It's not that people aren't getting what you are saying it's just that in a lot of ways, you are just plain wrong
First, he did not immediately take the ball down and start some play he was immediately removed and was shown gasping for air on national television
He didn't do what you would have done because he was EXHAUSTED
But no matter how many times this has been pointed out you continue with this point of laziness
Does Rondo have bad habits, absolutely
Is he the best at keeping his man in front of him, no
Does he have the ability to get better, yes
But what you are interpreting as laziness is nothing more than bad habits brought about by years and years of being the fastest, quickest,smartest, most dexterous, most athletic player on the court by a wide, wide margin which allowed him to cheat and make the big play instead of playing it the correct way and just getting a stop
He's young and the coaches have admitted that breaking him of these habits will be tough(I hear the most infuriating one is that he doesn't square up as a defender but plays to the side of his man which is what is allowing fast PGs to get that step on him and blow by him)
What you are seeing is not laziness
Everything about his game screams the complete opposite of laziness
His full court pressure
His hounding of defensive rebounders for a steal to slow the fast break
His leading the fast break
His running the ball up the court to increase the pace
His being the only player consistently crashing the offensive boards
His constant motion and movement off the ball on both ends of the court
Rondo is young and full of bad habits
That is what you are seeing and that is what a lot of people here are seeing and that's why when you continue with this line of criticism people are knocking you for undue negativity
If you have the basketball knowledge then know that great young players always have bad habits born from being that much physically gifted and talented than everybody on the floor for years and that it's the coaches job to break them of these habits
If you have experience in coaching or knowledge of the game, as you claim, you should know this
You make a lot of good points, but let me counter with a few things.
1. Perhaps I should change my phrasing of "laziness" to "bad habits" but to me, when a weakness is pointed out, as you have said this specific weakness has to Rondo, then it is no longer a "bad habit" (which I perceive as coming from ignorance of the right way to do something) and has in fact turned into "laziness" or "hard-headedness." A subtlety, but an important one in my book. If you told your employee to stop going on Facebook (or CelticsBlog.com) for hours a day, but he/she continued to do so, would you call it a "bad habit" or "laziness." Let's agree to disagree here.
2. If you go back and watch the replay, after he gives up the layup, he gets the inbounds pass, dribbles up faster than walking (but not sprinting), gets a pick at the top of the key, and blows past his man for an AWESOME layup. Then he's pulled. If he was exhausted during the play where he lost the ball to the point where he couldn't try to play correct defense, then he shouldn't have had the energy to do what he did on offense. I wish I could show the replay of this sequence to prove it. Oh well.
3. You are 100% correct as to how he has attained this "bad habit." Being the most athletic freak on the court has meant he doesn't have to survive on technique and hustle. As someone who had to play smart to have any chance to keep up with more athletic opponents, I just hated playing with guys that did this.
4. In a previous reply I posted almost exactly all the same POSITIVES you just listed. So I'm not oblivious to his uncanny abilities. Believe me, he's a top-five PG right now. But he COULD be top two in my opinion if he played smarter. I truly think he could be better than Deron Williams, but Chris Paul is just absolutely #1 right now and will be for a long time.
5. After three years of NBA experience, with one of the BEST defensive coaches alive (TT) I would have hoped that he could have broken himself of these bad habits. Personally, I think Derek Fischer is the best defensive point guard in the league in terms of fundamentals. Rondo should watch him and try to emulate him.
Thanks for the thoughtful, rational post, as opposed to just "you're crazy!" I enjoy smart discussions.
Topic: So sick of Rondo's laziness (Read 11163 times)