The Herald has an article about Price's comments on Rondo's shooting form this season, after he has watched him play in Atlanta last Friday.
TORONTO - Atlanta Hawks shooting consultant Mark Price got a good look at his summer pupil Rajon Rondo [stats] on Friday night, and he had to be impressed when the Celtics [team stats] guard made both his 3-pointers.
Rondo had been 3-for-27 on the season coming in, and he’d hit just one of his previous 11. But he was true twice against Atlanta, both coming as the shot clock was winding down, meaning Rondo didn’t have time to overthink the attempts.
“I haven’t gotten to see him too much this season,” said Price, “but when I have I feel like he’s trying to stick with some things we worked on. Obviously when you’re not there to stay on top of things you get a little slippage with some stuff. He got off to a little bit of a slow start this year, but it seems likely he’s starting to pick it up a little bit.
“I just like the fact that he’s sticking with some things,” he added. “I think a lot of times guys, when they struggle a little bit out there, they just kind of say, ‘Well, I’m going to go back to what I was doing before or whatever.’ But I think in the long run it’s going to pay off for him. I can see he’s been doing a lot better from the line lately.”
When asked how far off Rondo was when he first came to see him last summer (they got together three times), Price paused.
“He had a lot of work to do,” he said. “But he’s a hard worker, and he’s a great player. It’s just one piece that’s not there yet, and if he gets that going a little bit, look out.”
And the fact that Rondo can get to the basket even when teams are playing off him lessens the pressure on his jumper.
“I think in some ways that plays into his hands,” Price said. “With a guy that’s this quick, sometimes that’s the worst thing you can do is to give him a free run at you. You’re almost better getting up and playing him and taking your chances there.”
Although it was nice to see Rondo hit two 3's against Atlanta, I think it had more to do with luck (not only though, since Rondo hits his shots when there is no time left on the clock). His free-throw shooting is a better way of evaluating his progress, so look at his numbers :
In November, Rondo shot 38.5% from the line ; in December, he shot 65%.
In January, he's 8 of 10 from the line (7/8 against Miami and 1/2 at Atlanta), shooting 80%!
There have only been two games played by the C's in January but still, Rondo seems to get more and more consistent with his shot and it's all good. Hopefully Price is right and Rondo's shot will improve, adding a little weapon to his repertoire for the playoffs.
Topic: "Price fixing on Rondo's shot" (Read 1985 times)