A franchise PG that shoots 53 percent FT's will not pan out

[wdleehi]

Rondo is eventually going to have to improve his FT shooting at least into the high 60's range. 


But until that happens, the ball should not be placed in his hands in clear fouling situations.  If you can't sub him out, then he needs to be the inbounder. 

[EJPLAYA]

I think some of the blame needs to go on Doc too.  That was a TERRIBLE play call for the end of the game.  Knowing that Rondo is so bad for the line, it doesn't make any sense.  The clippers know that Rondo is bad from the line too, of course youre going to foul if he gets  by you.  They have one of the greatest shooters of all time on the floor in Ray Allen.  ALmost every game winning shot should be set up for him.  We've seen how clutch he is, the play needs to be drawn up for him.  I'm especially tired of the Pierce isolation play at the end of games.  Regardless, Rondo does need to improve his free throwing shooting to at least 65-70% its flat out embarrassing he can't shoot at that percentage.

And THERE is the post that deserves the TP! I am so sick and tired of seeing Rondo try to create off the dribble to get a shot at the end of quarters and in this instance the end of games. Sure PP would have been the one that would have had the ball and been trying to create off the dribble had he been there, but that doesn't mean the next best option was Rondo who everyone knew had no shot at making even one of them. I am a huge supporter of Doc's, however how hard is it to set up a play to get Ray a shot?! How hard is it to get your PG to waste just a little more time before he shoots the ball so that worse case scenario you go into overtime. Rondo didn't have a great game (Baron torched him all night) and definitely needs to work on his free throws to not limit his upside, but the blame was on Doc for not drawing up better plays at the end of the clock.

[houseonfire09]

How's Mark Blount's or Delonte West's FT% this year?  Maybe we can trade Rondo for either one of them and have one of the two be the star of the franchise after KG, Allen, and Pierce leave, instead of giving him time to develop that jumper and raise that FT%.  Any takers?  Didn't think so.

[slamtheking]

Rondo will be fine. I don't really think anyone is accepting his 53% shooting, though. He'll get better.

I have even chatted with a few Laker Fans and they have said that with the Celtics-Lakers matching up man for man, LA will have problems with Rondo.
I'll take Rondo behind door number 18 (and 19?) please

that falls under the category of "well duh".  They may as well say "water is wet".

the only matchup where the Lakers have the advantage is Kobe over Ray.  I'd take Perk over Bynum, KG and Pau are a wash (yes, painful to say but at this point, they're a wash until KG shows more), PP is better than Artest any day of the week and Rondo is far better than Fisher.  Sheed and Odom are a wash but the C's have a far better and deeper bench.


Sorry for going way off topic.

[vinnie]

How's Mark Blount's or Delonte West's FT% this year?  Maybe we can trade Rondo for either one of them and have one of the two be the star of the franchise after KG, Allen, and Pierce leave, instead of giving him time to develop that jumper and raise that FT%.  Any takers?  Didn't think so.

Another poster totally missing the point. No one is saying trade Rondo. What I am seeing is everyone saying it is not acceptable for a starting point guard to shoot only 53 percent from the line. And, his free throw percentage has gotten worse over the last few years, not better. Regardless of the love people have for Rondo, his poor free throw shooting is a liability.

[nickagneta]

How's Mark Blount's or Delonte West's FT% this year?  Maybe we can trade Rondo for either one of them and have one of the two be the star of the franchise after KG, Allen, and Pierce leave, instead of giving him time to develop that jumper and raise that FT%.  Any takers?  Didn't think so.

Another poster totally missing the point. No one is saying trade Rondo. What I am seeing is everyone saying it is not acceptable for a starting point guard to shoot only 53 percent from the line. And, his free throw percentage has gotten worse over the last few years, not better. Regardless of the love people have for Rondo, his poor free throw shooting is a liability.

Okay so it's unacceptable. If it's unacceptable then what do you do?

Bench him? Trade him?

