I'm jealous that Rose keeps improving, while Rondo hasn't gotten any better over the last two years. The minutes and assists are up, but everything else is down- shooting percentage, points, rebounds, free throw shooting. His PER has gone from the 19's to the 16's last year to this year. Hopefully it's just a focus thing with him, and he turms it on in the playoffs.
When Rondo and Rose faced off in the playoffs two Rondo wasn't an all-star, he wasn't all-defense and he wasn't leading (or almost leading) the league in assists. To say he hasn't improved is ridiculous.
Winning awards doesn't necessarily show that you improved...especially when there's barely any competition for your spot.
As far as all defense team...Bruce bowen won...then retired. CP3 won...then got hurt. Rondo deserved it, but it doesn't necessarily mean that he improved if the players that used to win it, weren't competing for it any more.
As for the all star team...2008-J kidd and Chauncey were in in the east...then went west. 2009-AI, Mo williams, Devin Harris were in east..they went west. Add in injuries to Jameer nelson and CP3, and you can see that Rondos competition for the PG spot in the ASG was also thinned considerably.
Rondo wasn't an all star in 07/08 or 08/09, so what does that have to do with anything? Also Mo Williams didn't move out West until this year after the All-Star game...same with Harris. CP3 also plays out West, so that would have no effect on Rondo.
You should read an entire discussion if you're going to enter into it.
The entire discussion revolves around WHY Rondo WASN'T an all star in his early years, and then made it now. My point, was that the players that had previously been his primary competition at that spot, had either moved west, or were battling injuries when he made it...thus making it impossible to say that his inclusion on the team was a result of his own improvement.
Although you're right about Mo williams still being in the east, he WAS injured. And Devin Harris made the all star team in 2008 as a Net (ie Competing with Rondo).
The fact that CP3 plays out West has no impact on my argument, because I noted him in regards to Rondos inclusion on the all NBA defensive team, which isn't conference specific. The same would apply to Bruce Bowen. The point is, that the two guards who had previously held the spot that Rondo took, were not able to compete for the spot when Rondo won it.
As the saying goes, "you have to beat the best to be the best", and when Rondo was named the best, a lot of the "best" were out.