good shots but them just not falling and what Rondo is doing?! It is the equivalent of Paul trying to dribble between his legs between three defenders and losing the ball again and again making no attempt to change what he is doing. Or Ray taking and missing 15 off balance contested shots when they aren't falling.

Rondo is playing "stupid basketball" and it just wasn't one game. It has been quite a few now off and on. The stakes are too high to sit there and make dumb decisions. He doesn't HAVE to throw the impossible pass. He doesn't HAVE to force bad shots. He doesn't HAVE to play lazy defense. Those 3-4 turnovers when we were making that run likely cost us that comeback. NONE of them were smart decisions. 

Hilarious.  So, even though he shot poorly in Game 6, he had 19 assists and ZERO turnovers.  I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that's pretty good for a point guard, in a pressure-packed triple-overtime playoff game on the road.  That's just me though.
Doc has already said that he was sick in Game 7, so that helped me understand why he didn't play "great."  Who knows what it was last night, but to me, that's just one game he's played poorly (when seemingly healthy).  Jeez guys he AVERAGED a triple-double for one of the most tightly contested 7-game series in NBA history!
All I'm saying is let's just chill out a bit in claiming that he's all of a sudden "too immature."  Madness.

[libermaniac]

What's the deal with Rondo showing up only an hour before tipoff, as they said on the TNT broadcast.  Is this true?  Anyone have any more info on that?

[MrTripleDouble10]

 It's amazing how quickly people on this board can turn on a player. He's a punk, a thug, a poor decision maker. Where are all of the threads about the other players who played equally badly? Paul Pierce? Ray Allen? People don't want to give Rondo any credit for getting us back into the game. Do Paul and Ray get credit for the runs they started? I'm sorry, but that didn't happen. After all the threads attacking Doc and Rondo for not having Ray take the last shot the other night, the offense withered and died with Rajon and Paul on the bench and Ray "carrying" the load. And how much did we improve our chances when Paul got that 3rd foul? He comes back in the game with the Magic on a run and the offense struggling greatly and lasts exactly 13 seconds. Rondo played poorly, but you can only lay so much at his feet.

You don't think Paul and Ray get criticized on this blog?  After Game 1 of the Bulls series, Ray was eviscerated.  Paul was criticized all series long by some for appearing disinterested; his clutchness and heart were questioned.  It's not like people are going out of their way to pick on Rondo; every player on the team gets criticized on here.

The current criticism of Rondo is mostly directed at figuring out what's wrong with him.  He went from playing smart, superstar level basketball for five games, to shooting terribly and making atrocious decisions in the past three games.  That type of dichotomy is going to get people interested in what's going on.

To me, Rondo hasn't looked at all like the same player in the last three games.  He's turnover prone, he's making stupid decisions, and he's shooting 21%.  What happened?  Is it physical?  Mental?  Just a slump?  Is the pressure getting to him?  Is he buying into his hype?  Those, to me, are all valid questions to be explored.

(By the way, I stand by my statement that Rondo *acted like* a punk when he threw Hinrich down and then threw his elbow up.  While he may not be a punk normally, that was certainly a punk move, which could have -- and luckily didn't -- cost this team dearly.)

Atrocious decisions the past three games?  Again, I reiterate: Game 6: 19 assists ZERO turnovers.  If that's "atrocious" then your standards for a PG are MUCH higher than mine.  I'll give you last night because he was pretty awful most of the night with his decision making.  But Game 6?  Come on.

[Roy Hobbs]

Atrocious decisions the past three games?  Again, I reiterate: Game 6: 19 assists ZERO turnovers.  If that's "atrocious" then your standards for a PG are MUCH higher than mine.  I'll give you last night because he was pretty awful most of the night with his decision making.  But Game 6?  Come on.

In that game, he also picked up a terrible flagrant foul that gave Chicago two shots and the ball, and very possibly could have got him ejected and/or suspended.  Of course, since we lost by one point in triple overtime, the fact that Hinrich hit one of his FTs also cost us big. 

Rondo also made a terrible decision on the final play, looking tentative on his drive before settling for a weak turnaround jumper against a bigger player, who predictably swatted the ball away.

Those are two atrocious decisions.  But, by all means, cite to the box score again.  Stats are everything.  I don't care about winning or losing, just keep giving me those triple doubles.

[EJPLAYA]

Wow.  So Rondo has one "off" game and it's back to this type of thread for Rondo.  How soon we forget who led them out of a grueling first round.

The man had a bad game, simple as that.  All of this other stuff is garbage.

Can you truly not see a difference in having an off shooting night if you are Ray Allen or PP taking good shots but them just not falling and what Rondo is doing?! It is the equivalent of Paul trying to dribble between his legs between three defenders and losing the ball again and again making no attempt to change what he is doing. Or Ray taking and missing 15 off balance contested shots when they aren't falling.

