So, everybody still in love with Rondo???

[18isGREATERthan72]

Let me start by saying I LOVE Rajon.  One of my favorite players on the team.  However, I definitely agree he made some boneheaded plays down the stretch.  The floater he attempted, I called that as soon as I saw him running up the court of the defensive rebound.  I remembered thinking "Oh, Rondo got his 10th assist, he'll probably try and get the triple double now" and sure enough, the guy who almost NEVER shoots, takes a floater in the lane with a player open, and time left on the shot clock...

I'm not going to give him a hard time, because ALL last season, our team slept walked through the regular season, so I can see a mindset of "games not mattering as much" sinking in with some players...  But I'd be foolish to say that Rondo doesn't pay attention to his stats.  He knew he was close to the triple double, which is I'm guessing why he took that ill advised shot, even if it could have been to the detriment of the team.

He IS selfish, because he wants to get the assists.  It's hard to think of assists as being selfish, but when it gets to the point of the offense getting stale, and missing out on easy fast break buckets, then yes, it is selfish.  I don't mind him getting assists in the half court, and even in some fast break opportunities when passing it up is the better option.  But the video that was posted is a good example of when he should NOT be going for the assist.

The only stat that you can really go for that isn't "selfish" is rebounding.  Go after all the boards you want defensively... Just don't miss out on defensive rotations, and boxing out when you do this.

In closing, we probably wouldn't have even been in this game if it weren't for Rondo's effort.  I think he's been playing a little better the last 2 games as well.

[BballTim]

Let me start by saying I LOVE Rajon.  One of my favorite players on the team.  However, I definitely agree he made some boneheaded plays down the stretch.  The floater he attempted, I called that as soon as I saw him running up the court of the defensive rebound.  I remembered thinking "Oh, Rondo got his 10th assist, he'll probably try and get the triple double now" and sure enough, the guy who almost NEVER shoots, takes a floater in the lane with a player open, and time left on the shot clock...

  So Rondo gets the ball with the Celts down 1 with 20 seconds left and his only thought is getting a triple double? Not only that, but he's *four* points short. If he makes the basket, what then? Memphis would probably hold the ball for the last shot. Was he going to intentionally foul someone and put them on the line so that after they RETOOK THE LEAD he was going to shoot again? That's what you think he was trying to do? Wow.

  Oh, and the guy who almost NEVER shoots averages about 10 shots a game.

[18isGREATERthan72]

Let me start by saying I LOVE Rajon.  One of my favorite players on the team.  However, I definitely agree he made some boneheaded plays down the stretch.  The floater he attempted, I called that as soon as I saw him running up the court of the defensive rebound.  I remembered thinking "Oh, Rondo got his 10th assist, he'll probably try and get the triple double now" and sure enough, the guy who almost NEVER shoots, takes a floater in the lane with a player open, and time left on the shot clock...

  So Rondo gets the ball with the Celts down 1 with 20 seconds left and his only thought is getting a triple double? Not only that, but he's *four* points short. If he makes the basket, what then? Memphis would probably hold the ball for the last shot. Was he going to intentionally foul someone and put them on the line so that after they RETOOK THE LEAD he was going to shoot again? That's what you think he was trying to do? Wow.

  Oh, and the guy who almost NEVER shoots averages about 10 shots a game.

Yeah, the guy who passes up OPEN layups.  That guy.  He'll pass up a wide open layup, but will take a random shot early in the shot clock.  That guy.

Also, I was unaware of exactly how many points Rondo had in the 4 second period between him getting that defensive rebound and running up the court to take a floater.  All I know is Mike had said he had gotten his 10th rebound, and I knew he had scored a few points already, and would probably take a shot.  Whether you think that's strange or not is irrelevant, because he did take a shot.

[fairweatherfan]

Let me start by saying I LOVE Rajon.  One of my favorite players on the team.  However, I definitely agree he made some boneheaded plays down the stretch.  The floater he attempted, I called that as soon as I saw him running up the court of the defensive rebound.  I remembered thinking "Oh, Rondo got his 10th assist, he'll probably try and get the triple double now" and sure enough, the guy who almost NEVER shoots, takes a floater in the lane with a player open, and time left on the shot clock...

