am i the only one??? (Is Rondo unfairly criticized?)

[dark_lord]

there seems to be an overwhelming analysis, trade ideas, skepticism, etc of rondo over the last week or two on the boards.  am i the only one who feels this is unjustified?  sure he has some weaknesses, but his positive attributes far outweigh his negative ones.

he was playing on some weak ankles, having rolled/sprained them multiple times the second half of the season, yet he nearly averaged a triple double in the playoffs. not to mention, the starters were required to play a ton of minutes due to the pathetic play from the reserves.

personally, he is so far down on the radar as to why we didnt succeed this postseason.  injuries obviously were number one.  the most glaring weakness this season, especially in the post season, was the bench.  they were terrible!

when guys on the team, i specifically remember interviews from paul, ray, and perk.....they all said rondo was the mvp of the team and does an excellent job running the team. 

the focus should be on the reserves, not rondo.

[MattG12]

Make that two of us. I feel that the reporters just need something to write about so they made this situation up. In fact I have no idea what the situation is because I don't believe any of it and refuse to read it. I have yet to look over any of these Rondo threads because I am 100% positive he will be a Celtic next year. (Make that 99% since anything can happen) I think it would be the worst move the Celtics have ever made if they traded Rondo and I think they know that too. He hasn't even reached his full potential yet. I believe the triple double average from the Chicago series is a sign of things to come and a preview of what he can do when he really puts it all together, not to mention he should be shooting better next season as well.

[Hoyo de Monterrey]

I agree DL... I think a lot of it stems from the whole "Rondo showed up 10 seconds before tip off" recurring theme of the playoffs.

I will say that the idea of trading any player is never unjustified, as there is always a way to get value or above value for anyone in the league except LeBron. However, his value is (should be at least) extremely high right now, and it would be difficult to find in my opinion a deal worth making that included giving him away.

[Donoghus]

I do agree with you, DL, that the focus should be on the bench and not the starters.  If KG comes back healthy, there really shouldn't be too much concern there.  However, the bench is a big question mark right now.

I just think that the recent trade speculations involving Ray Allen and Rondo have sort of brought Rondo's pros & cons out into the open again, hence the recent activity and analysis of Rondo's game.

[indeedproceed]

Im just tuning most of it out. Idle minds do terrible things. Speakin of which...Anyone see Royal Pains? Or "The Listener"? Both pretty ok shows. New season of Burn Notice is on. Somethin about the NBA finals too.

[Roy Hobbs]

I think many people have been bringing up Rondo's weaknesses because you're seeing a ton of "Rondo is untouchable" posts.  Additionally, Rondo is up for an extension, and there's a question about how far along he is, and what we should / could reasonably sign him for.  People, in my mind, are legitimately debating whether Rondo should be completely off limits in a trade and/or how much he is worth.

I don't want to see the team trade Rondo, but really it depends upon what the return is.  Are there players I'd trade Rondo for?  Absolutely.

[BballTim]

  No, you're not the only one, but the naysayers and critics always rule the day on celticsblog during the offseason. During the season if someone complains about Rondo's defense I usually ask about which PGs are clearly better than Rondo at keeping their man in front of them and generally don't get replies. Now people can claim whatever they want without fear of contradiction.

[SSFan V]

yes

it was my gut answer --- now I'll go read the post.

[SSFan V]

Now that I have read it.

No, Rondo is indeed being battered about excessively.  Chris Paul, Derrick Rose and Rajon are the face of the future and I am glad he's here!

[Roy Hobbs]

 No, you're not the only one, but the naysayers and critics always rule the day on celticsblog during the offseason.

I disagree.  I guarantee that if you counted the number of "Rondo is untouchable / shouldn't be traded under any circumstances" posts, and compared them to the "Rondo is seriously flawed" posts, the former would be in the majority, probably by a 2-1 or 3-1 margin.

Perhaps the critics get more attention because they're going against the conventional wisdom.  However, they're still certainly in the minority.

[Fafnir]

Im just tuning most of it out. Idle minds do terrible things. Speakin of which...Anyone see Royal Pains? Or "The Listener"? Both pretty ok shows. New season of Burn Notice is on. Somethin about the NBA finals too.

Royal Pains was okay, but I don't think the premise has much to it. I mean how many ODed rich people can you help?

[ManUp]

Your definitely not. I'm also surprised at the criticism of Rondo after such an amazing play-off run. If people are going to knock Rondo for his inconsistency in the play-offs they also have to mention Pierce and Allen. Ray was wildly inconsistent in the Bulls series, and ice-cold against teh Magic. Pierce looked like the worst player on the floor for us at times during the Bull series, and he was utterly average against the magic. If those two get a pass Rondo should too.

[Fafnir]

 No, you're not the only one, but the naysayers and critics always rule the day on celticsblog during the offseason.

I disagree.  I guarantee that if you counted the number of "Rondo is untouchable / shouldn't be traded under any circumstances" posts, and compared them to the "Rondo is seriously flawed" posts, the former would be in the majority, probably by a 2-1 or 3-1 margin.

Perhaps the critics get more attention because they're going against the conventional wisdom.  However, they're still certainly in the minority.

They definitely get the most attention because they drive the conversation and the debate. After all you have more posters who disagree with them and are very vocal about it.

[Fafnir]

Your definitely not. I'm also surprised at the criticism of Rondo after such an amazing play-off run. If people are going to knock Rondo for his inconsistency in the play-offs they also have to mention Pierce and Allen. Ray was wildly inconsistent in the Bulls series, and ice-cold against teh Magic. Pierce looked like the worst player on the floor for us at times during the Bull series, and he was utterly average against the magic. If those two get a pass Rondo should too.

Ray and Paul are largely known and proven quantites though. Plus there is a ton of discussion about trading Ray since his deal is coming up.

Rondo is more interesting to talk about because so much about him is still unknown. How good can he be? How much is he worth? What is his work ethic? And so on....

[BballTim]

 No, you're not the only one, but the naysayers and critics always rule the day on celticsblog during the offseason.

I disagree.  I guarantee that if you counted the number of "Rondo is untouchable / shouldn't be traded under any circumstances" posts, and compared them to the "Rondo is seriously flawed" posts, the former would be in the majority, probably by a 2-1 or 3-1 margin.

Perhaps the critics get more attention because they're going against the conventional wisdom.  However, they're still certainly in the minority.

  I'm not going to go back and count posts but I'll bet they're close to even. Coaches, scouts and GMs think he's one of the best defenders in the league but here he's a terrible defender. His jumpshot kills our offense in spite of the fact that we won 62 games and had a top 6 offense this year. Any pg with a decent jumpshot is an upgrade. Yep, it's the summer.