So, everybody still in love with Rondo???

[dysgenic]

Rondo is a great player, but his decision making recently has consistenly sucked.  Usually, his decision making only ocassionally sucks.

Not taking a fastbreak layup in the open court in the 4th quarter of a close game= bad decision.
Gambling too much on defense to get steals instead of moving his feet like he is capable of= bad decision.
Making high degree of difficulty flashy passes in situations that don't require this type of pass= bad decision.
Taking jumpshots in the 4th quarter of close games early in the shot clock when he is a poor jumpshooter= bad decision.
Taking much too long to get into offensive sets and wasting the majority of the shot clock= bad decision.
Taking a tough floater at the end of a 4th quarter of a close game when you are 2-11= bad decision.

I don't know if these bad decisions are the result of a bad attitude or laziness, and I don't care.  It's irrelevant to me.

As much as I am bashing the guy, I believe that he will come out of this and start playing better.  I have confidence in the guy.
But I do feel more comfortable having Delonte around, because if he plays like this in the playoffs he'll get benched by Doc and rightfully so.

[kozlodoev]

Not getting his shot horribly blocked by the 2 defenders sprinting back in the 4th quarter of a close game = good decision.

Here, fixed that for you.

There were plenty of bad decisions by Rondo in said game (and said quarter). Not this one, though.

[BballTim]

Rondo is a great player, but his decision making recently has consistenly sucked.  Usually, his decision making only ocassionally sucks.

Not taking a fastbreak layup in the open court in the 4th quarter of a close game= bad decision.
Gambling too much on defense to get steals instead of moving his feet like he is capable of= bad decision.
Making high degree of difficulty flashy passes in situations that don't require this type of pass= bad decision.
Taking jumpshots in the 4th quarter of close games early in the shot clock when he is a poor jumpshooter= bad decision.
Taking much too long to get into offensive sets and wasting the majority of the shot clock= bad decision.
Taking a tough floater at the end of a 4th quarter of a close game when you are 2-11= bad decision.

I don't know if these bad decisions are the result of a bad attitude or laziness, and I don't care.  It's irrelevant to me.

As much as I am bashing the guy, I believe that he will come out of this and start playing better.  I have confidence in the guy.
But I do feel more comfortable having Delonte around, because if he plays like this in the playoffs he'll get benched by Doc and rightfully so.

  We have a dozen or so games left. Divide whatever the number is by three and use than number of games to watch for mistakes from one of the big three. If you can't come up with an equally long list of bad decisions using the same standards it's because you aren't trying. You can do the same with almost any player in the league. Should have passed instead of shooting here, shouldn't have shot there, got beat by his man on occasion, turned the ball over a few times. If you think Rondo's the only one making mistakes or he's one of the biggest transgressors you're not paying attention.

[CoachBo]

Rondo is a great player, but his decision making recently has consistenly sucked.  Usually, his decision making only ocassionally sucks.

Not taking a fastbreak layup in the open court in the 4th quarter of a close game= bad decision.
Gambling too much on defense to get steals instead of moving his feet like he is capable of= bad decision.
Making high degree of difficulty flashy passes in situations that don't require this type of pass= bad decision.
Taking jumpshots in the 4th quarter of close games early in the shot clock when he is a poor jumpshooter= bad decision.
Taking much too long to get into offensive sets and wasting the majority of the shot clock= bad decision.
Taking a tough floater at the end of a 4th quarter of a close game when you are 2-11= bad decision.

I don't know if these bad decisions are the result of a bad attitude or laziness, and I don't care.  It's irrelevant to me.

As much as I am bashing the guy, I believe that he will come out of this and start playing better.  I have confidence in the guy.
But I do feel more comfortable having Delonte around, because if he plays like this in the playoffs he'll get benched by Doc and rightfully so.

TP. Good analysis, and one I generally share. Don't sweat the comparative lists of errors, because comparing Garnett's with Rondo's is apples to oranges. Rondo's job is to control and distribute the basketball to the others, totally different than the Big Three.

It would be interesting to sit Rondo down and pick his brain. From the outside observing his play, he seems to labor with his attention span. There are some games, some opponents, some situations in which he's totally engaged and will generally carry out his strengths - attacking with the basketball, keeping it moving, staying in front of his man, crashing the glass to rebound, steals, etc.

And there are others where he appears disinterested, or perhaps bored - stopping the ball by pounding it at the top of the key, half-heartedly facing picks, playing defense from behind, choosing inexplicable times to shoot.