I mean what the heck is the response for something being unacceptable? If you can't accept something that usually means change must occur. Are you advocating change other than Rondo instantly getting better? Because that is going to happen but slowly. And if you can't accept that then what can be done?

Accept the fact that your starting PG is at present a bad FT shooter. Because the alternative is either benching him until he can hit FTs at a better rate, trade him, or stop being a Celtic fan. There really is nothing more that can be done.

[houseonfire09]

How's Mark Blount's or Delonte West's FT% this year?  Maybe we can trade Rondo for either one of them and have one of the two be the star of the franchise after KG, Allen, and Pierce leave, instead of giving him time to develop that jumper and raise that FT%.  Any takers?  Didn't think so.

Another poster totally missing the point. No one is saying trade Rondo. What I am seeing is everyone saying it is not acceptable for a starting point guard to shoot only 53 percent from the line. And, his free throw percentage has gotten worse over the last few years, not better. Regardless of the love people have for Rondo, his poor free throw shooting is a liability.

*points to the trade Rondo threads from the offseason*  FTR, I agree that a franchise PG with close to Shaq's FT% is unacceptable.  No one here is arguing against that point.  My point was to give him a few years to develop that mid-range shot in the gym and in-game before giving him the hook.

[Boris Badenov]

I posted this once before but will do so again for the stat nerds.

Rondo's career FT percentage is 62.3%.

If he continues this pace for the rest of his career and ends up playing more than 500 games, he will end up with the lowest FT percentage of any guard in NBA history (>500 career games). Al Attles is currently worst at 63.2%.

Lowest. Ever.

Even if you extend the list to include centers and forwards, he would still be one of the 50 worst free throw shooters in history. The other people on the list comprise a "Who's Who" of NBA stiffs (Dudley, Kite, Ostertag, Vranes, Perdue, Koncak, Causewell).

I'll leave the debating to everyone else, and I happen to love his game, but what I take from this is that Rondo is not just bad - he is historically bad given his position.

[Fafnir]

I posted this once before but will do so again for the stat nerds.

Rondo's career FT percentage is 62.3%.

If he continues this pace for the rest of his career and ends up playing more than 500 games, he will end up with the lowest FT percentage of any guard in NBA history (>500 career games). Al Attles is currently worst at 63.2%.

Lowest. Ever.

Even if you extend the list to include centers and forwards, he would still be one of the 50 worst free throw shooters in history. The other people on the list comprise a "Who's Who" of NBA stiffs (Dudley, Kite, Ostertag, Vranes, Perdue, Koncak, Causewell).

I'll leave the debating to everyone else, and I happen to love his game, but what I take from this is that Rondo is not just bad - he is historically bad given his position.

Shaq, Bill Russell, and Ben Wallace are on that worst 50 list aren't they? Not every player who his a bad free throw shooter is a stiff.

I do agree that its an issue that the team will have to deal with. But its a manageable one, especially considering who good a player Rondo is.

[vinnie]

How's Mark Blount's or Delonte West's FT% this year?  Maybe we can trade Rondo for either one of them and have one of the two be the star of the franchise after KG, Allen, and Pierce leave, instead of giving him time to develop that jumper and raise that FT%.  Any takers?  Didn't think so.

Another poster totally missing the point. No one is saying trade Rondo. What I am seeing is everyone saying it is not acceptable for a starting point guard to shoot only 53 percent from the line. And, his free throw percentage has gotten worse over the last few years, not better. Regardless of the love people have for Rondo, his poor free throw shooting is a liability.

Okay so it's unacceptable. If it's unacceptable then what do you do?

Bench him? Trade him?

I mean what the heck is the response for something being unacceptable? If you can't accept something that usually means change must occur. Are you advocating change other than Rondo instantly getting better? Because that is going to happen but slowly. And if you can't accept that then what can be done?

