For those of you who complain about Rondo

[Donoghus]

I think he's "spoiled us with his play" - everyone expects 15+ assists and a near triple double every game. An All-Star 2 years in a row - leading the league in assists this season, in the top 2 in steals, yet he still struggles to get support & respect from some of his own fans...

I don't think this is true at all. I think Rondo gets plenty of credit, we had a stretch where a new thread celebrating him appeared every time he hit a jumper in a big spot.

Expectations are high, because he is an all star, but KG/Pierce/Ray/Davis all get called out in similar fashions when they player poorly.

I don't think the Big 3 get half as much criticism as other players when they have bad games. I guess that's expected considering they're Hall of Famers.

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like I see a new thread on why Rondo should be traded every other day or flat out criticizing him. Just off the top of my head, I've seen a "We should've traded Rondo for Deron Williams instead of NJ", "DA Traded with wrong member of the starting 5!", "Rondo's Work Ethic isn't good", "If Rondo keeps playing like this, we need to trade him!" threads in just the past two weeks.

Is he untouchable? Absolutely not. But I just think fans are quick to turn on him more than they are any other player (maybe with the exception of Glen Davis).

Rondo has definitely been the biggest lightening rod on these boards since I joined up in '07. 

IMO, Big Three has gotten off pretty easily with the exception of the occasional Ray threads. 

BBD certainly gets a lot of discussion too but, IMO, Rondo has been the single biggest point of discussion in regards to individual players.

MikeDfromNP, where are you? 

[Bankshot]

Of course fans are going to complain! That’s what fans do! So I’m not sure I understand the outrage. Rondo has flaws, every player does. Fans have a right to point those imperfections out. Perhaps we can be too critical, perhaps too emotional, and perhaps a tad bit hysterical but it comes with the territory. Yes, he’s one heck of PG but he still has glaring weaknesses, they ought to be discussed.

Yep.  Love Rondo and wouldn't trade him for ALMOST anyone, but he does have some glaring flaws in his game.  Can't deny that.

[RJ87]

I think he's "spoiled us with his play" - everyone expects 15+ assists and a near triple double every game. An All-Star 2 years in a row - leading the league in assists this season, in the top 2 in steals, yet he still struggles to get support & respect from some of his own fans...

I don't think this is true at all. I think Rondo gets plenty of credit, we had a stretch where a new thread celebrating him appeared every time he hit a jumper in a big spot.

Expectations are high, because he is an all star, but KG/Pierce/Ray/Davis all get called out in similar fashions when they player poorly.

Rondo & Davis have been much bigger whipping boys than the Big Three. 

Yes and no, they're bigger whipping boys now. But a few years ago that wasn't the case as their expectations weren't as high for Davis/Rondo.

This isn't quite true - when we first got the Big 3 together, Rondo was set up as the scapegoat from Day 1. Fans and pundits alike were saying we couldn't win until we got a veteran PG running the offense. I think the expectations were for Rondo to fail in 07/08, and some fans haven't changed their opinions of him at all since then.

[Bankshot]

I think he's "spoiled us with his play" - everyone expects 15+ assists and a near triple double every game. An All-Star 2 years in a row - leading the league in assists this season, in the top 2 in steals, yet he still struggles to get support & respect from some of his own fans...

I don't think this is true at all. I think Rondo gets plenty of credit, we had a stretch where a new thread celebrating him appeared every time he hit a jumper in a big spot.

Expectations are high, because he is an all star, but KG/Pierce/Ray/Davis all get called out in similar fashions when they player poorly.

Rondo & Davis have been much bigger whipping boys than the Big Three. 

Yes and no, they're bigger whipping boys now. But a few years ago that wasn't the case as their expectations weren't as high for Davis/Rondo.

This isn't quite true - when we first got the Big 3 together, Rondo was set up as the scapegoat from Day 1. Fans and pundits alike were saying we couldn't win until we got a veteran PG running the offense. I think the expectations were for Rondo to fail in 07/08, and some fans haven't changed their opinions of him at all since then.

I remember the media saying we couldn't win with Rondo, but I don't remember many fans saying that.  What I remember is most of us were angry at the media for thinking we couldn't win with Rondo and thinking LA was superior to the Celtics.  I think most fans did think we needed a vet backup point guard to assist Rondo though.

[RJ87]

I think he's "spoiled us with his play" - everyone expects 15+ assists and a near triple double every game. An All-Star 2 years in a row - leading the league in assists this season, in the top 2 in steals, yet he still struggles to get support & respect from some of his own fans...