In a nutshell, I still see the same inconsistent player that I've always seen. When Rondo is engaged, he can be great. When he's not, he's decidedly ordinary.

And therein lies the frustration. I remember decades ago watching Havlicek play 40 minutes totally balls out in an exhibition game against a horrible Kings team. That's the contrast, and it's a frustrating one. Rondo will be as great a point guard as he wants to be. It's the latter issue that concerns me right now.

The good news is that the playoff stage has engaged him in past years. One would hope that the trade isn't a factor in his seeming recent disinterest, because if it is and continues to be, the issue of a trade begins to gather steam, IMHO.

[dysgenic]

  

We have a dozen or so games left. Divide whatever the number is by three and use than number of games to watch for mistakes from one of the big three. If you can't come up with an equally long list of bad decisions using the same standards it's because you aren't trying. You can do the same with almost any player in the league. Should have passed instead of shooting here, shouldn't have shot there, got beat by his man on occasion, turned the ball over a few times. If you think Rondo's the only one making mistakes or he's one of the biggest transgressors you're not paying attention.

Never did I say that Rondo is the only player that makes bad decisions.  What I did say, and I stand by it, is that lately Rondo's decision making has consistently sucked.  That statement is by no means true of Pierce, KG, Ray, or any other player on the team save maybe Kristich.
By the way it's a ridiculous argument to say that because every player in the league makes mistakes, that I shouldn't criticize Rondo. That may be true but it doesn't excuse the amount of inordinate poor decisions that Rondo has been making recently.
Again, as I said before, I believe he is a great player and he will come out of this.

[nickagneta]

Rondo is a great player, but his decision making recently has consistenly sucked.  Usually, his decision making only ocassionally sucks.

Not taking a fastbreak layup in the open court in the 4th quarter of a close game= bad decision.
Gambling too much on defense to get steals instead of moving his feet like he is capable of= bad decision.
Making high degree of difficulty flashy passes in situations that don't require this type of pass= bad decision.
Taking jumpshots in the 4th quarter of close games early in the shot clock when he is a poor jumpshooter= bad decision.
Taking much too long to get into offensive sets and wasting the majority of the shot clock= bad decision.
Taking a tough floater at the end of a 4th quarter of a close game when you are 2-11= bad decision.

I don't know if these bad decisions are the result of a bad attitude or laziness, and I don't care.  It's irrelevant to me.

As much as I am bashing the guy, I believe that he will come out of this and start playing better.  I have confidence in the guy.
But I do feel more comfortable having Delonte around, because if he plays like this in the playoffs he'll get benched by Doc and rightfully so.

TP. Good analysis, and one I generally share. Don't sweat the comparative lists of errors, because comparing Garnett's with Rondo's is apples to oranges. Rondo's job is to control and distribute the basketball to the others, totally different than the Big Three.

It would be interesting to sit Rondo down and pick his brain. From the outside observing his play, he seems to labor with his attention span. There are some games, some opponents, some situations in which he's totally engaged and will generally carry out his strengths - attacking with the basketball, keeping it moving, staying in front of his man, crashing the glass to rebound, steals, etc.

And there are others where he appears disinterested, or perhaps bored - stopping the ball by pounding it at the top of the key, half-heartedly facing picks, playing defense from behind, choosing inexplicable times to shoot.

In a nutshell, I still see the same inconsistent player that I've always seen. When Rondo is engaged, he can be great. When he's not, he's decidedly ordinary.

The good news is that the playoff stage has engaged him in past years. One would hope that the trade isn't a factor in his seeming recent disinterest, because if it is and continues to be, the issue of a trade begins to gather steam, IMHO.

By the same token, I have seen a guy with ice bags on several areas of his body during the last month or so during games and a team that has shown a tremendous lack of off the ball movement in the offensive end recently. Rondo I am sure is nursing several nagging injuries and is trying to play through them and I think the team as a whole is looking for a hot hand to carry them offensively and not moving nearly as well in the offensive end. There's lots of one pass and shoot offense and general lack of movement off the ball.

I am not saying Rondo hasn't been playing less than stellar recently, he has. But so has much of the team and the team as a whole looks rather listless and bored like they are trying to conserve themselves for what's to come.

[CoachBo]

There isn't a player in the league who isn't nicked up at this point in the season, Nick.

