Good win last night, but I'm with Jeff...

[LB3533]

When you have more than half of your team's turnovers and you drop a triple double and you got a great team FT shooting, win the rebounding battle (which your team stinks at) and you get superior play from your aging Center.....you need to win more than 1 point.

The reason we didn't win by 20+ is because for most of the game we were playing with our head in the sand (save for KG, Ray and Dooling).

A large reason why we were playing with our head in the sand is because our floor general was not playing like himself. He was playing out of character.

[KGs Knee]

When you have more than half of your team's turnovers and you drop a triple double and you got a great team FT shooting, win the rebounding battle (which your team stinks at) and you get superior play from your aging Center.....you need to win more than 1 point.

The reason we didn't win by 20+ is because for most of the game we were playing with our head in the sand (save for KG, Ray and Dooling).

A large reason why we were playing with our head in the sand is because our floor general was not playing like himself. He was playing out of character.

I'll give you Rondo not playing great for the majority of quarters 1-3.  That was largely due to a couple factors though.

-Philly was focusing their D primarily on taking away Rondo's penetration.  Their guards weren't giving him much space, and the bigs were clogging the lane.
-This was partly due to Pierce being clearly limited by his knee.  Pierce was terrible again, and Philly wasn't playing as tight on him as a team normally would.
-No one else (except KG) was playing worth a [dang].  Pierce, Ray, Bradley & Pietrus all seem limited by their injuries.  Bass has fallen off the face of the earth.

Sure, Rondo was not playing his own best, but it was in no way entirely all his fault.

[BudweiserCeltic]

So you think Pierce and Allen want the pace picked up too?

Of course. And even if they don't it's immaterial. Rondo needs to dictate pace, not the other way around. Add to that it's how Doc wants to play, so that Rondo doesn't see it fit to do it, should be of some concern. If people are lagging behind him, that's their problem. But when you start walking the ball up, then the others in the floor follow. We need Rondo leading the pack, not playing behind them, particularly when we have bigs that run the floor, and we have wings that are deadly with trailing in-rhythm 3s.

As far as I'm concerned, Rondo's main role is to dictate pace and be a playmaker. Hard to do when you're constantly starting the possession with 14 seconds to go, that only leaves the opportunity for 2 or so passes as far as ball-movement goes. Ball movement is completely nonexistent because we don't have time for it.

The idea is to start possessions early, catch defenses before they're set, and all this will lead to easy opportunities and good ball-movement. And when that happens we're at our best, when it doesn't, it's a dog fight and an uphill battle that we've been fortunate to win so far.

[BostonArizona]

Can we just stop this already?

Rondo played great. Sure he didn't shoot well in the first 3 quarters but no one on our team did. He was a constant pressence on the boards, set everyone else up, and his defense was great throughout.

The only reason we didn't win by double digits is because our players (read: Bass, Brandon. Pierce, Paul.) didn't make ANYTHING in the first half.

[BballTim]

When you have more than half of your team's turnovers and you drop a triple double and you got a great team FT shooting, win the rebounding battle (which your team stinks at) and you get superior play from your aging Center.....you need to win more than 1 point.

The reason we didn't win by 20+ is because for most of the game we were playing with our head in the sand (save for KG, Ray and Dooling).

  When your team's leading scorer puts in a sub-par performance due to injury, your team is 2-18 on threes and 3 of the other 4 starters on the court with you are having trouble hitting open shots, what should happen then? Win by 20+?

A large reason why we were playing with our head in the sand is because our floor general was not playing like himself. He was playing out of character.

  It's somewhat amusing that we have threads claiming that Rondo's not all that valuable and posts holding him responsible for the play of everyone on the court.

[bostonman1]

It's so strange with a player like Rondo because there really isn't anyone else like him in the NBA.

When he turns it on like in the 4th quarter last night it's natural to wonder why he can't play with that level of aggression for the entire game.  In the first half especially he looked disinterested especially on defense.  He was walking the ball upcourt, making some terrible passes and not driving to the basket.

Rondo gets tons of credit when the team plays well and deservedly so.  He also deserves blame when the offense bogs down and gets out of rhythm.  He leads all players in assists during the playoffs but also in turnovers.  Many seem to leave his turnovers out of the equation when assessing his performance but they are HUGE especially with against a team such as Philly which thrives on them as it leads to transition opportunities.

A glaring example was where Rondo threw a terrible pass to Pierce as the Celtics were bringing the ball upcourt.  After that he sulked and didn't even bother to get back on defense.  KG actually stopped the initial shot but since Rondo didn't enter the play Philly got an easy offensive rebound and putback.  That was a maddening play where Rondo made a bad pass and compounded it but making no effort to get back defensively.

Jackie MacMullan sums up Rondo pretty well when talking about his  1st half performance last night...

The Celtics are trailing by 13 (45-32) with 3½ minutes until the intermission and you figure this could get really ugly, especially since Rajon Rondo is getting torched defensively by whomever he guards -- Evan Turner, Lou Williams, doesn't seem to matter.

Boston's point guard has that disinterested look about him that all Celtics fans have come to dread.

If the Celtics plan on winning any basketball games, they need their most athletic player to be completely engaged against a young, hungry, agile, resilient Sixers team.

Then when Rondo turns it on and takes over the game...