Accept the fact that your starting PG is at present a bad FT shooter. Because the alternative is either benching him until he can hit FTs at a better rate, trade him, or stop being a Celtic fan. t

So here is the bottom line. Since he can't shoot free throws, then you can't put the ball in his hands at the end of close games. I guess that is all that can be done. However, it is unfortunate that the team really can't put the ball in the hands of its best ballhandler/playmaker at the end of games. I also am asking that he do anythng possible to improve his free throw shooting. ANYTHING.

[Greenbean]

I think some of the blame needs to go on Doc too.  That was a TERRIBLE play call for the end of the game.  Knowing that Rondo is so bad for the line, it doesn't make any sense.  The clippers know that Rondo is bad from the line too, of course youre going to foul if he gets  by you.  They have one of the greatest shooters of all time on the floor in Ray Allen.  ALmost every game winning shot should be set up for him.  We've seen how clutch he is, the play needs to be drawn up for him.  I'm especially tired of the Pierce isolation play at the end of games.  Regardless, Rondo does need to improve his free throwing shooting to at least 65-70% its flat out embarrassing he can't shoot at that percentage.

While I agree for my own selfish fan reasons, Doc has said he wants Rondo in these situations. He wants him to be comfortable at the line late in games. Obv it didnt work out here but maybe next time he hits them and by the playoffs, he can be relied upon late in games. He can get to the line whenever he wants. Its all confidence with him. Apparently he shoots a great percentage in practice.

Rondo has proven to be a hard worker and is extremely dedicated to getting better. I have faith that this will not be an issue by the time playoffs come around. I hope so anyway!

[GreenFaith1819]

Rondo will be fine. I don't really think anyone is accepting his 53% shooting, though. He'll get better.

I have even chatted with a few Laker Fans and they have said that with the Celtics-Lakers matching up man for man, LA will have problems with Rondo.
I'll take Rondo behind door number 18 (and 19?) please

that falls under the category of "well duh".  They may as well say "water is wet".

the only matchup where the Lakers have the advantage is Kobe over Ray.  I'd take Perk over Bynum, KG and Pau are a wash (yes, painful to say but at this point, they're a wash until KG shows more), PP is better than Artest any day of the week and Rondo is far better than Fisher.  Sheed and Odom are a wash but the C's have a far better and deeper bench.


Sorry for going way off topic.

No problem..happens to best of us. I went slightly off topic this tread a few posts ago as well when I stated that Rondo's free throws weren't the only reason we lost last night.

It's all Good.

[MBz]

I think some of the blame needs to go on Doc too.  That was a TERRIBLE play call for the end of the game.  Knowing that Rondo is so bad for the line, it doesn't make any sense.  The clippers know that Rondo is bad from the line too, of course youre going to foul if he gets  by you.  They have one of the greatest shooters of all time on the floor in Ray Allen.  ALmost every game winning shot should be set up for him.  We've seen how clutch he is, the play needs to be drawn up for him.  I'm especially tired of the Pierce isolation play at the end of games.  Regardless, Rondo does need to improve his free throwing shooting to at least 65-70% its flat out embarrassing he can't shoot at that percentage.

While I agree for my own selfish fan reasons, Doc has said he wants Rondo in these situations. He wants him to be comfortable at the line late in games. Obv it didnt work out here but maybe next time he hits them and by the playoffs, he can be relied upon late in games. He can get to the line whenever he wants. Its all confidence with him. Apparently he shoots a great percentage in practice.

Rondo has proven to be a hard worker and is extremely dedicated to getting better. I have faith that this will not be an issue by the time playoffs come around. I hope so anyway!

Well considering he cannot be relied upon early in the game from the line, there is no reason why he should be relied on late in the game.  Also why should he be?  We have Ray Allen on the floor to seal the game at the stripe.  Last night was a different situation though, the play call was the wrong play call.  A play drawn up for Ray Allen would have been a better option.  Also I'd be surprised if he shot that high of a percentage from the line in practice, the ones he missed last night were just flat out ugly freethrows.  He missed them long, it's just embarrassing a player of his caliber has gone this far in his career and can't hit a freethrow.

