globe article: No Rush to Anoint Rondo

[Mr October]

This might be the first good Tony Massarotti article i have ever read. He hits on the Rondo flaws issue quite well.

http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/massarotti/2009/06/rondo_column_needs_headline.html

"At the moment, Rondo doesn’t shoot well enough. There are still too many nights when he seems to vanish. While many were caught up in those triple-doubles during the postseason, Rondo was making some questionable decisions at the end of games and, on occasion, unnecessarily pulling rebounds away from bigger teammates. There were occasions, it seemed, when it was more about him than it was about them."

"Guys like Rondo and Jacoby Ellsbury have the athleticism to make spectacular plays, but those kind of demonstrations are the sports world’s answer to wrapping paper. Ultimately, it does not matter what the outside of the box looks like. What matters is what is inside the box, which speaks to a player’s ability to contribute to wins."

[Mr October]

This might be the first good Tony Massarotti article i have ever read. He hits on the Rondo flaws issue quite well.

http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/massarotti/2009/06/rondo_column_needs_headline.html

"At the moment, Rondo doesn’t shoot well enough. There are still too many nights when he seems to vanish. While many were caught up in those triple-doubles during the postseason, Rondo was making some questionable decisions at the end of games and, on occasion, unnecessarily pulling rebounds away from bigger teammates. There were occasions, it seemed, when it was more about him than it was about them."

"Guys like Rondo and Jacoby Ellsbury have the athleticism to make spectacular plays, but those kind of demonstrations are the sports world’s answer to wrapping paper. Ultimately, it does not matter what the outside of the box looks like. What matters is what is inside the box, which speaks to a player’s ability to contribute to wins."

[Mr October]

Rondo can be amazing, he can be a game changer... sometimes for 3 or 4 games in a row. But he is not a Jedi yet.

In no way does he get it done night in and night out. I hope he gets to that level. Until then he shouldn't sniff max dollars from anyone.

[Cman]

Until then he shouldn't sniff max dollars from anyone.

And he won't...
If there is anything Ainge's actions over the last few days have shown, it is that there are no teams in the league who believe that Rondo is a top talent.  That could change, sure, but at present there is no team that thinks Rondo should be paid as a max player would be paid.

[PosImpos]

Until then he shouldn't sniff max dollars from anyone.

And he won't...
If there is anything Ainge's actions over the last few days have shown, it is that there are no teams in the league who believe that Rondo is a top talent.  That could change, sure, but at present there is no team that thinks Rondo should be paid as a max player would be paid.

Bingo, and I think that could very well have been the entire point.  Ainge wanted either to see if he could trade Rondo for the kind of guys a max contract talent is worth, or else prove that Rondo is not perceived as a max contract talent yet.

[Evantime34]

The part about pulling rebounds from bigger teammates is ridiculous. If you are on the court you box out then go after the rebound, there is no time to defer to other players, rebounding is about going up and getting it.

If he continues to put up as many assists as he does with the staggeringly low turnover numbers he has shown in the past, he should be an all star next year. If he improves his shooting he'll be unstoppable.

A lot of people say his problem during the Orlando series was that he was left open and couldn't make shots. I completely disagree, in the chicago series he could get to the rack without worrying too much about having his shot blocked. Dwight clogged the lane so that if Rondo went in the paint it was a problem.

[PosImpos]

A lot of people say his problem during the Orlando series was that he was left open and couldn't make shots. I completely disagree, in the chicago series he could get to the rack without worrying too much about having his shot blocked. Dwight clogged the lane so that if Rondo went in the paint it was a problem.

Well, that problem will only be worse this season with Shaq clogging the paint for Cleveland.

Rondo needs to develop his shot so that when there are guys clogging the paint he isn't an offensive liability allowing the other team to double Ray and Paul.

[Change]

The part about pulling rebounds from bigger teammates is ridiculous. If you are on the court you box out then go after the rebound, there is no time to defer to other players, rebounding is about going up and getting it.

