Can we now admit Rondo is the MVP of this team?

[Celtics/Run]

Every poor game he has is an automatic loss and at his best anyone will be destroyed. There isn't a single player in this league with that much control over a team. Perk doesn't exist compared to a motivated Rondo. When you attack Rajon you are attacking the single most important piece on this team. Remember that next time.

[PosImpos]

Yeah, he is, and we're in trouble.  Rondo has been BAD lately.  Even when he's good, he's very limited.  I'm not convinced a team with Rondo as its MVP can win a title.

[KungPoweChicken]

Every poor game he has is an automatic loss and at his best anyone will be destroyed. There isn't a single player in this league with that much control over a team. Perk doesn't exist compared to a motivated Rondo. When you attack Rajon you are attacking the single most important piece on this team. Remember that next time.

The same can be said for any starter on the Celtics if he decided to not show up for two months. Having Rondo out on the floor at this point is like playing 4 on 5. If any of the big three put the minimal effort Rondo is putting into games right now, the Celtics would lose. But the big three have a little more class, mental toughness, and respect for the game to do that.

[mmbaby]

Good post, TP. I totally agree Rhondo is amazing. There's just something wrong now and none of us know what it is. I have faith he'll be back to his true form by the playoffs.

[Celtics/Run]

Yeah, he is, and we're in trouble.  Rondo has been BAD lately.  Even when he's good, he's very limited.  I'm not convinced a team with Rondo as its MVP can win a title.

They were a pathetic Ray Allen away from winning the title with Rondo as finals MVP.

[mmbaby]

I thought this also in the final game. But don't think of Ray as pathetic, but rather on or off.

[KungPoweChicken]

Yeah, he is, and we're in trouble.  Rondo has been BAD lately.  Even when he's good, he's very limited.  I'm not convinced a team with Rondo as its MVP can win a title.

They were a pathetic Ray Allen away from winning the title with Rondo as finals MVP.

A pathetic Ray Allen? Ray Allen pretty much single-handedly won a finals game all by himself. How quickly we forget.

[Celtics/Run]

Yeah, he is, and we're in trouble.  Rondo has been BAD lately.  Even when he's good, he's very limited.  I'm not convinced a team with Rondo as its MVP can win a title.

They were a pathetic Ray Allen away from winning the title with Rondo as finals MVP.

He fell off the map after that game and he is slumping right now ever since his wife and her cooking show.

A pathetic Ray Allen? Ray Allen pretty much single-handedly won a finals game all by himself. How quickly we forget.

[PosImpos]

Yeah, he is, and we're in trouble.  Rondo has been BAD lately.  Even when he's good, he's very limited.  I'm not convinced a team with Rondo as its MVP can win a title.

They were a pathetic Ray Allen away from winning the title with Rondo as finals MVP.

They were a decent rebounding front court and a crunch-time offense that can actually score away from winning it all with probably Paul getting finals MVP.  If you'll recall, Rondo only actually had one or two really solid games in the Finals because he burnt himself out carrying the team through the 2nd round (and the ECF).

That's my point, really.  Even when he's playing his best, Rondo can only sustain that kind of play for short periods of time.  He doesn't have the stamina to carry a team over a long period (even for more than a series or two) because it requires so much sacrifice of his body to carry the team. 

He doesn't have the strength or size of a player like Wade, Westbrook, or Rose or the offensive skills of a player like Chris Paul, Deron Williams, or Steve Nash to consistently dominate without totally sacrificing his body.

[PosImpos]

Yeah, he is, and we're in trouble.  Rondo has been BAD lately.  Even when he's good, he's very limited.  I'm not convinced a team with Rondo as its MVP can win a title.

They were a pathetic Ray Allen away from winning the title with Rondo as finals MVP.

A pathetic Ray Allen? Ray Allen pretty much single-handedly won a finals game all by himself. How quickly we forget.

Aside from that one game Ray Allen was pretty pathetic in the finals . . . he started playing really poorly after he got elbowed in the thigh by Artest, if I recall correctly.

[Celtics/Run]

Yeah, he is, and we're in trouble.  Rondo has been BAD lately.  Even when he's good, he's very limited.  I'm not convinced a team with Rondo as its MVP can win a title.

They were a pathetic Ray Allen away from winning the title with Rondo as finals MVP.

They were a decent rebounding front court and a crunch-time offense that can actually score away from winning it all with probably Paul getting finals MVP.  If you'll recall, Rondo only actually had one or two really solid games in the Finals because he burnt himself out carrying the team through the 2nd round (and the ECF).

That's my point, really.  Even when he's playing his best, Rondo can only sustain that kind of play for short periods of time.  He doesn't have the stamina to carry a team over a long period (even for more than a series or two) because it requires so much sacrifice of his body to carry the team. 

He doesn't have the strength or size of a player like Wade, Westbrook, or Rose or the offensive skills of a player like Chris Paul, Deron Williams, or Steve Nash to consistently dominate without totally sacrificing his body.

Rondo clearly won two playoff series. That is sustained play at it's finest.

[PosImpos]

Yeah, he is, and we're in trouble.  Rondo has been BAD lately.  Even when he's good, he's very limited.  I'm not convinced a team with Rondo as its MVP can win a title.

They were a pathetic Ray Allen away from winning the title with Rondo as finals MVP.

They were a decent rebounding front court and a crunch-time offense that can actually score away from winning it all with probably Paul getting finals MVP.  If you'll recall, Rondo only actually had one or two really solid games in the Finals because he burnt himself out carrying the team through the 2nd round (and the ECF).

