Rondo amped to cover Lebron

[FatjohnReturns]

Anyone else see how amped Rajon got when he drew the assignment of taking Lebron. It seemed to lift his intesity quite a bit.

Good coaching call by Doc and a nice on the ball defense by Rajon. well done

[Fafnir]

I think it was a great way to keep the C's fired up, and keeping Rondo amped.

But overall LeBron created a lot off good possessions/scores out of that match up. I'd rather not see that again, LeBron is too good of a player not to adjust and beat that next time around.

[droopdog7]

This funny thing is, Doc says he didn't intentionally want Rondo to cover lebron.  But yeah, it seems to generate a spark throughout the entire team.  So while Doc may have lucked into this move, keeping going as long as he did was the brilliant part.

[wdleehi]

I think it was a great way to keep the C's fired up, and keeping Rondo amped.

But overall LeBron created a lot off good possessions/scores out of that match up. I'd rather not see that again, LeBron is too good of a player not to adjust and beat that next time around.

Agreed.


It reminds me of when the Suns faced the Bulls in the Finals.  Everyone made a huge deal out of Kevin Johnson doing a really good job of defending Jordon for one game.  They talked about to no end. 

Well, at least till Jordon ended it by killing Kevin Johnson the next game.


It is a good change of defensive pace option, but should never be the main defensive method. 

[BballTim]

  He also had a few good plays guarding Kobe last week. I think he got a traveling call on one possession and a charge on the next.

[Fafnir]

  He also had a few good plays guarding Kobe last week. I think he got a traveling call on one possession and a charge on the next.

Yeah, he did a very good job of defending Kobe on the drive/dribble.

Rondo could do the same with LeBron, the problem is both are far to big for Rondo to handle them in the post.

[csfansince60s]

  He also had a few good plays guarding Kobe last week. I think he got a traveling call on one possession and a charge on the next.

Yeah, he did a very good job of defending Kobe on the drive/dribble.

Rondo could do the same with LeBron, the problem is both are far to big for Rondo to handle them in the post.

Unlike Kobe, who is great at posting up, James hasn't developed that part of his game yet. He almost exclusively faces the basket.

[pearljammer10]

  He also had a few good plays guarding Kobe last week. I think he got a traveling call on one possession and a charge on the next.

Yeah, he did a very good job of defending Kobe on the drive/dribble.

Rondo could do the same with LeBron, the problem is both are far to big for Rondo to handle them in the post.

Unlike Kobe, who is great at posting up, James hasn't developed that part of his game yet. He almost exclusively faces the basket.

Yeah but with a player like Rondo on him he can just back him all the way down to the basket. He did this once on Sunday, LeBron backed Rondo down to the basket turned and went up with the ball and got an And1 on Rondo so he is capable.

I loved the move however. In both game, with Rondo guarding Kobe and LeBron in short stints. It was a good move by Rondo himself and a good move by the staff to stick with it. i agree it shouldnt be the defensive assignment for the whole game but it certainly sparked Rondo and in both games they greatly benefitted from the strategy.

[Fafnir]

  He also had a few good plays guarding Kobe last week. I think he got a traveling call on one possession and a charge on the next.

Yeah, he did a very good job of defending Kobe on the drive/dribble.

Rondo could do the same with LeBron, the problem is both are far to big for Rondo to handle them in the post.

Unlike Kobe, who is great at posting up, James hasn't developed that part of his game yet. He almost exclusively faces the basket.

Yeah but with a player like Rondo on him he can just back him all the way down to the basket. He did this once on Sunday, LeBron backed Rondo down to the basket turned and went up with the ball and got an And1 on Rondo so he is capable.

I loved the move however. In both game, with Rondo guarding Kobe and LeBron in short stints. It was a good move by Rondo himself and a good move by the staff to stick with it. i agree it shouldnt be the defensive assignment for the whole game but it certainly sparked Rondo and in both games they greatly benefitted from the strategy.

He backed him down a couple of other times and forced help to come as well. LeBron doesn't have a great post game, but he can and will score on someone 7 inches shorter and 100 lbs lighter than him.

[Amonkey]

What Rondo does well defending is poking through and bothering the player with the ball while dribbling. Rondo is so quick and he is so energetic, the player cannot relax while he is defending, therefore having more of a psychological effect to the player. You could see that Lebron was thinking about Rondo while dribbling the ball outside of the 3 point line, dribbling a little bit out of control at times. However, when a player is inside the 3 point line posting up or with an opportunity to use the height for a jump shot, then there's not much Rondo can do about that.

Therefore, I think the idea of using Rondo to pressure the ball for whoever is taking, I like that idea and I think he is one of the greatest defenders at that situation. No matter if the player is Dirk, Rondo can play defense like nobody outside the 3 point line.

[Greenbean]

For a while, Rondo would blanket Bron until he got past the perimeter where he would meet a bigger defender like Pierce. The Heat made the adjustment to isolate Bron when Rondo picked him up full court.

I loved the intensity of Rondo but give it to LeBron for actually taking advantage of the size mismatch and showing a semblance of a post game. he has looked better down there recently.

SO in short I love it when Rondo picks up any ball handler full court, but we should be happy with LeBron vs. Rondo in a back to the basket situation.

[Witch-King]

^lol, I think this picture is an example of how amped Rondo is to cover LeBron James.

(taken from the website http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie)

...even though Rajon might be giving up some height in this defensive assignment he sure does make up for that with hustle.

The guy did lead the NBA in steals last season, so while he isn't that effective at guarding someone in the post he can still stick with his defender, play perimeter D and help disrupt the other team's offense. Plus, if he ends up with the ball after causing the other team to commit a turnover he can always lead a fast-break.

It is interesting to see Rondo being assigned to guard guys like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, aka the most versatile scorers on their respective teams. As far as those two's (LeBron and Kobe) play styles differ, Kobe Bryant is notorious for shooting turn-around jumpers and passing out of the post while LeBron likes to drive and dish and shoot spot up jumpers where he has a height/positional advantage over his defender.

In either situation Rondo would be giving up height in what are already almost un-guardable shots, though I guess the fact that Rondo was selected to the All-Defensive first team would mean that he could deal with most anything else, ie. limiting dribble-penetration, cutting off passing lanes, contesting shots, poking the ball away, etc.

[Birdbrain]

I wouldn't be surprised if you see it in brief stints in the playoffs vs the Heat.  Especially if Paul is in foul trouble.

Rondos quickness and reach can cause trouble for LJ especially if you goal is to have him dribble into a triple team with KG and someone else.

[indeedproceed]

Rondo: We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious. They stole it from us. Sneaky little Heatsies. Wicked, tricksy, false!

[barefacedmonk]

Rondo: We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious. They stole it from us. Sneaky little Heatsies. Wicked, tricksy, false!

TP!