  So Rondo gets the ball with the Celts down 1 with 20 seconds left and his only thought is getting a triple double? Not only that, but he's *four* points short. If he makes the basket, what then? Memphis would probably hold the ball for the last shot. Was he going to intentionally foul someone and put them on the line so that after they RETOOK THE LEAD he was going to shoot again? That's what you think he was trying to do? Wow.

  Oh, and the guy who almost NEVER shoots averages about 10 shots a game.

Yeah, the guy who passes up OPEN layups.  That guy.  He'll pass up a wide open layup, but will take a random shot early in the shot clock.  That guy.

Also, I was unaware of exactly how many points Rondo had in the 4 second period between him getting that defensive rebound and running up the court to take a floater.  All I know is Mike had said he had gotten his 10th rebound, and I knew he had scored a few points already, and would probably take a shot.  Whether you think that's strange or not is irrelevant, because he did take a shot.

Thinking "Rondo will shoot to try and get a triple-double" and then seeing him shoot isn't the same as proving "Rondo shot to get a triple-double".  With that logic you could just as easily "know" that Rondo took the shot because he's depressed about Perk, or because he hates Paul Pierce, or because his socks are too tight.

Not that that wasn't a lousy shot, though.

[BballTim]

Let me start by saying I LOVE Rajon.  One of my favorite players on the team.  However, I definitely agree he made some boneheaded plays down the stretch.  The floater he attempted, I called that as soon as I saw him running up the court of the defensive rebound.  I remembered thinking "Oh, Rondo got his 10th assist, he'll probably try and get the triple double now" and sure enough, the guy who almost NEVER shoots, takes a floater in the lane with a player open, and time left on the shot clock...

  So Rondo gets the ball with the Celts down 1 with 20 seconds left and his only thought is getting a triple double? Not only that, but he's *four* points short. If he makes the basket, what then? Memphis would probably hold the ball for the last shot. Was he going to intentionally foul someone and put them on the line so that after they RETOOK THE LEAD he was going to shoot again? That's what you think he was trying to do? Wow.

  Oh, and the guy who almost NEVER shoots averages about 10 shots a game.

Yeah, the guy who passes up OPEN layups.  That guy.  He'll pass up a wide open layup, but will take a random shot early in the shot clock.  That guy.

Also, I was unaware of exactly how many points Rondo had in the 4 second period between him getting that defensive rebound and running up the court to take a floater.  All I know is Mike had said he had gotten his 10th rebound, and I knew he had scored a few points already, and would probably take a shot.  Whether you think that's strange or not is irrelevant, because he did take a shot.

  So let me get this straight. You thought Rondo was going to shoot to try and get a triple double because you don't know how many points he scored. You later figure out that he didn't have enough points to give him a realistic shot at a triple double even if he made that shot. But you still claim that's the reason he shot? Haha.

  And, again, the fact that Rondo (like PP/KG/RA) occasionally passes up open shots to get someone else a shot doesn't mean that he NEVER shoots the ball. What about the shots he took early in the game? Were those somehow taken in case he gets close to a triple double?

[greenhead85]

Still in love with Rondo. However, I would love him more to lead the second unit with Sasha, Green, Troy and BBD.

Start Delonte for the rest of the games left in the regular season. That gives us more offensive options from the start. Delonte did well as Lebron's PG in Cleveland so I guess he'll perform well.

[moiso]

He looked far more athletic in the last two games.  I loved that dunk attempt.  I almost forgot he could do that, it's been so long.  He had some great rebounds and bounce passes.

But I agree with the poster who said it's kind of strange that he passes up open layups but seems to look for his own shot at wierd times.  Not sure what that is all about.  That "standing runner" at the end of last night's game was wierd.  He has also pounded the ball and taken a lot of long jumpers and threes in crunch time moments lately.  It's just strange that it's the same guy who doesn't want to take open layups sometimes.

Still, I'm glad he's on the way back and I've been happy with him the last few games.

[European NBA fan]

As you can see in this breakdown, the problem wasn't Rondo taking that floater, but rather that there wasn't another option. Actually it was quite a smart thing to do, since there was time to foul and get another chance (the C's were only down by one). If anything it is on Doc for not calling the timeout.

Anyway - the real problem was getting in that position, being behind in the final minute.

