Rondo leaves Team USA

[banks336]

Let me say this, for him not being a good jump shooter, he's still one of the top 10 un-guardable/dominant  players in the Nba. I don't care if he never learns how to shoot, he showed me he can start and contribute on a team and lead them to the finals, hell Rose, Billups, & Curry, can shoot better than him but they definitely aren't one of the top 5 defenders in the Nba..

 You can't have your cake and eat it, we hae a young, loyal, talented pg, scratching his prime and people knock him but fail to realize if you sag off of him, he will call a play in your face, set it up, and run it to perfectly(ask mo williams), or he can blow pass you with ease! It took Jason Kidd up until 2 years ago to FINALLY be a pretty good three point shooter, I'm glad Rondo spent time while he was growing up turning into a top 5 defender vs a top 30 shooter.  

[Roy H.]

 You can't have your cake and eat it, we hae a young, loyal, talented pg, scratching his prime and people knock him but fail to realize if you sag off of him, he will call a play in your face, set it up, and run it to perfectly(ask mo williams), or he can blow pass you with ease!

Well, I think most of us do hope that we can eat our cake and have it, too.  We're all hopeful that Rondo will develop a jumper, because is he did, he'd be a much, much better offensive player.

Rondo is very good right now, but he could legitimately become "great" or "elite".

[banks336]

By having your cake and eating it, I mean it,s only one maybe two top 5 defenders with a pretty good jumpshot it's rare & he should'nt be knocked because he's exceptionally well and advanced at one thing but decent at another.. Hell we could have Randy Foye as our pg instead of him! He's worth every penny if he continues to dominate playoff games like that, he will show everyone you don't need 2 have a jumpshot to average close to 20 a game while getting 10ast 4rbs 2stls. Be happy with what we got and appreciate it.! Before we get Lebron'd

[EJPLAYA]

Let me say this, for him not being a good jump shooter, he's still one of the top 10 un-guardable/dominant  players in the Nba. I don't care if he never learns how to shoot, he showed me he can start and contribute on a team and lead them to the finals, hell Rose, Billups, & Curry, can shoot better than him but they definitely aren't one of the top 5 defenders in the Nba..

 You can't have your cake and eat it, we hae a young, loyal, talented pg, scratching his prime and people knock him but fail to realize if you sag off of him, he will call a play in your face, set it up, and run it to perfectly(ask mo williams), or he can blow pass you with ease! It took Jason Kidd up until 2 years ago to FINALLY be a pretty good three point shooter, I'm glad Rondo spent time while he was growing up turning into a top 5 defender vs a top 30 shooter.  

Definitely people are probably a little too hard on Rondo. He is one of the best pg's in the NBA. He does however have some major flaws that you are also choosing to dismiss. I think that Lakers would argue that they figured out how to beat the Celtics by figuring out how to minimize Rondo. They put a bigger quick player on him that manhandled him and prevented him from driving most of the time. They dared him to shoot towards the end of the shot clock which he wouldn't. They fouled him hard and sent him to the line when he did get past them. He stopped himself driving the rest of the time because he was scared of getting to the line. He did some things well. His stats weren't that bad. He did have a rough finals though due to his deficiencies and if he doesn't work on them the blueprint is there on how to make him a good pg vs. a great one. It's not too much to ask though to expect him to work harder on his shooting so he becomes great. He has the skills to be there.

[aporel#18]

First of all, I hope those mentioned family issues aren't serious.

I'm happy for the Celtics, Rondo will rest, and won't risk an injury in the World Champs. The Celtics cannot afford another starter injured entering the season. Rondo is young, and if he wants to, he'll be able to play in 2012, so it's really no big deal.

I think this move is bad for Team USA, and good for the rest of the teams... Team USA still has lot of talent, but Rondo is the most unguardable PG on that squad. Rose is fast, and Westbrook is athletic, but Rondo is a huge passer, and he would create for the team.

I wanted to watch Rondo vs Rubio in the WC, but we all will have to wait until Ricky goes to the NBA. Spain, Greece, Serbia and Argentina will have an easier way to figure out how to defend Team USA. 

Hopefully Rondo will lead the Celtics to get banner #18 next June. That would be the best news.

[Tr1boy]

Rondo has to improve his shooting. This i hope encourages him to improve. He needs to change his shooting form and approach.

He needs to stretch his form that he will only be using his wrist ala Fisher, Barbosa. And move forward when he shoots instead of trying to do jordan fade aways

Biggest issue with rondo is his stubborness and ability to change

[GreenFaith1819]

I think Team USA loses out on this, but the Celtics win. We get our PG back, and without any nicks or injuries.

[Scribbles]

Let me say this, for him not being a good jump shooter, he's still one of the top 10 un-guardable/dominant  players in the Nba. I don't care if he never learns how to shoot, he showed me he can start and contribute on a team and lead them to the finals, hell Rose, Billups, & Curry, can shoot better than him but they definitely aren't one of the top 5 defenders in the Nba..

