Rondo can't shoot because his hand is too big.

[syfy9]

I am really intrigued about how unique Rondo is. He has amazing vision, is in the top 5 best point guards in terms of D, can slash like a speeding bullet, and has one of the ugliest and most inconsistent shots ever.

Some of you might have already known this, but Rondo's hands are enormous.

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/06/16/nba-finals-are-rajon-rondos-hands-too-big-to-bail-out-the-celt/

Let's start with his hands. Reportedly, they're longer than any set of hands the Celtics' training staff has ever measured -- 9.5 inches -- that are proportionate to someone even taller than Houston Rockets' 7-feet-6 center Yao Ming. (Rondo stands just 6-feet-1). Large hands are cited among the reasons that Shaquille O'Neal, Wilt Chamberlain and other giants have had trouble shooting the ball.

“The biggest concern about his game revolves around his perimeter shooting ability. Much like with what we see with big men at the free throw line, Rondo’s massive hands prevent him from being comfortable in his shooting mechanics and show any consistency in his release.

From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Rajon-Rondo-216/#ixzz1QR7zTHNq
http://www.draftexpress.com

Do you think his hands are the problem to his inability to shoot shots? I am more then certain he is an extremely hard worker and would work as hard (close to) as Ray if he put his mind to it. Maybe he already did, but just can't find that consistent stroke. Do you think he will ever improve? Because come on, he's been in this league for so long. It's not like Shaq is going to improve his free throw percentage any time soon. Then again, Yao Ming is the tallest player in the NBA, and he is a good shooter? Any thoughts? Do you think he could get better in the future?

[Change]

Rondo inability to shoot is due to his Form.

[jc3celticsphan]

Rondo inability to shoot is due to his Form.

exactly looks like a catapult.. he uses his shoulder to guide the ball or sumthin its frickin wierd

[Roy H.]

How big are Dirk's hands?  Mehmet Okur's?  Raef's?  Rasheed's?

The kid has big hands, but so do lots of good shooters (presumably).

[PosImpos]

How big are Dirk's hands?  Mehmet Okur's?  Raef's?  Rasheed's?

The kid has big hands, but so do lots of good shooters (presumably).

I think it's the size of the hands in proportion to the body.  But maybe that's not the case.

[manl_lui]

duncan has huge hands and he does a lot of bank shots, just have rondo do that

[Eddie20]

Rondo inability to shoot is due to his Form.

exactly looks like a catapult.. he uses his shoulder to guide the ball or sumthin its frickin wierd

That elbow needs to be pointed at the rim. He also looks like he has too much palm (shooting hand) on the ball, judging from the photo. Don't like where the helper hand is positioned either. Until Rondo improves some of these basic principles, I just don't have too much hope of him being that much of a threat from a perimeter.

[j804]

That pic is REALLY old he doesn't shoot like that anymore

[get_banners]

That pic is REALLY old he doesn't shoot like that anymore

yeah, i was about to say...that's at least 1-2 years old (rondo doesn't rock the headband anymore). rondo's form is actually pretty good. the elbow jumper started to become his friend at times this year (he's apparently deadly in practice with it), so i think the real issue is getting him to shoot it more in games. my guess is, the more rondo shoots that shot, the better it will get.

[PAOBoston]

i think that's bs. yao has huge hands too but shoots free throws at an 83% clip. rondo cant shoot well b/c he has the form a 5 year old a good amount of the tiem. he never can get consistent form on his shots. he just needs to practice more!

[Celtics18]

Rondo inability to shoot is due to his Form.

exactly looks like a catapult.. he uses his shoulder to guide the ball or sumthin its frickin wierd

That elbow needs to be pointed at the rim. He also looks like he has too much palm (shooting hand) on the ball, judging from the photo. Don't like where the helper hand is positioned either. Until Rondo improves some of these basic principles, I just don't have too much hope of him being that much of a threat from a perimeter.

I do think the size of his hands is a part of the problem with his form.  This makes it hard to get the ball on the fingertip.  It also affects how easy it is to position the helping hand correctly.

Not only is the elbow not pointed correctly, but there's too much bend, as well.  Again, I think this is partially due to having to palm the ball and not really being able to find that sweet finger tip flip spot.

Despite these issues, I still think he can improve the shot.  It'll never look like Ray Allen or Steve Nash's stroke, but he'll have to find a way to be more efficient using his own style.  

To me the best comparison to role model as a shooter is Magic Johnson.  Magic had giant hands too which contributed to his extraordinary passing ability, but always made his outside shot pretty funky looking.  Magic's jumper never got beautiful, but he found a way to become effective enough with it to make teams pay for leaving him alone, and he became a good free throw shooter while always having a bit of a push shot as opposed to a classic outside shot.

J. Kidd is a similar more recent example.  

[GreenEnvy]

How big are Dirk's hands?  Mehmet Okur's?  Raef's?  Rasheed's?

The kid has big hands, but so do lots of good shooters (presumably).

Honestly, his fingers are probably longer than all of theirs.

But yeah, I think it's just an excuse. KG has got some huge hands and he can hit midrange jumpers and FT's in his sleep. We don't need him to be Ray Allen, we need him to hit the open shots like we'd expect any NBA guard to do. I've never seen a perennial All-Star routinely NOT get guarded like Rondo.

It's all about form and dedication. If he keeps at it, he should keep the defense honest.

[Celtics18]

That pic is REALLY old he doesn't shoot like that anymore

I saw that and thought the same thing.  So, I went on a quick google search for pictures of Rajon Rondo jumpers.  

To be honest, I didn't really see any that looked much prettier than the one showed here.  There are some where the form on his elbow looks a little more correct, but that ball seems like it's always sitting deep in the palm of his hand before release.  

[syfy9]

How big are Dirk's hands?  Mehmet Okur's?  Raef's?  Rasheed's?

The kid has big hands, but so do lots of good shooters (presumably).

The problem with Rondo's hands is that they are not proportionate to his body, arm, etc. Dirk and Okur and all those other talented shooters with big hands have big bodies to match. Rondo is only 6 feet tall, and his hands are proportionate to somebody bigger than Yao. I personally disagree and that if Rondo works hard enough, he will earn a consistent jumper. But his hands are a huge reason he isn't a least able to hit the open jumper.

[mgent]

How big are Dirk's hands?  Mehmet Okur's?  Raef's?  Rasheed's?

The kid has big hands, but so do lots of good shooters (presumably).

I think it's the size of the hands in proportion to the body.  But maybe that's not the case.

Dirk is a better shooter than a ton of guards who, chances are, have a smaller hand to body ratio, and is probably a better shooter than a lot of other 7 footers with smaller hands than him.

Hand size most likely has nothing to do with it.  Yao Ming?!?!  His hands must be ginormous.  Sheed had big hands AND long arms and he was in range the second he stepped into the building.