Rondo is playing "stupid basketball" and it just wasn't one game. It has been quite a few now off and on. The stakes are too high to sit there and make dumb decisions. He doesn't HAVE to throw the impossible pass. He doesn't HAVE to force bad shots. He doesn't HAVE to play lazy defense. Those 3-4 turnovers when we were making that run likely cost us that comeback. NONE of them were smart decisions. 

Hilarious.  So, even though he shot poorly in Game 6, he had 19 assists and ZERO turnovers.  I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that's pretty good for a point guard, in a pressure-packed triple-overtime playoff game on the road.  That's just me though.
Doc has already said that he was sick in Game 7, so that helped me understand why he didn't play "great."  Who knows what it was last night, but to me, that's just one game he's played poorly (when seemingly healthy).  Jeez guys he AVERAGED a triple-double for one of the most tightly contested 7-game series in NBA history!
All I'm saying is let's just chill out a bit in claiming that he's all of a sudden "too immature."  Madness.

You're conveniently forgetting his 4-17 shooting night, and the fact his Rose dropped 28 on his poor defensive effort didn't help. I could have gotten 19 assists with the way Ray was shooting the ball.

Your average comment doesn't hold much water either. Tony Allen averages some pretty good numbers for the season as well, but he isn't seeing the floor because he is too inconsistent. You can't have the guy who has the biggest ability to affect the outcome of the game be so all over the map. Especially when he is just making dumb decisions that he knows not to make. He'll grow up and eventually will bring it every night, but he is sure hurting us at the moment.

[MrTripleDouble10]

Atrocious decisions the past three games?  Again, I reiterate: Game 6: 19 assists ZERO turnovers.  If that's "atrocious" then your standards for a PG are MUCH higher than mine.  I'll give you last night because he was pretty awful most of the night with his decision making.  But Game 6?  Come on.

In that game, he also picked up a terrible flagrant foul that gave Chicago two shots and the ball, and very possibly could have got him ejected and/or suspended.  Of course, since we lost by one point in triple overtime, the fact that Hinrich hit one of his FTs also cost us big. 

Rondo also made a terrible decision on the final play, looking tentative on his drive before settling for a weak turnaround jumper against a bigger player, who predictably swatted the ball away.

Those are two atrocious decisions.  But, by all means, cite to the box score again.  Stats are everything.  I don't care about winning or losing, just keep giving me those triple doubles.

HA!  ok I'll take stats completely out of the discussion for a moment.  Because I'm actually not a huge stat person when it comes to basketball.  Just answer me this one simple question:  With all the supposed dumb plays and mistakes he made against the Bulls, who was more valuable to the Celtics in round 1?

[pengaloo]

 It's amazing how quickly people on this board can turn on a player.

I don't think anybody's "turned" on him. Personally, I'm concerned because Rajon is THAT important to the success of this team, so if he can't get it together, it's over. And it's frustrating, because we know how spectacular he can be when he has his head in the right place.

What's the deal with Rondo showing up only an hour before tipoff, as they said on the TNT broadcast.  Is this true?  Anyone have any more info on that?

yeah, I don't know what that is about. His off-court "issues" don't really bother me so much though. Steph and Ray got the stomach flu a few weeks back, so it's not like a player can really control these things. And arriving late to the game.. we don't know the reason for it (maybe he needed an extra long nap?), so we can't assume anything from that. But his play, attitude, and focus during the game is noticeably different from what it was earlier, and not in a good way...

[MrTripleDouble10]

Wow.  So Rondo has one "off" game and it's back to this type of thread for Rondo.  How soon we forget who led them out of a grueling first round.

The man had a bad game, simple as that.  All of this other stuff is garbage.

Can you truly not see a difference in having an off shooting night if you are Ray Allen or PP taking good shots but them just not falling and what Rondo is doing?! It is the equivalent of Paul trying to dribble between his legs between three defenders and losing the ball again and again making no attempt to change what he is doing. Or Ray taking and missing 15 off balance contested shots when they aren't falling.

Rondo is playing "stupid basketball" and it just wasn't one game. It has been quite a few now off and on. The stakes are too high to sit there and make dumb decisions. He doesn't HAVE to throw the impossible pass. He doesn't HAVE to force bad shots. He doesn't HAVE to play lazy defense. Those 3-4 turnovers when we were making that run likely cost us that comeback. NONE of them were smart decisions. 

