Rondo's Great Start?

[LarBrd33]

I've been a little dumbfounded by the media coverage for Rajon Rondo during the first two games of the season.  I've heard things such as "outstanding" and "downright brilliant."  While I think he's been solid, these descriptions don't come to my mind right away.


So far Rajon's averaging 9 points, 10.5 assists, and 4.5 rebounds.  The assists are the only numbers that I would say are where I expect them to be for Rajon this year.  I think his points and rebounds should be higher. 


From the eye test, he has again been just solid over the first two games.  His defense has been solid, and disruptive at times.  He's been going to the basket hard and knocking down a few outside shots.  He's been good, not outstanding or brilliant.


This is not a post to bash Rajon.  He is my favorite player and he is off to a good start.  I just think the media is undermining him by saying how great he's playing.  Last year's playoffs were great.  The beginning of this year has been good.  I guess what I'm basically saying is that I expect a lot out of Rajon and expect his game and numbers to increase over the next month or so.  Then what superlatives will they be saying about him?

You're trippin.   Rondo has been fantastic in the first two games.  Maybe you're one of those kids who saw Rondo play out of his mind during the playoffs (nearly averaging a triple double) and assumed he had made a historical leap over night.  Come on now.   You can't possibly expect that insanity to continue.  As mentioned by the other posters... with KG here he's our 4th option at best.  In these first two games he has been outstanding.


One comment, though.  Did anyone else notice midway through the 3rd quarter after getting 3 assists in a row, there was a timeout and Rondo pretended to autograph the basketball?  Kid is pretty cocky. 

[pengaloo]

I've been a little dumbfounded by the media coverage for Rajon Rondo during the first two games of the season.  I've heard things such as "outstanding" and "downright brilliant."  While I think he's been solid, these descriptions don't come to my mind right away.


So far Rajon's averaging 9 points, 10.5 assists, and 4.5 rebounds.  The assists are the only numbers that I would say are where I expect them to be for Rajon this year.  I think his points and rebounds should be higher. 


From the eye test, he has again been just solid over the first two games.  His defense has been solid, and disruptive at times.  He's been going to the basket hard and knocking down a few outside shots.  He's been good, not outstanding or brilliant.


This is not a post to bash Rajon.  He is my favorite player and he is off to a good start.  I just think the media is undermining him by saying how great he's playing.  Last year's playoffs were great.  The beginning of this year has been good.  I guess what I'm basically saying is that I expect a lot out of Rajon and expect his game and numbers to increase over the next month or so.  Then what superlatives will they be saying about him?

You're trippin.   Rondo has been fantastic in the first two games.  Maybe you're one of those kids who saw Rondo play out of his mind during the playoffs (nearly averaging a triple double) and assumed he had made a historical leap over night.  Come on now.   You can't possibly expect that insanity to continue.  As mentioned by the other posters... with KG here he's our 4th option at best.  In these first two games he has been outstanding.


One comment, though.  Did anyone else notice midway through the 3rd quarter after getting 3 assists in a row, there was a timeout and Rondo pretended to autograph the basketball?  Kid is pretty cocky. 

From RedsArmy..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9k7nymQsss&feature=player_embedded

[BudweiserCeltic]

What I like about those plays is that he was accurate with his passes, which have been one of my main complaints about him. Hopefully he can keep it up, particularly timing his passes, when Ray is concerned in particular.

[Birdbrain]

No ray has to make some shots.  Rondo should have had 15 assists in that game. I think it's hard for some people to comprehend how GREAT the left handed cross court pass actually was.

[BudweiserCeltic]

No ray has to make some shots.  Rondo should have had 15 assists in that game. I think it's hard for some people to comprehend how GREAT the left handed cross court pass actually was.

Wether Ray makes the shot or not is besides the point. I'd like to see Rondo hit him up to get in better rhythm... not that I'm faulting Rondo for Ray's current struggle, but during the Cavs game for example Rondo missed some good opportunities with Ray in transition (though he hit Pierce instead after he was late with Ray).

But overall, it's always a struggle to time the passes correctly with Ray as he is setting up in transition, and coming off screens. One the pass is done in the correct manner, it's up to Ray to deliver.

It's one thing that the vetarans Cassell and Marbury did much better than Rondo, they really hit their men with better timed passes. Rondo's problem in this regard is that he's often a bit late or holds on to the ball a bit longer that he should in many cases... often it leads to other opportunities, but often it also leads to missed opportunities.

[ForexPirate]

Rondo is not there yet.   Rondo's best is yet to come and it is going to be awesome.  Sign him Danny.

[ma11l]

I've been a little dumbfounded by the media coverage for Rajon Rondo during the first two games of the season.  I've heard things such as "outstanding" and "downright brilliant."  While I think he's been solid, these descriptions don't come to my mind right away.