 

The successful teams have players who play through nagging injuries. From where I sit, that's an excuse for Rondo's bad month, not an explanation.

He's just not totally engaged. Why that is is impossible to say, but given the too-infrequent spurts of quality play from him in recent games, I'm pretty confident that injuries aren't the problem.

[RJ87]

This thread is already funny, but it's really gonna be a hoot when he resumes his triple double ways when the playoffs start.

[fairweatherfan]

This thread is already funny, but it's really gonna be a hoot when he resumes his triple double ways when the playoffs start.

Your signature is a perfect complement to both your post and this thread.  TP. 

As for Rondo, love him or hate him, we need him.  Like several other players on the team, we don't get a ring without Rondo being effective.  Well, "we" don't get a ring regardless, but you know what I mean.  I think he'll ramp it up when the playoffs come around.

[CoachBo]

  

We have a dozen or so games left. Divide whatever the number is by three and use than number of games to watch for mistakes from one of the big three. If you can't come up with an equally long list of bad decisions using the same standards it's because you aren't trying. You can do the same with almost any player in the league. Should have passed instead of shooting here, shouldn't have shot there, got beat by his man on occasion, turned the ball over a few times. If you think Rondo's the only one making mistakes or he's one of the biggest transgressors you're not paying attention.

Never did I say that Rondo is the only player that makes bad decisions.  What I did say, and I stand by it, is that lately Rondo's decision making has consistently sucked.  That statement is by no means true of Pierce, KG, Ray, or any other player on the team save maybe Kristich.
By the way it's a ridiculous argument to say that because every player in the league makes mistakes, that I shouldn't criticize Rondo. That may be true but it doesn't excuse the amount of inordinate poor decisions that Rondo has been making recently.
Again, as I said before, I believe he is a great player and he will come out of this.

There are a lot of strawmen in any serious discussion of Rondo. It'll be OK. The playoffs will get his attention and he'll elevate his play - unless this deal's about the trade.

If that's the case ...

[BballTim]

There isn't a player in the league who isn't nicked up at this point in the season, Nick.

 

The successful teams have players who play through nagging injuries. From where I sit, that's an excuse for Rondo's bad month, not an explanation.

He's just not totally engaged. Why that is is impossible to say, but given the too-infrequent spurts of quality play from him in recent games, I'm pretty confident that injuries aren't the problem.

  All players are nicked, and there's no difference in the severity of those nicks, right? And there's no difference in how different injuries affect play. Rondo plays great for long stretches, has a bad spell where he's clearly not moving at full speed, then starts playing better. But it can't be due to health reasons, there have to be some mental issues involved that oddly coincide with his health.

[ejk3489]

There isn't a player in the league who isn't nicked up at this point in the season, Nick.

 

The successful teams have players who play through nagging injuries. From where I sit, that's an excuse for Rondo's bad month, not an explanation.

He's just not totally engaged. Why that is is impossible to say, but given the too-infrequent spurts of quality play from him in recent games, I'm pretty confident that injuries aren't the problem.

What makes you think that plantar fasciitis (a season long injury) and a sprained finger wouldn't impact his game at all? I mean I'm not excusing all of that on Rondo's play for the past weeks (excluding the past 2-3 games where I thought he played well), but it's not unreasonable to think that these injuries would be related to his recent struggles.

[Jaycelt]

...hate to be the kind of guy that says "I told you so."

Well then don't be. Aside from it being against Forum Rules, Rondo played a good game tonight. Yes, the ending possession for him was horrendous, but I am far from disappointed in him tonight. When the C's were down, Rondo was one of two guys (also KG) who kept the Celtics steady in the first half.

Not hating on Rondo at all tonight. Shouldn't have come down to that last possession.

He got the ball in the wrong people's hands all night long, and was our leading turnover guy. He couldn't handle the ball cleanly all night. Let TA take it from him and dunk in our faces. He is playing sloppy ball and deserves more blame tonight than about anyone. HE stuck that ball in BBD's hands. HE threw that garbage floater down one with Ray wide open on the wing for three. HE is playing awful. Not sure what PG you are watching, but the guy needs an attitude check because he is playing like a chump.

What he said. 

[Jaycelt]

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.

What I read was that the play was for either Ray or Paul, whichever got open. Ray was most certainly in the picture. 

[PosImpos]

I can tell you for sure that I'm not in love with this version of Rondo that is shooting 34% in this month.