Is the good Rondo here to stay?

[j804]

I mean the guy has just been sick lately, has been fully engaged and on a tear lately.

I dont see him slowing down any time soon and hopefully like we know he takes it up a notch further come postseason.

[lightspeed5]

17 straight games with double digit assists. He is about to pass nash to be the leader in the league. nash is at 11.2. rondo 11.1

[Boris Badenov]

Wait, isn't good Rondo the one who shoots and drives?

Since the AS game his FGs made are down 1.5 per game, and his FTs made are down from 3.0 to 1.0.

I do think he's playing well despite that, but overall I think Rondo is getting a little too much attention for his recent play. It's really Pierce and Garnett who've stepped it up after the break.

[j804]

17 straight games with double digit assists. He is about to pass nash to be the leader in the league. nash is at 11.2. rondo 11.1

Yessir the good Rondo is what you are seeing he's still scoring but controlling the game as good as you can get, checkout this postgame Rajon interview from tonight. I am loving the confidence he/the team sound like they are in a good place like Doc said. Now let's kick Miami's butt well be up for the task can feel it.

http://d24edc7kaf4agn.cloudfront.net/1598203/rhiDownloadVariant/x-04-08-12-rajon-rondo-postgame-guest.mp3?rhihttphost=audio.weei.com

[jdz101]

i think starting the game with a younger group has helped.

[ACF]

17 straight games with double digit assists. He is about to pass nash to be the leader in the league. nash is at 11.2. rondo 11.1

After the Sixers game they are actually tied (at 11.2) but Rajon will pass Nash if he keeps it up. Keep dishing that rock, R2!

[bfrombleacher]

From the Timberwolves blog
http://www.canishoopus.com/2012/3/30/2913919/q-a-with-bill-sy-of-celtics-blog

People can argue that Paul, Westbrook, Rose, and Williams are better and they'll qualify it by saying that Rondo is a "pure point guard" but I hate that comparison because that's just a nice way of saying that Rondo can't shoot and he makes up for it because he's just really good at passing. That's hogwash. Compared to those guys, what makes Rondo a great player--and puts him in a class unto himself--is that he actually makes his teammates better by amplifying what they're already good at. I think with those other players, they make the game, for lack of a better word, easier for their team. Kevin Durant doesn't have to score as much on his own because Westbrook will pick up the slack. Blake Griffin and Carlos Boozer will have a little more room to operate because Paul and Rose attract so much defensive attention.

But with Rondo, he works in spite of those conventions: he doesn't score a lot of points and he rarely commands a double team. Doc calls him the smartest player he's ever coached and I believe him. What Rondo does is manipulate the entire court so that his teammates can excel at what they're best at. Sometimes it's as subtle as shifting his shoulders so that the defense thinks he's going in one direction or as deliberate as cupping the ball with his giant hands and faking out his defender, the help defender, and the guy selling hot dogs in the third row. Watch him tonight, especially in transition. He's got a very distinct voice and you can hear him orchestrate every play on both sides of the ball. He may not be a franchise player, but I think he's definitely a guy that franchise players want to play with.

[mctyson]

I mean the guy has just been sick lately, has been fully engaged and on a tear lately.

I dont see him slowing down any time soon and hopefully like we know he takes it up a notch further come postseason.

it all has come with emergence of AB, I think Rondo now sees a future with this C's team, whereas maybe before he saw nothing but retirements and himself getting traded

[RyNye]

Wait, isn't good Rondo the one who shoots and drives?

The good Rondo is the one that controls the flow of the game and gets us wins by making his teammates better. Sometimes that means shooting and driving, sometimes it doesn't.

I do think he's playing well despite that, but overall I think Rondo is getting a little too much attention for his recent play. It's really Pierce and Garnett who've stepped it up after the break.

While it is true that they have stepped it up, Rondo does not get enough credit for making these guys better. Everyone is always saying, "Oh, Rondo is only good because he is surrounded by HOFers!" Which completely ignores the fact that all of them have been increasingly efficient as Rondo has improved. The numbers show that Rondo has made their shooting percentages better, and if you watch the game you see how many open looks Rondo gets them.

My point is that it's a whole team effort. Pierce is picking it up by knocking down shots, but Rondo is picking it up by coldly cutting apart the opposing defense, and knowing exactly what to do to get our team buckets.

[Greenbean]

Well he hasn't been consistently aggressive scoring the ball but since the emergence of Pierce and KG as scoring threats he hasn't needed to.

That being said, he is being CONSISTENT with his energy, defense and rebounding.

Its been 4 weeks now. I sure hope he is here to stay.

[jarufu]

Playoff Rondo is just around the corner . . he's good too!!!

[pearljammer10]

Wait, isn't good Rondo the one who shoots and drives?

Since the AS game his FGs made are down 1.5 per game, and his FTs made are down from 3.0 to 1.0.

I do think he's playing well despite that, but overall I think Rondo is getting a little too much attention for his recent play. It's really Pierce and Garnett who've stepped it up after the break.

Anytime a player gets 17 double digit assist games in a row is not getting more attention than he deserves. I mean, hes closing on in a record that hasnt been broken, anytime you do that you definitely deserve the credit... I agree that Pierce and Garnett have really stepped it up, but Rondo is doing more than his share of helping them get better and being able to get the ball where it needs to be for Pierce and Garnett to hit buckets. I dont think the stats lie that when Rondo's assists have gone up and his shots have gone down that the team has been incredibly productive.

This team plays their best when everyone is playing to their roles and strengths. Thats why we have been so impressive after the all star break.

[Jon]

I hope so.  I still would like to see him score a bit more, because he's going to need to at times in the playoffs, but as long as he's able to do it when needed (and it's clearly not needed now), I'll take it. 

I think Bradley has helped in a number of ways.  He's first, (at times) guarded the opposing 1, which has taken some pressure off of Rondo.  And two, Bradley is able to penetrate to the basket well (and actually finish better than Rondo), making it less necessary for Rondo to do so. 

[SHAQATTACK]

On Tuesday ,  if the Celtics want to look remotely like thay can win . Two things gotta happen.  

KG has to stay out of foul trouble...without him we can't beat the Bobcats

Second... the "GOOD" ROndo has to show up period...no half Rondo, or 3/4 quarter Rondo....We have to have the TRIPLE "D" ROndo Rondo to beat the Heat tuesday.

I think the GOOD RONDO appears more when the younger guys are on the court (along with KG) ...guys who will run the court with him.
I hope Jeff Green and Wilcox can come back next year, they play the Rondo game.

Rondo gets bored when the game doesn't move fast paced. He starts to invent new gimicks to keep himself amused .

[Chris]

I thought yesterdays game was the worst 15+ assist game I have ever seen in my life.  He was incredibly sloppy with the ball (particularly in the first half where he looked like he was half asleep), but came out looking good because his teammates were red hot, and hitting everything (and the Sixers took long breaks from playing any defense whatsoever).

So, I don't think it would be accurate to suggest that last night we saw "good" Rondo.

With that said, overall, he has become much more consistent this season, and while he is still infuriating at times, and has his bad games, he has been much better about not having the games where he hurts the team more than he helps them, like we have seen in the past.