Rajon Rondo: Great Defender?

[PosImpos]

Can somebody PLEASE justify this to me?  He makes some amazing blocks, steals, and various other defensive plays at times, but then Derek Fisher torches the Celtics in the 4th quarter of the biggest game so far this year.  How can you explain that? 

If there's one player on the Lakers we shouldn't have to worry about, it ought to be Derek Fisher.  But he killed us tonight.  Unless he's being covered by somebody other than Rondo, how does Rondo maintain his "great defender" cred while still allowing those kinds of performances from opposing point guards who aren't known for being transcendant offensive players?

[xmuscularghandix]

Get this out of here.

Our whole defense is put towards stopping Kobe.

Fisher was 50% tonight, 00% from outside, and down the stretch he was being played different every time.

...you putting your frustration in the wrong place.

[ibby]

I was thinking that.  I know he is a great defender, but he looked off tonight.  In the 4th, I think he took too many gambles hoping for the one big play.  Unfortunately Fisher was on in the 4th.

[PosImpos]

Get this out of here.

Our whole defense is put towards stopping Kobe.

Fisher was 50% tonight, 00% from outside, and down the stretch he was being played different every time.

...you putting your frustration in the wrong place.

Still, how can you explain Derek Fisher being the guy that buries us late in the game?  Who is responsible for that?

[Rondo_is_better]

Rajon Rondo: Exhausted?

Rajon Rondo: Not Responsible for Fisher in the pick and roll, there should be help defense?

[ChainSmokingLikeDino]

Get this out of here.

Our whole defense is put towards stopping Kobe.

Fisher was 50% tonight, 00% from outside, and down the stretch he was being played different every time.

...you putting your frustration in the wrong place.

TP. I don't even know what else to say. This post has no understanding of the defensive scheme or how the game went. Heck, because of the cross-matching Rondo wasn't even on Fisher all the time. It is team defense we play. More fickle overreacting. Long way to go.. Long way to go.

[PosImpos]

Get this out of here.

Our whole defense is put towards stopping Kobe.

Fisher was 50% tonight, 00% from outside, and down the stretch he was being played different every time.

...you putting your frustration in the wrong place.

TP. I don't even know what else to say. This post has no understanding of the defensive scheme or how the game went. Heck, because of the cross-matching Rondo wasn't even on Fisher all the time. It is team defense we play. More fickle overreacting. Long way to go.. Long way to go.

Bottom line:  The Celtics were buried by Derek Fisher tonight.  Derek Fisher.

Maybe that's not Rondo's fault.  But it's on somebody.  The team's vaunted defense clearly broke down tonight, whether that was Rondo's fault or not - at least in the sense that Derek Fisher was able to score down the stretch.  He certainly wasn't able to do anything to shut the guy down, and that is to some extent a knock on Rondo's defensive rep.

We're not talking about a great offensive player.  We're talking about a guy who hardly ever scores more than 10-15 points.

[Change]

Rondo is inconsistent. Thats not news. He'll bounce back.

ESPN is pushing to superstar status. MEdia hype misses with people big time, Ask Ray?

[ChainSmokingLikeDino]

Get this out of here.

Our whole defense is put towards stopping Kobe.

Fisher was 50% tonight, 00% from outside, and down the stretch he was being played different every time.

...you putting your frustration in the wrong place.

TP. I don't even know what else to say. This post has no understanding of the defensive scheme or how the game went. Heck, because of the cross-matching Rondo wasn't even on Fisher all the time. It is team defense we play. More fickle overreacting. Long way to go.. Long way to go.

Bottom line:  The Celtics were buried by Derek Fisher tonight.  Derek Fisher.

Maybe that's not Rondo's fault.  But it's on somebody.  The team's vaunted defense clearly broke down tonight, whether that was Rondo's fault or not - at least in the sense that Derek Fisher was able to score down the stretch.  He certainly wasn't able to do anything to shut the guy down, and that is to some extent a knock on Rondo's defensive rep.

We're not talking about a great offensive player.  We're talking about a guy who hardly ever scores more than 10-15 points.

It isn't all Rondo's fault. It may be partially his fault but you are overstating the whole thing. The team defense could have done better at times, but Fisher hit some [dang] hard shots tonight as well, shots that no one could do anything about. Fisher has shown he can show up and make a difference in the playoffs before. The focus on the D was clearly to shut down Kobe. That happened. So you put  the ball in the secondary guys hands and make them beat you. Tonight Fisher did. But you can't shut down all five guys. Sometimes guys hit shots.

Meanwhile Fisher just gave the longest press conference in the world for a game 3. Dude loves to hear himself talk. And the near crying break down in the on-court interview?

[PosImpos]

Rondo is inconsistent. Thats not news. He'll bounce back.

ESPN is pushing to superstar status. MEdia hype misses with people big time, Ask Ray?

Yes, I agree.  Rondo has become overrated, like Ray post-Game 2.  You can't really blame them; when Ray and Rondo are at the height of their games, they're flat out incredible (in Rondo's case on both ends of the floor).  But they are both prone to serious inconsistency.

[BigBaby]

i think that's just what fisher does. not really rondo's fault

[Change]

Rondo is inconsistent. Thats not news. He'll bounce back.

ESPN is pushing to superstar status. MEdia hype misses with people big time, Ask Ray?

Yes, I agree.  Rondo has become overrated, like Ray post-Game 2.  You can't really blame them; when Ray and Rondo are at the height of their games, they're flat out incredible (in Rondo's case on both ends of the floor).  But they are both prone to serious inconsistency.

Sometimes don't you wish, they stay far away from players. They hurt Celtics in game1 (overhyping them from what happened in 2008) Hurt Lakers in game2 (telling them the series was over, Celtics are old) Hurt Celtics in game3 (they inflated Rondo & Ray's egos)

[LB3533]

Just have to give credit to Fisher.

They were not easy shots, nor were we giving those shots to Fisher.

Fisher made those plays happen.

The only one we gave Fisher was that open lane and no one got back in time on defense.

[Jaycelt]

Rondo's on the ball defense has always been over rated, I've been saying that for years.  But it's a Sportscenter league so the things Rondo does great (steals, deflections, help defense, etc) are the things that get noticed.  That's just the way it is in this league. Not very many people pay attention to the fundamentals anymore.

[moiso]

Fisher played great.  He has been clutch his entire career.  Rondo is a great defender.  No point guard in the nba shuts down opposing point guards.  Rondo is about as good as it gets defensively at that position.  Fisher just did what he always does in big games.