The Celts won't win the title if Doc rides Rondo right into the ground

[raynman]

Doc will never be a Jerry Sloan, or a Greg Poppovich...

[xmuscularghandix]

How old is Rondo? 24?

When Kevin Garnett was 24, he averaged exactly 40 minutes a game for the entire season. And he had to do MUCH, MUCH more than Rondo on those teams.

Rondo is young. Stop worrying. There is a price to pay for being great, and thats keeping your butt on the court.

Exactly, and he wanted to stay out there because if he tightened up then he’d be useless for the rest of the game.

Nate hurt his ankle and could only play 3 minutes… I’m sure Doc didn’t plan for that.

[jimmehx]

How old is Rondo? 24?

When Kevin Garnett was 24, he averaged exactly 40 minutes a game for the entire season. And he had to do MUCH, MUCH more than Rondo on those teams.

Rondo is young. Stop worrying. There is a price to pay for being great, and thats keeping your butt on the court.

I disagree. Rondo is injured and you can't deny that he needs to recover.

[Change]

Doc will never be a Jerry Sloan, or a Greg Poppovich...

He is better than Jerry Sloan already. And will soon catch up with Pop-a-zit

Rondo is 24.

[LooseCannon]

Avery Bradley is not the answer to keeping Rondo's minutes down because, at this point in his career, he is not a point guard.  He can play shooting guard and he can defend point guards, but he really has minimal experience at the position and needs time in the D-League to learn it.

[Onslaught]

Doc will never be a Jerry Sloan, or a Greg Poppovich...

He is better than Jerry Sloan already. And will soon catch up with Pop-a-zit

Rondo is 24.

I like DOc. But Jerry Sloan is better. Rings aren't the only thing that makes one great.

[BballTim]

Doc will never be a Jerry Sloan, or a Greg Poppovich...

  If the Spurs hadn't won the Duncan lottery people wouldn't even remember who Popovich was.

[raynman]

Doc will never be a Jerry Sloan, or a Greg Poppovich...

He is better than Jerry Sloan already. And will soon catch up with Pop-a-zit

Rondo is 24.

I like DOc. But Jerry Sloan is better. Rings aren't the only thing that makes one great.

What i meant was in terms of (playing and) developing rookies and young players.
Look at George Hill, Blair, Tony Parker, Millsap, CJ Miles, Wes Matthews, etc.

If they played for Doc, they would've rotted in the d-league..

[dpaps]

Doc will never be a Jerry Sloan, or a Greg Poppovich...

  If the Spurs hadn't won the Duncan lottery people wouldn't even remember who Popovich was.

Yeah, but you can make this argument with almost all coaches. Without Jordan and Pippen and then Shaq and Kobe, now Kobe and Pau, Phil wouldn't have anywhere near 11 rings. What Pop has done over the last 13 years or so has been nothing short of great.

[clover]

Avery Bradley is not the answer to keeping Rondo's minutes down because, at this point in his career, he is not a point guard.  He can play shooting guard and he can defend point guards, but he really has minimal experience at the position and needs time in the D-League to learn it.

He can't go to D-League now at least until JO is back.

[cdif911]

Doc will never be a Jerry Sloan, or a Greg Poppovich...

He is better than Jerry Sloan already. And will soon catch up with Pop-a-zit

Rondo is 24.

I like DOc. But Jerry Sloan is better. Rings aren't the only thing that makes one great.

What i meant was in terms of (playing and) developing rookies and young players.
Look at George Hill, Blair, Tony Parker, Millsap, CJ Miles, Wes Matthews, etc.

If they played for Doc, they would've rotted in the d-league..

Rondo, Baby, Powe, Gomes, West, Perk all developed under Doc...

[xmuscularghandix]

[Witch-King]

I have to admit that sometimes it concerns me to see Rondo with gigantic ice packs strapped to his knees at the end of a game where he's played 35+ minutes.

We all know that Rondo is durable and has tons of stamina, however he is still a human and has his limitations. The mere fact that Rondo has trouble converting some of his free throws can make him a target for being fouled needlessly, which could tire him out by the time the playoffs start.

Interesting to note the fact that Rajon Rondo barely lost to Kevin Durant in the NBA horse contest last-season. Also, the Celtics and the Thunder finished last year's regular season with identical records; however the Thunder lost in the first round and the Celtics barely lost in the finals. I'm hoping that guys like Robinson, West, Von Wafer and Avery Bradley can step in for Rondo just to keep his legs fresh so he is feeling less strain once the playoffs start.

[Fafnir]

Doc will never be a Jerry Sloan, or a Greg Poppovich...

He is better than Jerry Sloan already. And will soon catch up with Pop-a-zit

Rondo is 24.

I like DOc. But Jerry Sloan is better. Rings aren't the only thing that makes one great.

What i meant was in terms of (playing and) developing rookies and young players.
Look at George Hill, Blair, Tony Parker, Millsap, CJ Miles, Wes Matthews, etc.

If they played for Doc, they would've rotted in the d-league..

Rondo, Baby, Powe, Gomes, West, Perk all developed under Doc...

Don't forget Mike Miller and several other young players in Orlando and Al Jefferson.

[nickagneta]

Another over reaction to playing big early season minutes thread I see. Seems these come out every year now. Was the reason we didn't win the title last year because of some early season long minutes from Ray Allen last year or was it perhaps the injury to Perkins and some fairly horrendous home calls for the Lakers in game 7?

Rondo is 24 years old.
Delonte West is out.
Nate Robinson hurt his ankle.
Avery Bradley isn't ready yet even for 5 minutes of meaningful play.

So Rondo played big minutes. Its what 24 year old superstar players do in this league people. Check your history and check what other players his age with his ability and importance to his team play for minutes.

Doc is doing nothing wrong. This has nothing to do with Rondo's minutes and once again it comes down to a lack of trust for the man in charge of this team.