Can we officially say Rondo will never be able to shoot?

[IrishGreen]

I seem to remember the same said about John Stockton..

[18isGREATERthan72]

Let us also forget that around this time every season, Rondo hits a slump, and people start questioning how good he is, and then the playoffs roll around, and he unleashes the beast within.

Let us also forget the clutch offensive rebound, and turnaround 3 pointer in game 7 that Rondo sunk after Ray Allen bricked a 3, that gave us even a small chance of pulling that game out.

Rondo has been known to be "clutch"

[PosImpos]

I don't know about that, but I think it's safe to say that Rondo is a very limited offensive player at this point in his career.

[radiohead]

I think this so called "slump" is more mental than anything. Rondo's play as of late has been below par, and clearly something has been bothering him. Down 7 with 35 ticks and he was taking his time, even the announcer noticed it. He could be bored, he could be tired, or maybe he hasn't gotten over the Perk trade yet. Whatever it is, he should fix it soon because we are now tied at the loss column with the Bulls. Even in yesterdays lopsided win, his stats weren't all that impressive. He definitely needs to have a solid breakout game to get him out of this funk and I hope it happens sooner than later.

[tenn_smoothie]

Yes, some people will call me crazy.  Oddly, others will call me out for stating the obvious.

But I've seen this happen in a lot of players careers.  They work like heck to improve weakness.  And I don't mean a small one but a huge weakness.  They experience intial improvement but eventually, they are what they are.  They regress. 

For the last couple of months has been out and out awful.  I've said this many times and nothing I have seen changes my mind.  This kid, while a unique talent, simply doesn't have it in him to become even an average shooter.  He is what it is.

he'll never be a good shooter simply because of his shooting form, which is awful.

but Rondo ain't right in the head after the Perk trade, whether you like it or not or whether you think he ought to grow up and get over it, or whatever other unrealistic demands you have on the kid.

[incoherent]

Rondo will be Rondo in the playoffs... I hope.

[zerophase]

wasn't there a lot of controversy about yi's age from china? whether he was 18 or ... well 25? well the main point was that when you're 18 you have a lot of potential and when your 25... you've been playing basketball for long enough that you are what you are. well isn't that the situation with rondo? i agree that i don't think he'll ever be able to shoot...

[jambr380]

I agree with both sides to some extent. He will obviously never be a natural shooter like Ray Allen - that ship has already passed. But, he could be something like Baby, who has obviously learned to shoot a midrange jumper with decent consistency. He never looks comfortable or smooth in his jumper, but he is very regimented and 'ready' to shoot it.

I also agree that it must be mental. He seems to be able to shoot it before games and in practice, but freaks out in game situations. I hope he doesn't turn into Nick Anderson, although he at least offers a lot of other aspects to the game.

[Marcus13]

I think he'll improve it a little more, but he's never going to be a shooter by any means

[zerophase]

a lot of people were comparing rondo's shooting to tony parker's shooting... even the percentages were similar for some seasons. but letme tell you, parker can hit mid range shots and 3's and has gone off and scored 50+ before... rondo never will.

[BC1996]

Rondo has definitely struggled to improve his consistency but I think it's important to consider volume in the equation.  Rondo has had to work extremely hard just to become an average shooter, so it's safe to say that he won’t be a consistently reliable shooter.  However, imagine how difficult it is to develop any sort of rhythm when you're taking such a small number of jump shots?   

I don't think we can properly quantify improvement until there's a new era of Celtics basketball.  Once the majority of the big three are gone then Rondo will have to carry more of the scoring load.  Obviously he won’t ever be attempting 16+ shots per game, but I fully expect the midrange game to become more relevant when there is less talent surrounding him. 

Right now the midrange jumper just isn’t a natural element of his game.  Regardless of the fact that Doc wants him to shoot more, Rondo is always going to be more comfortable deferring to his teammates.  He has stretches where his confidence level rises, but he’s not in a position where his scoring is essential to team success on a consistent basis.   

[RJ87]

Can we officially say Rondo will never be able to shoot? It depends on what your expectations of him were in the first place.

I think a lot of people believed Rondo could be Ray Allen-esque. I can't count how many times I've seen a post saying "how can a guy on the same team as Ray Allen shoot like that?"... Well, those people were setting themselves up for disappointment from the beginning. Rondo will probably never be a sniper or a deadly 3-pt threat.

Me - I've always thought Rondo could grow to hit that 15-18 ft jumper with a nice amount of consistency, enough to make defenses play him honestly. I still think he can. Why? Because his jumper has improved immensely from his rookie season. In that respect, I'm happy with his growth and think he'll continue to improved in that area.

[PosImpos]

a lot of people were comparing rondo's shooting to tony parker's shooting... even the percentages were similar for some seasons. but letme tell you, parker can hit mid range shots and 3's and has gone off and scored 50+ before... rondo never will.

Yeah, Rondo is a lot more like Andre Miller in that sense than Tony Parker (although even Andre has managed to score 52).

[Megatron]

Rondo should be embarassed.

Hes an NBA player that routinely airballs wide open jump shots.

[Green Hell]

Remember that time Rondo hit 22 threes in a row? Yeah, neither does anyone else.