Yes, Rondo is going to have to have a huge game. More importantly though, he is going to have to use every bit of his unique skillset to be effective. In the halfcourt, he simply cannot run the show anymore. The Lakers have taken it away, pure and simple. So that leaves him 3 ways to really control this game.
1. Defense and rebounding. Like in game 6 in 2008, he needs to turn his defense up about 5 notches, and absolutely dominate that side of the ball, making plays, and causing havoc. He also needs to hit the boards hard (more on that coming up).
2. He needs to find ways to push the ball (obviously this goes hand and hand with his defense). His best bet to be effective on offense will be on fast breaks, and when he pushes the ball before the defense can set up.
3. Offensively, he needs to find the "holes" in the zone, and exploit them. I think the offense in the half-court is really going to have to run through the Big 3 most of the time. In order to get the ball in the lane with room to work, Rondo is going to have to rely on backdoor passes and rebounds. He has shown in the past the ability to be effective doing this, but he needs to be incredibly focussed, and make sure he hits his layups, and really controls things from down there.
This is the one spot where I think Perkins being out could work to the C's advantage. Having Davis or Sheed in there instead forces the defense to play them more honest, which opens up more holes for Rondo, as well as gives him more outlets if the defense closes on him when he catches it down low. Additionally, Davis and Sheed are both better passers than Perk, which will be important, if they want to keep exploiting the defense, and finding Rondo on back door plays.
Topic: It's obvious the key to winning game 7 is Rondo, right? (Read 1966 times)