Rondo is a poor mans Dennis Rodman

[Moranis]

Obviously they play different positions, but they are essentially the same type of player i.e. excellent defender and excellent rebounder (Rodman) or passer (Rondo).  Both are efficient when they shoot (which is rarely), but generally awful offensively as a whole.  Neither can shoot foul shots.  Both have attitude issues, but both work incredibly hard at their craft.

Rodman ended up in the HOF but no one would have ever came close to calling him a franchise player.  Rondo has a ton of value, but he isn't a franchise player (and never will be) because of the glaring weakness in his game, just like Rodman. 

[Silent Storm]

I don't see why he can't develop a jumper over time. Anyone can become a decent shooter with enough dedication and practice, Jason Kidd did it.

[cdif911]

I'm not getting the comparison - Rondo CAN score (not shoot, but score); Rodman couldn't.  Many scorers in the league aren't pure shooters.  Rodman was one of the top 5 role players of all time.  Rondo has arguably been MVP of his team for the last 3 years imo (and he's still very young)

For his career - Rondo has averaged 10 ppg, with a career high of 14 ppg in 09-10

His playoff averages are even better at 14 ppg...

Rodman's career ppg is 7.3 (and I bet a ton of those points are offensive rebounds) - career high 11.6 ppg his second year and his playoff scoring average actually goes down to 6.4 ppg

different class of scorers - Rondo can score but also sets up the offense - Rodman couldn't score period

[paulcowens]

I think that Rodman is a great comparison for Rondo.   As I see it, both are players that depend a lot on the element of surprise, on lulling the opposition by looking like they aren't doing something, then suddenly doing something that has a lot of impact.  This makes it hard for them to be franchise players, even though they have franchise player level talent.    Their stealthy approach to the game makes them inconsistent.

That said, I think that Rondo CAN evolve into a franchise player, but he really does need to become a better shooter.

[Roy H.]

Rondo isn't nearly as dominant at defense as Rodman was, and he's not as good passing as Rodman was rebounding.  Rodman has peers who can average as many assists as he does; Rodman was peerless.

The one comparison I see is that people accused Rodman of passing up offense for rebounding positioning, much in the same way that people accuse Rondo of passing up points for assists.  However, I think that was overstated with both players, and I don't think it's a good basis for comparison.

(Also, I don't think Rondo is "awful" offensively.  Inconsistent is more like it.)

[xmuscularghandix]

I'm not getting the comparison - Rondo CAN score (not shoot, but score); Rodman couldn't.  Many scorers in the league aren't pure shooters.  Rodman was one of the top 5 role players of all time.  Rondo has arguably been MVP of his team for the last 3 years imo (and he's still very young)

For his career - Rondo has averaged 10 ppg, with a career high of 14 ppg in 09-10

His playoff averages are even better at 14 ppg...

Rodman's career ppg is 7.3 (and I bet a ton of those points are offensive rebounds) - career high 11.6 ppg his second year and his playoff scoring average actually goes down to 6.4 ppg

different class of scorers - Rondo can score but also sets up the offense - Rodman couldn't score period

Completely agree, I hate when people say Rondo can't score when he can actually score quite well.

I look at him as Jason Kidd, and he's improved his jumper a lot.

[Moranis]

Rondo isn't nearly as dominant at defense as Rodman was, and he's not as good passing as Rodman was rebounding.  Rodman has peers who can average as many assists as he does; Rodman was peerless.

That is why I called him a poor mans Dennis Rodman.

The one comparison I see is that people accused Rodman of passing up offense for rebounding positioning, much in the same way that people accuse Rondo of passing up points for assists.  However, I think that was overstated with both players, and I don't think it's a good basis for comparison.

(Also, I don't think Rondo is "awful" offensively.  Inconsistent is more like it.)

Rodman could absolutely score, he just chose not to, which is absolutely why I made the comparison.

[SHAQATTACK]

Rondo isn't a cross dresser

[Roy H.]