As for starting Delonte: He is not nearly as talented as Rondo. He is a better shooter, but that's all. That doesn't mean that he can't have games where he is the better player.

[CoachBo]

The sudden panic about Rondo is amusing. This is what he is: Flashes of brilliance, followed by stretches of inexplicably odd decisions with the basketball.

He is what he is: A player acutely limited as a shooter with incredible talent that he chooses not to employ consistently.

Those of you who want to bench him better warm up the bus: Anyone like the matchup of Rondo against Rose?

[2short]

are we supposed to vote?
yes
just waiting for all celtics to be hitting shots
lots of easy ones missed by all
wait this is supposed to be ANOTHER start arroyo  over rondo because HE is what is wrong with team
long sigh.......................

[EJPLAYA]

As you can see in this breakdown, the problem wasn't Rondo taking that floater, but rather that there wasn't another option. Actually it was quite a smart thing to do, since there was time to foul and get another chance (the C's were only down by one). If anything it is on Doc for not calling the timeout.

Anyway - the real problem was getting in that position, being behind in the final minute.

As for starting Delonte: He is not nearly as talented as Rondo. He is a better shooter, but that's all. That doesn't mean that he can't have games where he is the better player.

Absolutely wrong. Ray was wide open on the wing on that play he took that floater. In fact, Ray started lifting his hands up knowing the ball was going to be swung to him. Or should have been at least. Ray was curling open on the last one where he stupidly gave the ball to BBD.

[kozlodoev]

He looked far more athletic in the last two games.  I loved that dunk attempt.  I almost forgot he could do that, it's been so long.  He had some great rebounds and bounce passes.

But I agree with the poster who said it's kind of strange that he passes up open layups but seems to look for his own shot at wierd times.  Not sure what that is all about.  That "standing runner" at the end of last night's game was wierd.  He has also pounded the ball and taken a lot of long jumpers and threes in crunch time moments lately.  It's just strange that it's the same guy who doesn't want to take open layups sometimes.

Still, I'm glad he's on the way back and I've been happy with him the last few games.

Rondo's poor performance has nothing to do with the runner. In the middle of the second quarter, there was a prolonged period of time when we were down by 1, got stops on the defensive end, but were unable to make any headway because there we botched offensive possession after offensive possession. I thought Rondo was responsible for most of the offensive failure during that time, either by being too hasty or by dribbling the ball for 14 seconds before initiating anything.

[kozlodoev]

Ray was curling open on the last one where he stupidly gave the ball to BBD.

That play was designed for Pierce, who failed to get open. Ray wasn't even in the picture. Being able to get a shot out of it was actually pretty good.

[BballTim]

He looked far more athletic in the last two games.  I loved that dunk attempt.  I almost forgot he could do that, it's been so long.  He had some great rebounds and bounce passes.

But I agree with the poster who said it's kind of strange that he passes up open layups but seems to look for his own shot at wierd times.  Not sure what that is all about.  That "standing runner" at the end of last night's game was wierd.  He has also pounded the ball and taken a lot of long jumpers and threes in crunch time moments lately.  It's just strange that it's the same guy who doesn't want to take open layups sometimes.

Still, I'm glad he's on the way back and I've been happy with him the last few games.

Rondo's poor performance has nothing to do with the runner. In the middle of the second quarter, there was a prolonged period of time when we were down by 1, got stops on the defensive end, but were unable to make any headway because there we botched offensive possession after offensive possession. I thought Rondo was responsible for most of the offensive failure during that time, either by being too hasty or by dribbling the ball for 14 seconds before initiating anything.

  Rondo came in in the 2nd quarter with the Celts down 7. Ray hit a three to get them with 2 and then they had a shot clock violation but they scored on their next 5 possessions.

[BballTim]

Still in love with Rondo. However, I would love him more to lead the second unit with Sasha, Green, Troy and BBD.

Start Delonte for the rest of the games left in the regular season. That gives us more offensive options from the start. Delonte did well as Lebron's PG in Cleveland so I guess he'll perform well.

  Aside from the fact that Mo Williams was generally LeBron's point guard and Delonte was a mainly a sg, being LeBron's pg means not having to handle the ball or initiate the offense. The Celts need more than that from the spot.