If he continues to put up as many assists as he does with the staggeringly low turnover numbers he has shown in the past, he should be an all star next year. If he improves his shooting he'll be unstoppable.

A lot of people say his problem during the Orlando series was that he was left open and couldn't make shots. I completely disagree, in the chicago series he could get to the rack without worrying too much about having his shot blocked. Dwight clogged the lane so that if Rondo went in the paint it was a problem.

TP,
What does rebounds have to do with anointing Rondo? He is a point guard. The only stats that matter are ASSISTS & STEALS. He gets those rebounds from Perk for fast break purposes. Get the rebound & get fast break points.


Someone send Tony Massarotti a post card.

[Evantime34]

The part about pulling rebounds from bigger teammates is ridiculous. If you are on the court you box out then go after the rebound, there is no time to defer to other players, rebounding is about going up and getting it.

If he continues to put up as many assists as he does with the staggeringly low turnover numbers he has shown in the past, he should be an all star next year. If he improves his shooting he'll be unstoppable.

A lot of people say his problem during the Orlando series was that he was left open and couldn't make shots. I completely disagree, in the chicago series he could get to the rack without worrying too much about having his shot blocked. Dwight clogged the lane so that if Rondo went in the paint it was a problem.

TP,
What does rebounds have to do with anointing Rondo? He is a point guard. The only stats that matter are ASSISTS & STEALS. He gets those rebounds from Perk for fast break purposes. Get the rebound & get fast break points.


Someone send Tony Massarotti a post card.

Tony Mas is a baseball guy he should stick to what he knows and leave Basketball to Spears or Bob Ryan.

[Jon]

Though I think the fact that Rondo still has flaws as a young PG despite having won a title already and having managed to play point guard effectively for a team featuring 3 Hall of Famers speaks to how long it takes a young PG to mature.  

I think this should also serve as a warning to those eager to trade Rondo for even younger PGs like Mike Conley and Ricky Rubio.  

[Evantime34]

Though I think the fact that Rondo still has flaws as a young PG despite having won a title already and having managed to play point guard effectively for a team featuring 3 Hall of Famers speaks to how long it takes a young PG to mature.  

I think this should also serve as a warning to those eager to trade Rondo for even younger PGs like Mike Conley and Ricky Rubio.  

Well I for one was not eager to trade him for Conley, (who I believe was an ancillary part of the trade) I was eager to trade him for Conley,Gay and the 2nd pick. That is another thread.
That he still has some flaws yet has already won a title and managed 3 hall of famers shows just how great he can be, which is the optimistic way of saying what you said. (which was a good point and one deserving a tp)

[Jon]

Though I think the fact that Rondo still has flaws as a young PG despite having won a title already and having managed to play point guard effectively for a team featuring 3 Hall of Famers speaks to how long it takes a young PG to mature.  

I think this should also serve as a warning to those eager to trade Rondo for even younger PGs like Mike Conley and Ricky Rubio.  

Well I for one was not eager to trade him for Conley, (who I believe was an ancillary part of the trade) I was eager to trade him for Conley,Gay and the 2nd pick. That is another thread.
That he still has some flaws yet has already won a title and managed 3 hall of famers shows just how great he can be, which is the optimistic way of saying what you said. (which was a good point and one deserving a tp)

Thank you.

And to touch very briefly on the Conley/Gay/pick trade, I think it'd be great if we were the 2001-2002 Celtics and needed to fill a ton of holes around Pierce and Walker.  It would have given us a SF, PG, and maybe a pick to get a center to round out a nice roster. 

However, we have 5 very good starters.  Gay would be nice at times; however, in a close game against say the Lakers in the Finals, we'd be sporting a Conley/Allen/Pierce/KG/Perk lineup rather than a Rondo/Allen/Pierce/KG/Perk lineup.  And to me, that takes away from our greatest strength (even more than our defense): the ability to put out on the floor flat out the best starting 5 in the NBA.  That means every close game in the closing minutes we have the edge.  You can't beat that. 