[nickagneta]

How's Mark Blount's or Delonte West's FT% this year?  Maybe we can trade Rondo for either one of them and have one of the two be the star of the franchise after KG, Allen, and Pierce leave, instead of giving him time to develop that jumper and raise that FT%.  Any takers?  Didn't think so.

Another poster totally missing the point. No one is saying trade Rondo. What I am seeing is everyone saying it is not acceptable for a starting point guard to shoot only 53 percent from the line. And, his free throw percentage has gotten worse over the last few years, not better. Regardless of the love people have for Rondo, his poor free throw shooting is a liability.

Okay so it's unacceptable. If it's unacceptable then what do you do?

Bench him? Trade him?

I mean what the heck is the response for something being unacceptable? If you can't accept something that usually means change must occur. Are you advocating change other than Rondo instantly getting better? Because that is going to happen but slowly. And if you can't accept that then what can be done?

Accept the fact that your starting PG is at present a bad FT shooter. Because the alternative is either benching him until he can hit FTs at a better rate, trade him, or stop being a Celtic fan. t

So here is the bottom line. Since he can't shoot free throws, then you can't put the ball in his hands at the end of close games. I guess that is all that can be done. However, it is unfortunate that the team really can't put the ball in the hands of its best ballhandler/playmaker at the end of games. I also am asking that he do anythng possible to improve his free throw shooting. ANYTHING.

Personally, I think he IS doing everything he possibly can do to get better at it. But until he is definitely better at it, he will need to be managed. I didn't see the game and missed the play in the highlights of the Celtics last play so I don't know if an option was taken away that forced Rondo into driving. But, he's going to have to have the ball in his hands and he's going to have to hit some big FTs. Last night he missed them. I've seen great FT shooters lose games late by missing late FTs. I've seen horrible FT shooters win games by hitting late FTs. It happens.

[Greenbean]

I think some of the blame needs to go on Doc too.  That was a TERRIBLE play call for the end of the game.  Knowing that Rondo is so bad for the line, it doesn't make any sense.  The clippers know that Rondo is bad from the line too, of course youre going to foul if he gets  by you.  They have one of the greatest shooters of all time on the floor in Ray Allen.  ALmost every game winning shot should be set up for him.  We've seen how clutch he is, the play needs to be drawn up for him.  I'm especially tired of the Pierce isolation play at the end of games.  Regardless, Rondo does need to improve his free throwing shooting to at least 65-70% its flat out embarrassing he can't shoot at that percentage.

While I agree for my own selfish fan reasons, Doc has said he wants Rondo in these situations. He wants him to be comfortable at the line late in games. Obv it didnt work out here but maybe next time he hits them and by the playoffs, he can be relied upon late in games. He can get to the line whenever he wants. Its all confidence with him. Apparently he shoots a great percentage in practice.

Rondo has proven to be a hard worker and is extremely dedicated to getting better. I have faith that this will not be an issue by the time playoffs come around. I hope so anyway!

Well considering he cannot be relied upon early in the game from the line, there is no reason why he should be relied on late in the game.  Also why should he be?  We have Ray Allen on the floor to seal the game at the stripe.  Last night was a different situation though, the play call was the wrong play call.  A play drawn up for Ray Allen would have been a better option.  Also I'd be surprised if he shot that high of a percentage from the line in practice, the ones he missed last night were just flat out ugly freethrows.  He missed them long, it's just embarrassing a player of his caliber has gone this far in his career and can't hit a freethrow.

I hear ya. He has gotten this far in his career with terrible form. He has changed his form and now we are all experiencing the growing pains that come along with it.

I dont like the call because it did not give us the best chance at winning the game by the numbers or percentages. Doc is planning for the future though. If Rondo can be confident at the line, that becomes a huge weapon late in games. I understand thats a big if but I really think Rondo is projecting upward with his FT's ad I wouldnt be surprised if by the end of the season he was shooting at a MUCH better clip. I cat ignore how ugly it looks now though so I dont have much to stand on.