 You can't have your cake and eat it, we hae a young, loyal, talented pg, scratching his prime and people knock him but fail to realize if you sag off of him, he will call a play in your face, set it up, and run it to perfectly(ask mo williams), or he can blow pass you with ease! It took Jason Kidd up until 2 years ago to FINALLY be a pretty good three point shooter, I'm glad Rondo spent time while he was growing up turning into a top 5 defender vs a top 30 shooter.  

If he's so unguardable then why did the Lakers give him open looks all series?  Rondo's a solid point guard, but he has major flaws that still haven't been addressed by him.   

And Kidd wasn't nearly as bad a 3 point shooter as Rondo has been early on in his career(and Jason was pretty awful those first couple years in the league, which goes to show how bad Rondo's outside shot really is.) Plus Kidd has been respectable from three the last 6-7 years.   

[Rtpas11]

I'm glad and sad for this situation. Yes I wanted to see him shine playing with the U.S.A. Team, but at the same time I believe it was hurting and not helping his game. The kid can't shoot, and its hard nowadays being a point guard that can't do so. A team's defense goes from grade C to grade A whenever they can back-off the other team's point.

[cdif911]

for all of those out there saying Rondo can't shoot, while true, he's not the best shooter on the team or in the league, he is still one of the top pgs in the league despite that weakness.  I hope that he doesn't try too hard to prove he can shoot and take away from the other things he does so darned well

[Bankshot]

for all of those out there saying Rondo can't shoot, while true, he's not the best shooter on the team or in the league, he is still one of the top pgs in the league despite that weakness.  I hope that he doesn't try too hard to prove he can shoot and take away from the other things he does so darned well

Yes, but he still has to improve his shooting.  Him not being able to shoot hurts the team, especially against smart teams like the Lakers.  I'm just feeling a bit discouraged that his shooting hasn't improved much after all this time.  I'm still hoping though.

[Chelm]

First off, those saying they're happy they don't have to root for Team USA anymore... what about national pride?  This is STILL team USA.  Second, the roster comparison with 2006 is OBVIOUSLY ridiculous.  If Lebron wanted in, the team would be better.  He CHOSE not to.  Not USA's fault.  You think the team would rather have Lamar Odom?  Same with half the team.

Last, I'm no scholar of the sport, but Rondo's lack of an outside shot arguably lost us the championship in my opinion.  If Kobe had to respect his shot JUST A LITTLE (enough to actually guard him), we'd likely have banner #18.  Also, isn't outside shooting even MORE important in the international game, given how much zone is played?

[Snakehead]

First off, those saying they're happy they don't have to root for Team USA anymore... what about national pride?  This is STILL team USA.  Second, the roster comparison with 2006 is OBVIOUSLY ridiculous.  If Lebron wanted in, the team would be better.  He CHOSE not to.  Not USA's fault.  You think the team would rather have Lamar Odom?  Same with half the team.

Last, I'm no scholar of the sport, but Rondo's lack of an outside shot arguably lost us the championship in my opinion.  If Kobe had to respect his shot JUST A LITTLE (enough to actually guard him), we'd likely have banner #18.  Also, isn't outside shooting even MORE important in the international game, given how much zone is played?

Dude, how about if we didn't get outrebounded by 13 and give up 23 offensive boards.  Anyone who knows anything about basketball will tell you that it's extremely hard to win a game getting outrebounded like that, especially on the offensive glass, and we still almost won. 

14 pts, 10 ast, 8 boards and you're calling out Rondo?  Okay, he can't really shoot but how about Ray Allen hits a couple of his open 3's in that game?  We win, even in spite of our terrible rebounding.  Or how about Pierce doesn't keep isoing Artest and getting completely shut down multiple plays down the stretch.  I'm fine with Artest shutting down Pierce at this stage in his career, lets be realistic, but stop trying to go at him when it isn't working.

Anyways, if Perk wasn't hurt we would of won. We would of kept the Lakers off the glass and won a game that we already almost won with a god awful rebounding differential. It's that simple.  To blame it on Rondo is flat out wrong.  Yes, his inability to hit a jumper is not helpful, but we did just fine in plenty of games with this flaw and that was not what lost us that game.




As for Rondo in FIBA basketball, yes the outside shot is important, but Derrick Rose is not a particularly good shot either.  Rondo brings better passing, far better defense, better basketball IQ, leadership, and experience.  This team has no meaningful experience outside of Odom and Billups now. 

[Celtics4ever]

I don't root for team USA because I find these games meaningless.  I don't care for FIBA never have.  While I want the US to win, I rather watch patch dry than that soft Euroball with no defense.   That being said the skill level of some of those Euros blows away our kids.  Overall they are better shooters across the board.

[LB3533]

Seems like Team USA will be fine without Rondo.

22 assists in 40 minute game....over 100 points on 55% shooting and 40% from 3 land.

USA may roll in this if they can keep shooting like this and sharing the ball with each other.

It's so much easier to share the ball when people hit shots.