That's my point, really.  Even when he's playing his best, Rondo can only sustain that kind of play for short periods of time.  He doesn't have the stamina to carry a team over a long period (even for more than a series or two) because it requires so much sacrifice of his body to carry the team. 

He doesn't have the strength or size of a player like Wade, Westbrook, or Rose or the offensive skills of a player like Chris Paul, Deron Williams, or Steve Nash to consistently dominate without totally sacrificing his body.

Rondo clearly won two playoff series. That is sustained play at it's finest.

Sustained for two series.  He can't carry a team throughout the playoffs . . . and that's probably what would be needed for this team to win a championship.

He also can't carry a team through the regular season, by the way, which is why our team is faltering down the stretch while the Bulls are chugging forward at a good pace.

[Celtics/Run]

Yeah, he is, and we're in trouble.  Rondo has been BAD lately.  Even when he's good, he's very limited.  I'm not convinced a team with Rondo as its MVP can win a title.

They were a pathetic Ray Allen away from winning the title with Rondo as finals MVP.

They were a decent rebounding front court and a crunch-time offense that can actually score away from winning it all with probably Paul getting finals MVP.  If you'll recall, Rondo only actually had one or two really solid games in the Finals because he burnt himself out carrying the team through the 2nd round (and the ECF).

That's my point, really.  Even when he's playing his best, Rondo can only sustain that kind of play for short periods of time.  He doesn't have the stamina to carry a team over a long period (even for more than a series or two) because it requires so much sacrifice of his body to carry the team. 

He doesn't have the strength or size of a player like Wade, Westbrook, or Rose or the offensive skills of a player like Chris Paul, Deron Williams, or Steve Nash to consistently dominate without totally sacrificing his body.

Rondo clearly won two playoff series. That is sustained play at it's finest.

Sustained for two series.  He can't carry a team throughout the playoffs . . . and that's probably what would be needed for this team to win a championship.

He also can't carry a team through the regular season, by the way, which is why our team is faltering down the stretch while the Bulls are chugging forward at a good pace.

Rebounding is carrying the Bulls right now and for most of the season. The Celtics don't reinforce rebounding.

[ejk3489]

Yeah, he is, and we're in trouble.  Rondo has been BAD lately.  Even when he's good, he's very limited.  I'm not convinced a team with Rondo as its MVP can win a title.

They were a pathetic Ray Allen away from winning the title with Rondo as finals MVP.

They were a decent rebounding front court and a crunch-time offense that can actually score away from winning it all with probably Paul getting finals MVP.  If you'll recall, Rondo only actually had one or two really solid games in the Finals because he burnt himself out carrying the team through the 2nd round (and the ECF).

That's my point, really.  Even when he's playing his best, Rondo can only sustain that kind of play for short periods of time.  He doesn't have the stamina to carry a team over a long period (even for more than a series or two) because it requires so much sacrifice of his body to carry the team. 

He doesn't have the strength or size of a player like Wade, Westbrook, or Rose or the offensive skills of a player like Chris Paul, Deron Williams, or Steve Nash to consistently dominate without totally sacrificing his body.

Rondo clearly won two playoff series. That is sustained play at it's finest.

Sustained for two series.  He can't carry a team throughout the playoffs . . . and that's probably what would be needed for this team to win a championship.

He also can't carry a team through the regular season, by the way, which is why our team is faltering down the stretch while the Bulls are chugging forward at a good pace.

I don't think Rondo needs to carry the team for us to be successful in the playoffs. Not one player can do that...no, not even Lebron. He just needs to get back to what he was doing in the beginning/middle of the season, on top of at least 2 of the Big 3 playing at a high level.

Last year we had a one-legged KG and made it to the finals. I see no reason why a much improved Garnett, plus Ray/Pierce who are having very efficient seasons, and Rondo, can't win multiple playoff series.

[PosImpos]

Yeah, he is, and we're in trouble.  Rondo has been BAD lately.  Even when he's good, he's very limited.  I'm not convinced a team with Rondo as its MVP can win a title.

They were a pathetic Ray Allen away from winning the title with Rondo as finals MVP.

They were a decent rebounding front court and a crunch-time offense that can actually score away from winning it all with probably Paul getting finals MVP.  If you'll recall, Rondo only actually had one or two really solid games in the Finals because he burnt himself out carrying the team through the 2nd round (and the ECF).

That's my point, really.  Even when he's playing his best, Rondo can only sustain that kind of play for short periods of time.  He doesn't have the stamina to carry a team over a long period (even for more than a series or two) because it requires so much sacrifice of his body to carry the team. 

He doesn't have the strength or size of a player like Wade, Westbrook, or Rose or the offensive skills of a player like Chris Paul, Deron Williams, or Steve Nash to consistently dominate without totally sacrificing his body.

Rondo clearly won two playoff series. That is sustained play at it's finest.

Sustained for two series.  He can't carry a team throughout the playoffs . . . and that's probably what would be needed for this team to win a championship.

He also can't carry a team through the regular season, by the way, which is why our team is faltering down the stretch while the Bulls are chugging forward at a good pace.

Rebounding is carrying the Bulls right now and for most of the season. The Celtics don't reinforce rebounding.

Having a player who can score when the team absolutely needs points by forcing his way inside and finishing or getting to the line is also carrying the Bulls.  In some of their closer games recently Rose has literally taken all of their shots late in the game and scored all of their points.  That's not an efficient offense, but it's enough to ensure that when the game is on the line, they have a guy they can depend on.  The Celtics have no such player.  Rondo is nowhere close to being that kind of player.  If the Celtics have one huge glaring weakness, it is that.  No superstar, no true closer, no transcendent offensive force.  Paul can give us an analog for that at times, but only in short bursts.