If Rondo Struggles in Game 7, Play Robinson!

[Bankshot]

Don't let game 7 come down to "as Rondo goes the team goes"!

Try Robinson.  I'm not saying Robinson will save the Celtics, but at least he can provide spacing and offense.  Rondo is taking too long getting the team into sets and he allows the Lakers defense to set up and they sag off of him, daring him to shoot.  In the third quarter, Rondo had already taken 15 shots!  Too many for a guy who isn't making shots.  Robinson provides spacing and offense where Rondo doesn't and he did a decent job running the offense when he had the chance.  And he can score in bunches if needed.

Rondo looked like a ballhog last night.

[FallGuy]

Don't let game 7 come down to "as Rondo goes the team goes"!

Try Robinson.  I'm not saying Robinson will save the Celtics, but at least he can provide spacing and offense.  Rondo is taking too long getting the team into sets and he allows the Lakers defense to set up and they sag off of him, daring him to shoot.  In the third quarter, Rondo had already taken 15 shots!  Too many for a guy who isn't making shots.  Robinson provides spacing and offense where Rondo doesn't and he did a decent job running the offense when he had the chance.  And he can score in bunches if needed.

Rondo looked like a ballhog last night.

If we rebound the ball, Rondo won't struggle.

Putting Nate in ahead of Rondo seems disastrous on a number of fronts. Not only is Nate incapable of a full quarter of good decisions, but you set yourself up for all sorts of problems with your $55M point guard.

It's all about the glass. Rebound, run and then finish on either the fast break or the secondary break.

[2short]

Robinson simply isn't anywhere near Rondo's league.  He's a streak (good) shooter who has shown he'll jack up jumpers when they shouldn't be shot .  He won't get team into offense.
don't panic people

[Redz]

Robinson was nullified last night.  When he's made to be a pass-first point guard he's out of his league.  He made a lot of poor decisions last night.

Gotta ride it out with your All Star.

[Bankshot]

Robinson simply isn't anywhere near Rondo's league.  He's a streak (good) shooter who has shown he'll jack up jumpers when they shouldn't be shot .  He won't get team into offense.
don't panic people

Who said he was in Rondo's league.  If Rondo struggles like he did last night, then Nate would probably be better than Rondo, at least in that game.  No reason to go down because Rondo is stinking up the joint.

[wdleehi]

Robinson didn't play well last night either.



Defense and rebound.  The offense will follow.

[Roy Hobbs]

Defense and rebound.  The offense will follow.

Agreed.  If Rondo still can't run the offense, though, I'd be fine with Paul Pierce initiating, with Nate available for kickouts.

If Rondo isn't attacking and finishing, then we're basically playing 4-on-5.

[nickagneta]

The best coach's adjustments that are made are the ones that are never made. Let's stop overreaching and overreacting. The entire team was atrocious last night. Everyone played poorly.

For every "Play Nate if Rondo is that bad" thread can probably come attached with a "Play Marquis because Pierce is that bad" or "Play Tony Allen because Ray Allen is that bad" thread.

You have to go with what got you here. Put the game behind you, get some rest, get your head straight and come out firing on all cylinders. The adjustments that have to be made are mental not physical.

[LarBrd33]

if Rondo struggles in Game 7, play scal... cuz who cares at that point.  The game will mirror game 6 in 2008 but with the Lakers blowing us out by 39.

[Bankshot]

Defense and rebound.  The offense will follow.

Agreed.  If Rondo still can't run the offense, though, I'd be fine with Paul Pierce initiating, with Nate available for kickouts.

If Rondo isn't attacking and finishing, then we're basically playing 4-on-5.

Exactly. All I'm saying is there is no need to live and die with Rondo playing poorly in a game 7.  Yank him, just like Doc did in 2008.

[Mr October]

Rondo was forcing the action in a bad way last night. Bad looking shots, turnovers. However I do have faith he will bounce back.

Keep on going with a mix of Rondo and Nate. I think we'll have a very different game on our hands tomorrow.

And sure if Rondo lays a complete egg, give Nate a longer leash and run the offense through Pierce and KG.

[Vermont Green]

Perk, Wallace and Davis (our center rotation) were a combined 0-11 and scored zero points.  We were not good as a team, period, including Rondo.  It was one of the worst games I have seen Rondo have, but we had plenty of problems.

All year long, the Celtics as a team have been Bi-Polar.  This one game does not worry me at least in terms of it being an indicator that we need to come up with some change.  This kind of thing happens in Basketball.  We played last night about like we played in NJ towards the end of the year.

I also think this game was much more a case of us playing bad vs. the Lakers playing well.  Artest did come out some but other than that, the Lakers played about like they have.  The final score was 89-67, it is not like they ran us out of the building by scoring 120 points or something.

Through out the playoffs, the Celtics have found a way to win every game they really needed to.  They also found ways to play poorly for a game or two in each series.

God I hope they win!

[nickagneta]

Defense and rebound.  The offense will follow.

Agreed.  If Rondo still can't run the offense, though, I'd be fine with Paul Pierce initiating, with Nate available for kickouts.

If Rondo isn't attacking and finishing, then we're basically playing 4-on-5.

Exactly. All I'm saying is there is no need to live and die with Rondo playing poorly in a game 7.  Yank him, just like Doc did in 2008.

Might as well yank Pierce if he's turning the ball over all the time. And if Ray looks cold, yank him too. And if KG can't get more than a couple rebounds in the first half, might as well yank him too.

Rondo was only part of last night's problem as he has only been part of the answer when things have gone well. You have to have faith that the guys that got you there will produce at some point and leave them in until they do.

It's game 7. You win or lose with who brought you there and that will be Rondo, Ray, Paul and KG in big, big minutes and Baby, Rasheed, Tony and Nate in smaller amounts.

Plain and simple, it really is that easy.

[Big_Matt34]

If anything i think Nate plays less next game, if at all. Doc threw out the lineup of TA/Ray/PP/KG/Sheed in the 4th quarter last night to get them some work together. JVG and Mark Jackson both said it was likely because they are gonna shorten the bench again and go back to TA at backup pg, id agree thats why Doc did it.

Don't know how i feel about it though, Nate looked terrible last night on both sides of the ball but as a whole has been pretty good this series. The defense will definately be better, offense is another story. I think it all depends if Perk plays, if Sheed has to start you probably have to use Nate, will need some type of offense from the bench.

[Roy Hobbs]

I also think this game was much more a case of us playing bad vs. the Lakers playing well.  Artest did come out some but other than that, the Lakers played about like they have.  The final score was 89-67, it is not like they ran us out of the building by scoring 120 points or something.

I agree with everything you said, except for the above.

I think the Lakers really did play well, especially early.  Their defense was the best I've seen from the Lakers.  They collapsed the driving lanes, and covered our outside shooters.  It's the closest thing I've seen to another team playing the Celtics defense, and they played it extremely well.

On offense, early on they were shooting over 60%, and were clicking on all cylinders.  Our defense eventually showed up and limited their offensive effectiveness a bit, but in the defining moments of the game, the Lakers played well on both ends, and we played well on neither.