Hilarious.  So, even though he shot poorly in Game 6, he had 19 assists and ZERO turnovers.  I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that's pretty good for a point guard, in a pressure-packed triple-overtime playoff game on the road.  That's just me though.
Doc has already said that he was sick in Game 7, so that helped me understand why he didn't play "great."  Who knows what it was last night, but to me, that's just one game he's played poorly (when seemingly healthy).  Jeez guys he AVERAGED a triple-double for one of the most tightly contested 7-game series in NBA history!
All I'm saying is let's just chill out a bit in claiming that he's all of a sudden "too immature."  Madness.

You're conveniently forgetting his 4-17 shooting night, and the fact his Rose dropped 28 on his poor defensive effort didn't help. I could have gotten 19 assists with the way Ray was shooting the ball.

Your average comment doesn't hold much water either. Tony Allen averages some pretty good numbers for the season as well, but he isn't seeing the floor because he is too inconsistent. You can't have the guy who has the biggest ability to affect the outcome of the game be so all over the map. Especially when he is just making dumb decisions that he knows not to make. He'll grow up and eventually will bring it every night, but he is sure hurting us at the moment.

I'm not conveniently forgetting anything.  He's absolutely shot horribly the past few games and I've already said that.  
You could have gotten 19 assists?  Really?  What NBA team do you play on?  I guess it's just me, but it just seems like there is a bit too much over-analyzing going on here.  The Celtics don't get out of round 1 without Rondo playing at the high level he played at (including the bad shooting and bone-headed flagarant on Hinrich).  That's all I'm saying.

[Roy Hobbs]

Atrocious decisions the past three games?  Again, I reiterate: Game 6: 19 assists ZERO turnovers.  If that's "atrocious" then your standards for a PG are MUCH higher than mine.  I'll give you last night because he was pretty awful most of the night with his decision making.  But Game 6?  Come on.

In that game, he also picked up a terrible flagrant foul that gave Chicago two shots and the ball, and very possibly could have got him ejected and/or suspended.  Of course, since we lost by one point in triple overtime, the fact that Hinrich hit one of his FTs also cost us big. 

Rondo also made a terrible decision on the final play, looking tentative on his drive before settling for a weak turnaround jumper against a bigger player, who predictably swatted the ball away.

Those are two atrocious decisions.  But, by all means, cite to the box score again.  Stats are everything.  I don't care about winning or losing, just keep giving me those triple doubles.

HA!  ok I'll take stats completely out of the discussion for a moment.  Because I'm actually not a huge stat person when it comes to basketball.  Just answer me this one simple question:  With all the supposed dumb plays and mistakes he made against the Bulls, who was more valuable to the Celtics in round 1?

I'm not going to argue that Rondo played poorly if you look at the entirety of the Bulls series.  Overall, he was phenomenal.  Rondo was the overall MVP, followed by Ray (who had one bad game).  However, the last two games left a lot to be desired, beyond just the box score, and the fact that he was disappointing in Game 1 against Orlando makes some of us worry about a trend.

Hopefully, it's just a slump that he breaks out of next game.  Rondo is a very good player, and is extraordinarily important to this team.  He just needs to play smart and focused basketball.

[EJPLAYA]

Wow.  So Rondo has one "off" game and it's back to this type of thread for Rondo.  How soon we forget who led them out of a grueling first round.

The man had a bad game, simple as that.  All of this other stuff is garbage.

Can you truly not see a difference in having an off shooting night if you are Ray Allen or PP taking good shots but them just not falling and what Rondo is doing?! It is the equivalent of Paul trying to dribble between his legs between three defenders and losing the ball again and again making no attempt to change what he is doing. Or Ray taking and missing 15 off balance contested shots when they aren't falling.

Rondo is playing "stupid basketball" and it just wasn't one game. It has been quite a few now off and on. The stakes are too high to sit there and make dumb decisions. He doesn't HAVE to throw the impossible pass. He doesn't HAVE to force bad shots. He doesn't HAVE to play lazy defense. Those 3-4 turnovers when we were making that run likely cost us that comeback. NONE of them were smart decisions. 

Hilarious.  So, even though he shot poorly in Game 6, he had 19 assists and ZERO turnovers.  I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that's pretty good for a point guard, in a pressure-packed triple-overtime playoff game on the road.  That's just me though.
Doc has already said that he was sick in Game 7, so that helped me understand why he didn't play "great."  Who knows what it was last night, but to me, that's just one game he's played poorly (when seemingly healthy).  Jeez guys he AVERAGED a triple-double for one of the most tightly contested 7-game series in NBA history!
All I'm saying is let's just chill out a bit in claiming that he's all of a sudden "too immature."  Madness.

You're conveniently forgetting his 4-17 shooting night, and the fact his Rose dropped 28 on his poor defensive effort didn't help. I could have gotten 19 assists with the way Ray was shooting the ball.