I don't think this is true at all. I think Rondo gets plenty of credit, we had a stretch where a new thread celebrating him appeared every time he hit a jumper in a big spot.

Expectations are high, because he is an all star, but KG/Pierce/Ray/Davis all get called out in similar fashions when they player poorly.

I don't think the Big 3 get half as much criticism as other players when they have bad games. I guess that's expected considering they're Hall of Famers.

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like I see a new thread on why Rondo should be traded every other day or flat out criticizing him. Just off the top of my head, I've seen a "We should've traded Rondo for Deron Williams instead of NJ", "DA Traded with wrong member of the starting 5!", "Rondo's Work Ethic isn't good", "If Rondo keeps playing like this, we need to trade him!" threads in just the past two weeks.

Is he untouchable? Absolutely not. But I just think fans are quick to turn on him more than they are any other player (maybe with the exception of Glen Davis).

Rondo has definitely been the biggest lightening rod on these boards since I joined up in '07. 

IMO, Big Three has gotten off pretty easily with the exception of the occasional Ray threads. 

BBD certainly gets a lot of discussion too but, IMO, Rondo has been the single biggest point of discussion in regards to individual players.

MikeDfromNP, where are you? 

I completely agree with this. Yes, there are threads in support of Rondo, but I think there's easily far more negative threads on him than positive ones.

[2short]

OK, here is my problem.  Why do we need to compare Rondo against the horrendous PGs we have seen in the past?  He is supposed to be the future of the franchise, and the next great player.  So, I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting him to become a more complete player, as he will need to continue to improve if he really is going to lead this team going forward.

Furthermore, what is the point of posting on a website like this, if we can't nitpick?  It is a very select few who are going over the top.  Most of us are just analyzing his game, and looking for ways that we would like to see improvements for him to go to the next level.  Why is that so wrong?  Personally, I find it a much more interesting conversation than discussing Lebron's ego or something else that really has less influence on the team I love.

Everyone has flaws in their game.  The negative posts about rondo are to the point of foolish.  Trade him for a bad game (for him) etc etc
Ray Allen had a bad game, not hitting many shots at all, never saw anything about trading him.  Yes analyzing someones game is one thing, far too many people don't realize how LUCKY we are to have him, hence pointing out point guards we've had previously.  As far as tommy & cousy liking him, I remember distinctly the first preseason game he played in and they were pretty impressed.

[BballTim]

I think he's "spoiled us with his play" - everyone expects 15+ assists and a near triple double every game. An All-Star 2 years in a row - leading the league in assists this season, in the top 2 in steals, yet he still struggles to get support & respect from some of his own fans...

I don't think this is true at all. I think Rondo gets plenty of credit, we had a stretch where a new thread celebrating him appeared every time he hit a jumper in a big spot.

Expectations are high, because he is an all star, but KG/Pierce/Ray/Davis all get called out in similar fashions when they player poorly.

Rondo & Davis have been much bigger whipping boys than the Big Three. 

They also have much bigger holes in their games than the Big 3 at this point in their careers. 

  Rondo has bigger holes but he also probably does more things well. He's arguably the best or close to the best at his position at almost everything besides free throws and outside shooting.

[Chris]

I think he's "spoiled us with his play" - everyone expects 15+ assists and a near triple double every game. An All-Star 2 years in a row - leading the league in assists this season, in the top 2 in steals, yet he still struggles to get support & respect from some of his own fans...

I don't think this is true at all. I think Rondo gets plenty of credit, we had a stretch where a new thread celebrating him appeared every time he hit a jumper in a big spot.

Expectations are high, because he is an all star, but KG/Pierce/Ray/Davis all get called out in similar fashions when they player poorly.

Rondo & Davis have been much bigger whipping boys than the Big Three. 

They also have much bigger holes in their games than the Big 3 at this point in their careers. 

  Rondo has bigger holes but he also probably does more things well. He's arguably the best or close to the best at his position at almost everything besides free throws and outside shooting.

I would argue that there are also 5 or six better finishers in general, but you are right.

But my point is, Rondo has a couple huge holes in his game that are incredibly easy targets.  So, that makes it something that becomes easy to discuss.

The important thing to realize is that just because we might break down his weaknesses does not mean we miss his strengths, and overall effectiveness.  But I don't think it is wrong to want him to improve on those weaknesses, so he can become even better.

