More Rondo!

[Fan from VT]

ESPN insiders Bucher article.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/news/story?id=4583638

[clover]

ESPN insiders Bucher article.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/news/story?id=4583638

Any hints?

[Fafnir]

Can you post any interesting parts for those of us who don't pay for ESPNInsider?

[Fan from VT]

I do recommend you all get Insider. I think it's about 30 bucks for the whole year and that's how you get most of the interesting NBA stuff.

Here was my favorite section:

What he won't say is that he loves being a Celtic, but his house speaks for him. In the Boston suburb of Lincoln, his dream house -- No. 9, of course -- sits at the end of a narrow and winding quarter-mile road that climbs through a thick hillside grove. Inside, there's a three-shot montage of his daughter Ryelle, but beyond that, Celtic Pride is the predominant decor. A painting of the 2008 title celebration hangs on the dining-room side of a dual-facing fireplace. The other side is "the championship room." An enormous photo of the team standing in front of the Roman Coliseum hangs above the mantel. The inscription reads "Ubuntu: A Person Is a Person Because of Other People." There's a title banner and a display case containing his ring. Photos of Rondo -- driving past Kobe, mugging with teammates, staring from the pages of a magazine -- all reveal the same flat gaze. He's wearing it now, sitting in one of four leather chairs facing the fireplace. "If I part with the Celtics, they'll realize what they passed on," he says. "A team that wants me, that's where I want to be." His words echo off the green shamrocks.

The article touches on how he grew up, some of his personality traits (stubbornness, confidence, motivated) and some of the conversations with Doc about whether his teammates like playing with him and about Rondo being his own harshest critic and how he processes errors, etc.

[houlana]

edit: Unfortunately, we cannot post entire articles from a pay site on here.  If you want to post snippets to discuss, that is fine.  -Chris

[houlana]

hey guys, did not know how to reference this this article as a quote of somebody else's work. from espn, rich bucher.

its a very interesting article about rondo's mentality.
i hope we resign the kid soon

[Rondo_is_better]

edit: Unfortunately, we cannot post entire articles from a pay site on here.  If you want to post snippets to discuss, that is fine.  -Chris

I was gonna uhh...thank you for posting...the article...but uhh...nevermind.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Here are the ones I found most interesting:

Then he sat in Doc Rivers' office this past June, the gloom of a failed title defense hanging heavy, as the coach asked: "Do you think your teammates like playing with you?"

Rondo couldn't imagine any answer other than yes. Maybe teammates didn't like him, a stoic among extroverts, a kid who questioned [dang] near everything. But not like playing with him? Hadn't he started for a champion in his second season, with a pass-first game criticized for not including enough shots? And last season, hadn't he out-dueled Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose in a tense, seven-game playoff and been voted second-team all-defense?

"I thought so," was all Rondo could muster.

Rivers didn't press. He knew the question would get Rondo thinking, analyzing. Because that's what he does. It's the secret to his success and, maybe, the reason behind Rivers' insinuation. No one is harder on Rondo than Rondo. And when the young playmaker rewound the season, he paused on a few sidelong glances and not-quite-heard whispers. Just like that, the playground ghosts were back. Rondo had chalked up the disappointing season to complacency after a title or capitulation following Kevin Garnett's knee injury. He never imagined that anyone would see him as the problem. "That," he says, "was like a stab in the back."

It would be tricky even if he weren't wondering who was and wasn't with him. Asked about it, Rondo's already rigid jaw tightens. Then: "We don't have to be best buddies to win a championship."

This summer, Rondo made three visits to the Mark Price Shooting Lab outside Atlanta, going double sessions for several days to address the weak link in his arsenal, his jumper. As a bonus, a disdain for the weight room -- he's afraid bulking up will slow him down -- was pounded out of him by fighting through one too many Dwight Howard picks.

His game-day ritual includes five showers and a precise pretip schedule for brushing his teeth, putting on his socks, peeing and tucking a small jar of Carmex into a sock.

The obsessiveness shows most, though, after he commits some on-court blunder. "He doesn't want to be bothered, because he's processing what he did wrong," Bibby says. "By the time you rip him, he's figured it out." Problem is, in the NBA three plays have transpired during the processing, three plays during which Rondo is in his own penalty box and Boston is playing a man down. "You're playing mad," Rivers has told him more than once. "Get past mad. It's killing you, and that's killing us."

There's a lot more, particularly from his brother talking about him and put perspective on why Rondo is the way he is, etc. But I thought the above are the more relevant Celtics related stuff.

[clover]

Five showers?  He's even more compulsive-obsessive than Ray.  I certainly understand how that can help athletes practice to excellence, but five showers is out of control.

[Roy Hobbs]

The obsessiveness shows most, though, after he commits some on-court blunder. "He doesn't want to be bothered, because he's processing what he did wrong," Bibby says. "By the time you rip him, he's figured it out." Problem is, in the NBA three plays have transpired during the processing, three plays during which Rondo is in his own penalty box and Boston is playing a man down. "You're playing mad," Rivers has told him more than once. "Get past mad. It's killing you, and that's killing us."

This one seems to be the biggest issue, probably.

[Greenback]

There are several links on today's Hoophype that reveal some of the friction between Rondo and his teammates.  Check it out.

[pengaloo]

The obsessiveness shows most, though, after he commits some on-court blunder. "He doesn't want to be bothered, because he's processing what he did wrong," Bibby says. "By the time you rip him, he's figured it out." Problem is, in the NBA three plays have transpired during the processing, three plays during which Rondo is in his own penalty box and Boston is playing a man down. "You're playing mad," Rivers has told him more than once. "Get past mad. It's killing you, and that's killing us."

This one seems to be the biggest issue, probably.

Yeah, I'd agree. That even keel demeanor on the outside doesn't mean anything if he's mad on the inside. It's good to know that at least he cares... I just hope he can redirect that anger when he makes mistakes into something positive.

[BballTim]

The obsessiveness shows most, though, after he commits some on-court blunder. "He doesn't want to be bothered, because he's processing what he did wrong," Bibby says. "By the time you rip him, he's figured it out." Problem is, in the NBA three plays have transpired during the processing, three plays during which Rondo is in his own penalty box and Boston is playing a man down. "You're playing mad," Rivers has told him more than once. "Get past mad. It's killing you, and that's killing us."

This one seems to be the biggest issue, probably.

  But it's also one that will lessen/disappear over time. Kind of like the way it can take a qb a while to think less and react more.