Your average comment doesn't hold much water either. Tony Allen averages some pretty good numbers for the season as well, but he isn't seeing the floor because he is too inconsistent. You can't have the guy who has the biggest ability to affect the outcome of the game be so all over the map. Especially when he is just making dumb decisions that he knows not to make. He'll grow up and eventually will bring it every night, but he is sure hurting us at the moment.

I'm not conveniently forgetting anything.  He's absolutely shot horribly the past few games and I've already said that.  
You could have gotten 19 assists?  Really?  What NBA team do you play on?  I guess it's just me, but it just seems like there is a bit too much over-analyzing going on here.  The Celtics don't get out of round 1 without Rondo playing at the high level he played at (including the bad shooting and bone-headed flagarant on Hinrich).  That's all I'm saying.

Great. And all I am saying is that the series didn't need to go 7 games and if he had been more consistent it wouldn't have. We are too old and injured to play seven game series this year if we want to advance, especially if much of the reason is a PG who won't stay focused. He gets all the credit, as he should because at times he was brilliant, but much of the blame as well because at times he was awful.

It's like my kids. One of mine is a very good student getting A's, and another struggles to keep B's. For the first a C is absolutely unacceptable, where the latter its not that big of a deal. Rondo has proven he should be held to the A standard.

[MrTripleDouble10]

Couldn't agree with you more.  I guess for me, I feel like he's fine and that overall the team just played horrible last night.  I also feel that a solid Game 2 win will make us all feel much better.

And I fully expect that to happen!

[MrTripleDouble10]

Wow.  So Rondo has one "off" game and it's back to this type of thread for Rondo.  How soon we forget who led them out of a grueling first round.

The man had a bad game, simple as that.  All of this other stuff is garbage.

Can you truly not see a difference in having an off shooting night if you are Ray Allen or PP taking good shots but them just not falling and what Rondo is doing?! It is the equivalent of Paul trying to dribble between his legs between three defenders and losing the ball again and again making no attempt to change what he is doing. Or Ray taking and missing 15 off balance contested shots when they aren't falling.

Rondo is playing "stupid basketball" and it just wasn't one game. It has been quite a few now off and on. The stakes are too high to sit there and make dumb decisions. He doesn't HAVE to throw the impossible pass. He doesn't HAVE to force bad shots. He doesn't HAVE to play lazy defense. Those 3-4 turnovers when we were making that run likely cost us that comeback. NONE of them were smart decisions. 

Hilarious.  So, even though he shot poorly in Game 6, he had 19 assists and ZERO turnovers.  I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that's pretty good for a point guard, in a pressure-packed triple-overtime playoff game on the road.  That's just me though.
Doc has already said that he was sick in Game 7, so that helped me understand why he didn't play "great."  Who knows what it was last night, but to me, that's just one game he's played poorly (when seemingly healthy).  Jeez guys he AVERAGED a triple-double for one of the most tightly contested 7-game series in NBA history!
All I'm saying is let's just chill out a bit in claiming that he's all of a sudden "too immature."  Madness.

You're conveniently forgetting his 4-17 shooting night, and the fact his Rose dropped 28 on his poor defensive effort didn't help. I could have gotten 19 assists with the way Ray was shooting the ball.

Your average comment doesn't hold much water either. Tony Allen averages some pretty good numbers for the season as well, but he isn't seeing the floor because he is too inconsistent. You can't have the guy who has the biggest ability to affect the outcome of the game be so all over the map. Especially when he is just making dumb decisions that he knows not to make. He'll grow up and eventually will bring it every night, but he is sure hurting us at the moment.

I'm not conveniently forgetting anything.  He's absolutely shot horribly the past few games and I've already said that.  
You could have gotten 19 assists?  Really?  What NBA team do you play on?  I guess it's just me, but it just seems like there is a bit too much over-analyzing going on here.  The Celtics don't get out of round 1 without Rondo playing at the high level he played at (including the bad shooting and bone-headed flagarant on Hinrich).  That's all I'm saying.

Great. And all I am saying is that the series didn't need to go 7 games and if he had been more consistent it wouldn't have. We are too old and injured to play seven game series this year if we want to advance, especially if much of the reason is a PG who won't stay focused. He gets all the credit, as he should because at times he was brilliant, but much of the blame as well because at times he was awful.

It's like my kids. One of mine is a very good student getting A's, and another struggles to keep B's. For the first a C is absolutely unacceptable, where the latter its not that big of a deal. Rondo has proven he should be held to the A standard.

I gotcha and I understand what you're saying.  I think we're all just concerned after a tough loss.  I still feel very confident they'll come out strong and take Game 2.