[BballTim]

I think he's "spoiled us with his play" - everyone expects 15+ assists and a near triple double every game. An All-Star 2 years in a row - leading the league in assists this season, in the top 2 in steals, yet he still struggles to get support & respect from some of his own fans...

I don't think this is true at all. I think Rondo gets plenty of credit, we had a stretch where a new thread celebrating him appeared every time he hit a jumper in a big spot.

Expectations are high, because he is an all star, but KG/Pierce/Ray/Davis all get called out in similar fashions when they player poorly.

Rondo & Davis have been much bigger whipping boys than the Big Three. 

They also have much bigger holes in their games than the Big 3 at this point in their careers. 

  Rondo has bigger holes but he also probably does more things well. He's arguably the best or close to the best at his position at almost everything besides free throws and outside shooting.

I would argue that there are also 5 or six better finishers in general, but you are right.

But my point is, Rondo has a couple huge holes in his game that are incredibly easy targets.  So, that makes it something that becomes easy to discuss.

The important thing to realize is that just because we might break down his weaknesses does not mean we miss his strengths, and overall effectiveness.  But I don't think it is wrong to want him to improve on those weaknesses, so he can become even better.

  I agree that Rondo's holes are incredibly easy targets. I think there's a fairly good split on whether people who break down his weaknesses miss his strengths.

[IrishGreen]

In the last two years he's been easily our best post-season player.. Ray Allen was terrible apart from that record breaking game against the Lakers in game 3, after that he didn't hit one three. I could go on about all the players but it's not relevant to the this thread.

When all is said and done,


He has big games when it matters and in all fairness I think I'd prefer this.

[Fafnir]

In the last two years he's been easily our best post-season player.. Ray Allen was terrible apart from that record breaking game against the Lakers in game 3, after that he didn't hit one three. I could go on about all the players but it's not relevant to the this thread.

When all is said and done,


He has big games when it matters and in all fairness I think I'd prefer this.

Ray was huge during the Bulls series two years ago. He and Ben Gordon just kept making big shots for a few of those games.

[IrishGreen]

In the last two years he's been easily our best post-season player.. Ray Allen was terrible apart from that record breaking game against the Lakers in game 3, after that he didn't hit one three. I could go on about all the players but it's not relevant to the this thread.

When all is said and done,


He has big games when it matters and in all fairness I think I'd prefer this.

Ray was huge during the Bulls series two years ago. He and Ben Gordon just kept making big shots for a few of those games.

I can't believe I forgot this, my bad.

[snively]

He's a polarizing player: he has more diehard fans and critics than anyone else on the team. 

I am sure a similar situation is brewing among Minnesota fans with Kevin Love, another one of a kind player with incredible stats and some big holes in his game.

The fans want to be the first to identify a superstar that everyone is late in recognizing (the earliest Rondo fans - Mike was a big advocate from the first, Chris touted him bigtime in the draft - are mostly vindicated here with his consecutive all-star appearances) and the critics are waiting/dreading the consistent exploitation of the Achilles' heel, leaving the star exposed as a glorified role player.

[TheSpiral]

I could never complain about Rondo!  He's a very large part of the reason I got into the world of Celtics basketball, and also my favorite player on any team, ever.  Not because he's particularly the best ever, but I like his style.  The only thing I can really harp on is that he could stand to improve his shooting substantially, though he is still very young and has a lot of time to improve on that.  Aside from that, though, I haven't seen many players that can read the game as good as Rondo.  He's a very efficient floor general.  Reminds me of a young Jason Kidd, except with even more untapped potential.

Also, Rajon Rondo "liked" one of my Facebook statuses today, which oddly enough was about the 2010 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film, "In a Better World".  Is Rondo a fan of Danish dramas?

[Rondo9dunx]

I've always felt like Rondo and KG are our two best playoff players. I mean Rondo has single-handedly thrown the team on his back way more times than PP or Ray have in the last few years. Not to take anything away from what Paul and Ray have done, dont get me wrong I love them too, but Rondo really takes it to another level in the playoffs, all the cocky crap and laziness goes away and he gives 100% effort on every play. He kills teams with the way he plays, he comes up with huge steals when it matters, in ways that really make the other player look stupid. When he ball fakes these guys and they jump 5 feet in the wrong direction that screws them up for the next 20 minutes. He's really good at getting into peoples heads. And he really can be very clutch scoring at the end of games and end of shot clocks. Remember the tip-in last year with 0.6 on the clock to tie vs miami? Or the crazy three-pointer he hit right before Artest came back with the dagger?