Rodman could absolutely score, he just chose not to, which is absolutely why I made the comparison.

He wasn't anywhere near as prolific a scorer as Rondo, though.  Rodman had one season in his entire career when he was in double digit scoring; Rondo has done it in 4 out of 5 seasons.

[PosImpos]

Rodman could absolutely score, he just chose not to, which is absolutely why I made the comparison.

He wasn't anywhere near as prolific a scorer as Rondo, though.  Rodman had one season in his entire career when he was in double digit scoring; Rondo has done it in 4 out of 5 seasons.

Hard to call either "prolific" though.  

[EJPLAYA]

I don't see why he can't develop a jumper over time. Anyone can become a decent shooter with enough dedication and practice, Jason Kidd did it.

Good point. At this rate though Rondo will be 41 before he develops it. He seems to be regressing, not the other way around. Face it. If Rondo was going to be able to shoot at all he’d have done it by now. He has 4 full years in the NBA under his belt and isn’t any better than he was in year one. Either he doesn’t have the physical ability to do it with those freakishly huge hands, or he doesn’t have the desire to put in the time to. No matter which is the truth the result is the same. IMO Rondo is as good as he will ever be. He will likely play at this level for 4-5 more years and then it will slowly go down hill for a couple. Then once his speed is gone it is all over. Backup minutes for a couple years and retirement. That isn’t a bad thing. He is definitely in that second tier of PG’s right now and should stay there for quite a few more years. Good problem to have.

[Celtics17]

I actually think it's a good comparison. Yeah, Rondo does score better for his position then Rodman did but he doesnt shoot any better for it. Rodman has to be one of the most underrated players in league history. Russell gets so much credit for defense and rebounding but Rodman doesnt get anywhere near the credit he deserves. I am not saying they are of equal caliber but Rodman was special.

I do think Rondo can get assists on pace with Rodman's rebounds too. Let's not forget that Rondo has already broken many Celtics assist records. While he many not average as many assists as Rodman did rebounds, Rodman also did not rebound the way Wilt or Russ did either.

[BballTim]

Obviously they play different positions, but they are essentially the same type of player i.e. excellent defender and excellent rebounder (Rodman) or passer (Rondo).  Both are efficient when they shoot (which is rarely), but generally awful offensively as a whole.  Neither can shoot foul shots.  Both have attitude issues, but both work incredibly hard at their craft.

Rodman ended up in the HOF but no one would have ever came close to calling him a franchise player.  Rondo has a ton of value, but he isn't a franchise player (and never will be) because of the glaring weakness in his game, just like Rodman. 

  I can't believe you ever saw Rodman play of you're trying to compare them offensively. His sole contribution to the offense was offensive rebounding. Think a slightly (very slightly) better offensive version of Ben Wallace.

[Papatrichs]

Rondo has outrageous hands while Rodman has an outrageous personality.

[Moranis]

Obviously they play different positions, but they are essentially the same type of player i.e. excellent defender and excellent rebounder (Rodman) or passer (Rondo).  Both are efficient when they shoot (which is rarely), but generally awful offensively as a whole.  Neither can shoot foul shots.  Both have attitude issues, but both work incredibly hard at their craft.

Rodman ended up in the HOF but no one would have ever came close to calling him a franchise player.  Rondo has a ton of value, but he isn't a franchise player (and never will be) because of the glaring weakness in his game, just like Rodman. 

  I can't believe you ever saw Rodman play of you're trying to compare them offensively. His sole contribution to the offense was offensive rebounding. Think a slightly (very slightly) better offensive version of Ben Wallace.

I saw Rodman's entire career and early on he did shoot and score much more, because he wanted to.  He never really cared about offense and later on just chose not the focus on it.  I mean Rodman is a career 52.1% shooter and in his most prolific seasons he was well above his career percentage.  It isn't like he was efficient, he just never shot the ball.  Pretty much like Rondo.