[Evantime34]

Though I think the fact that Rondo still has flaws as a young PG despite having won a title already and having managed to play point guard effectively for a team featuring 3 Hall of Famers speaks to how long it takes a young PG to mature.  

I think this should also serve as a warning to those eager to trade Rondo for even younger PGs like Mike Conley and Ricky Rubio.  

Well I for one was not eager to trade him for Conley, (who I believe was an ancillary part of the trade) I was eager to trade him for Conley,Gay and the 2nd pick. That is another thread.
That he still has some flaws yet has already won a title and managed 3 hall of famers shows just how great he can be, which is the optimistic way of saying what you said. (which was a good point and one deserving a tp)

Thank you.

And to touch very briefly on the Conley/Gay/pick trade, I think it'd be great if we were the 2001-2002 Celtics and needed to fill a ton of holes around Pierce and Walker.  It would have given us a SF, PG, and maybe a pick to get a center to round out a nice roster. 

However, we have 5 very good starters.  Gay would be nice at times; however, in a close game against say the Lakers in the Finals, we'd be sporting a Conley/Allen/Pierce/KG/Perk lineup rather than a Rondo/Allen/Pierce/KG/Perk lineup.  And to me, that takes away from our greatest strength (even more than our defense): the ability to put out on the floor flat out the best starting 5 in the NBA.  That means every close game in the closing minutes we have the edge.  You can't beat that. 

I was thinking we would sign Kidd or Miller who would start and then Conley would come off the bench.

[Jon]

Though I think the fact that Rondo still has flaws as a young PG despite having won a title already and having managed to play point guard effectively for a team featuring 3 Hall of Famers speaks to how long it takes a young PG to mature.  

I think this should also serve as a warning to those eager to trade Rondo for even younger PGs like Mike Conley and Ricky Rubio.  

Well I for one was not eager to trade him for Conley, (who I believe was an ancillary part of the trade) I was eager to trade him for Conley,Gay and the 2nd pick. That is another thread.
That he still has some flaws yet has already won a title and managed 3 hall of famers shows just how great he can be, which is the optimistic way of saying what you said. (which was a good point and one deserving a tp)

Thank you.

And to touch very briefly on the Conley/Gay/pick trade, I think it'd be great if we were the 2001-2002 Celtics and needed to fill a ton of holes around Pierce and Walker.  It would have given us a SF, PG, and maybe a pick to get a center to round out a nice roster. 

However, we have 5 very good starters.  Gay would be nice at times; however, in a close game against say the Lakers in the Finals, we'd be sporting a Conley/Allen/Pierce/KG/Perk lineup rather than a Rondo/Allen/Pierce/KG/Perk lineup.  And to me, that takes away from our greatest strength (even more than our defense): the ability to put out on the floor flat out the best starting 5 in the NBA.  That means every close game in the closing minutes we have the edge.  You can't beat that. 

I was thinking we would sign Kidd or Miller who would start and then Conley would come off the bench.

Might work.  I won't deny that.  However, can we really bank on one of them coming here?  Furthermore, if we're really that concerned about the future, can't we just worry about that in a couple years when Pierce and then Garnett comes off the books?  By the we'll have so much cap space it won't matter. 

I don't see why we necessarily have to get pieces for the future now when we can just sign some pieces in a few years to go around Rondo and Perkins.  The nice thing if we hold onto Perk and Rondo is that we'll already have the two hardest spots to fill down and we'll just have to nab two wings and a PF, which are much easier to obtain. 

[Steve Weinman]

TP,
What does rebounds have to do with anointing Rondo? He is a point guard. The only stats that matter are ASSISTS & STEALS. He gets those rebounds from Perk for fast break purposes. Get the rebound & get fast break points.

Watching him not slide his feet and keep his man in front of him on occasion, I sometimes wonder if Rondo sees it that way too.

-sw