So far Rajon's averaging 9 points, 10.5 assists, and 4.5 rebounds.  The assists are the only numbers that I would say are where I expect them to be for Rajon this year.  I think his points and rebounds should be higher. 


From the eye test, he has again been just solid over the first two games.  His defense has been solid, and disruptive at times.  He's been going to the basket hard and knocking down a few outside shots.  He's been good, not outstanding or brilliant.


This is not a post to bash Rajon.  He is my favorite player and he is off to a good start.  I just think the media is undermining him by saying how great he's playing.  Last year's playoffs were great.  The beginning of this year has been good.  I guess what I'm basically saying is that I expect a lot out of Rajon and expect his game and numbers to increase over the next month or so.  Then what superlatives will they be saying about him?

You're trippin.   Rondo has been fantastic in the first two games.  Maybe you're one of those kids who saw Rondo play out of his mind during the playoffs (nearly averaging a triple double) and assumed he had made a historical leap over night.  Come on now.   You can't possibly expect that insanity to continue.  As mentioned by the other posters... with KG here he's our 4th option at best.  In these first two games he has been outstanding.


One comment, though.  Did anyone else notice midway through the 3rd quarter after getting 3 assists in a row, there was a timeout and Rondo pretended to autograph the basketball?  Kid is pretty cocky. 

Well I'm 23 so most would say I am a kid, but I've watched just about every game he's played as a Celtic.  I don't expect triple doubles every night like last May, I just thought the media was underestimating him by thinking the first two games were brilliant.


Last night was the closest he's had to brilliant.  He was dominating without scoring the ball, a rare talent to have in the NBA.  He hasn't had a bad game yet, which is where that consistency talked about in this thread can start to come in.

[Roy Hobbs]

It will be interesting to see what happens with Rondo's scoring this year.  Doc mentioned this as a deficiency in Rondo's game in the off-season (i.e., "But at the point guard level you have to be able to score and get your assists.")  That being the case, I'll be curious to see if Rondo starts looking for more scoring opportunities for himself.

I think he's been excellent in the first three games; it's hard to argue with something like a 7:1 assist/turnover ratio. 

[BudweiserCeltic]

Really good game by Rondo... probably my favorite game from him in quite a while. Let's see if he can keep it up. Of course, it would be nice for him to look a bit more for scoring opportunities for himself, trying to get to the basket just to put a bit more pressure, but in all the other areas he was pretty much excellent. Even if he didn't shoot, I thought he was quite aggressive running the plays.

[snively]

It will be interesting to see what happens with Rondo's scoring this year.  Doc mentioned this as a deficiency in Rondo's game in the off-season (i.e., "But at the point guard level you have to be able to score and get your assists.")  That being the case, I'll be curious to see if Rondo starts looking for more scoring opportunities for himself.

I think he's been excellent in the first three games; it's hard to argue with something like a 7:1 assist/turnover ratio. 

From my observation he's looking to score even less this year.  He loves finding the 3s in transition and he hits the big men on virtually every soiree into the lane.  I noticed him turning down a 5 footer to give Perkins an open baseline 12-ft jumper last night.  If he's viewing the Perkins J as a more viable option than his floater this year, I think we'll see a substantial decrease in his scoring and an concomitant increase in his assists.

[pengaloo]

Maybe Rondo's response to Doc's "Do you think your teammates like playing with you?" question at the end of last season is that he's going to make sure his teammates love playing with him.

I know it's only been 3 games, but I'm so impressed with the leadership and maturity Rondo has shown so far. Leadership and maturity are what Doc and Danny have really stressed from him, even more than an improvement in his jumpshot, and Rondo has come through for us so far.

[Donoghus]

Rondo was 2 steps in front of everyone last night.  He was really seeing things well and couldn't have "set the table" more perfectly.  One of my favorite Rondo performances.

[RockinRyA]

I love this season's Rondo than the pasts. Yes, including the playoffs Rondo.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Rondo was 2 steps in front of everyone last night.  He was really seeing things well and couldn't have "set the table" more perfectly.  One of my favorite Rondo performances.

I think that sums it up quite nicely.

[ma11l]

Rondo was 2 steps in front of everyone last night.  He was really seeing things well and couldn't have "set the table" more perfectly.  One of my favorite Rondo performances.

I forget if it was CSN or ESPN that was talking about this during the game but they were saying how the great players played the game at a slow pace because they were so ahead of the rest of the players, especially mentally.  Rondo's always been the fastest and quickest player on the floor and has blown by people.  Obviously he hasn't lost that quickness at all, but last night it seemed he has this slower pace that they were talking about all the greats having.  He was so in control of everything out there.