Well, that seems to register with Rondo, who decides he better stop napping on company time and impose his will on this game, too. So he starts knocking down perimeter jumpers -- a bunch of them. Suddenly he's pushing the ball off Sixers misses, and the maddening, confounding, confusing, baffling and ultimately lovable point guard takes over the game. He becomes active defensively, deflecting balls or just outright plucking them away. If not for his fourth-quarter heroics, the Celtics are down 1-0 on Mother's Day.

Rondo just seems like he can impose his will on a game whenever he decides.  He is that good which makes it puzzling when he just seems to meander about the court with zero intensity.

Triple doubles don't necessarily mean a great game with Rondo.  However the bottom line is the Celtic's winning games - They have a 20-1 record in those games so I think a "bad" triple double game from Rondo is more than good enough...

[clover]

What is wrong with you people?  Seriously?  Just stop please.  I'm sure there are plenty of Jeff Teague and Evan Turner fan club where you can enjoy less production and more losses.  Do you people even realize Rondo is hands down the best player in the playoffs so far?

I think that's KG actually.

[BballTim]

It's so strange with a player like Rondo because there really isn't anyone else like him in the NBA.

When he turns it on like in the 4th quarter last night it's natural to wonder why he can't play with that level of aggression for the entire game. 

  If Rondo had put up thekind of numbers he did in the 4th over the entire game he'd have had 25/21/17. Maybe a better question would be why can't any player in the history of the game play at that level for the entire game. Every great player has stretches when they take over the game. Do people wonder why they can't play like that all the time? Or maybe they don't realize that if Kobe scores 18 in the 4th quarter that he might have had a quarter when he scored 4-5? Are people criticizing KG for not putting up 29/11 every game?

A glaring example was where Rondo threw a terrible pass to Pierce as the Celtics were bringing the ball upcourt.  After that he sulked and didn't even bother to get back on defense.  KG actually stopped the initial shot but since Rondo didn't enter the play Philly got an easy offensive rebound and putback.  That was a maddening play where Rondo made a bad pass and compounded it but making no effort to get back defensively.

  Wasn't that a minute or two after he did that near splits on the other end of the court? Not his best moment, but what did PP do in that same sequence?

[soap07]

Seriously, I'm as big a critic of Rondo as everyone. But I really don't think last night's game warrants as much criticism as it is garnering. It was a good, not great, game by Rondo. There is nothing wrong with that. When an All Star point guard has a good game, that means your team has a pretty good shot to win. Yeah, he turned the ball over a lot and didn't shoot well. But he did enough great things to put the C's in a position to win.

Pierce went 3-11. Ray 4-10. Avery 4-11. Bass 4-9. Those guys are far more worthy of critical posts. Our point guard last night had 12 boards.

[bostonman1]

It's so strange with a player like Rondo because there really isn't anyone else like him in the NBA.

When he turns it on like in the 4th quarter last night it's natural to wonder why he can't play with that level of aggression for the entire game. 

  If Rondo had put up thekind of numbers he did in the 4th over the entire game he'd have had 25/21/17. Maybe a better question would be why can't any player in the history of the game play at that level for the entire game. Every great player has stretches when they take over the game. Do people wonder why they can't play like that all the time? Or maybe they don't realize that if Kobe scores 18 in the 4th quarter that he might have had a quarter when he scored 4-5? Are people criticizing KG for not putting up 29/11 every game?

A glaring example was where Rondo threw a terrible pass to Pierce as the Celtics were bringing the ball upcourt.  After that he sulked and didn't even bother to get back on defense.  KG actually stopped the initial shot but since Rondo didn't enter the play Philly got an easy offensive rebound and putback.  That was a maddening play where Rondo made a bad pass and compounded it but making no effort to get back defensively.

  Wasn't that a minute or two after he did that near splits on the other end of the court? Not his best moment, but what did PP do in that same sequence?

The point was how puzzling it is to see Rondo so passive and seemingly disinterested for long stretches of games.  Of course it's not reasonable to expect him to score ever point, make every assist, grab every rebound, not turn the ball over at such a high rate and so on.  Out of 40 minutes last night he was aggressive for maybe half that time. 

Using the KG example - is it reasonable to expect him at this point in his career to average 29 pts and 11 rebounds per game of course not.  However during the prime of his career he did have 9 straight years of averaging over 22 pts and 12 rebounds per game which is comparable. 

It's just wanting Rondo to play with the consistent intensity, energy and aggression which makes him so great and fuels the entire team.

Boston's point guard has that disinterested look about him that all Celtics fans have come to dread.

Can't remember that being said as often about KG, Bird, Magic, and many of the other all time greats as it seems to pop up with the great but perplexing Rondo...

[Moranis]

Everyone on here knows I'm not Rondo's biggest fan, but I thought he played a fine game yesterday.

[PDouble34]

With the up-and-down play of the Celtics in closing out Atlanta and yesterday's Game 1, it is easy to forget the Celtics are 5-1 in their last six games (and very easily could be 6-0).  The team is playing winning basketball with only one exhibit of their true potential (Game 3).

[ManUp]

I think that him not having a great game yet coming up with this type of production is a great sign. Rondo is reaching a level where even if he's not controlling the game with his playmaking he  is still a factor in other ways.

He's also a better player in terms of improving as a game progresses. It used to be that how Rondo started a game usually indicated how he'd play the the night. If he started a game poorly it would mean we were in for a long one. If he started well we'd just hope the other team couldn't adjust. Now he's grown enough to take the game quarter by quarter and has learned to adjust as the game progresses.

Rondo is doing a lot to prove that he can help lead this team post-big three era, IMO. I feel a lot better about the idea of him as leader now then I did at the start of the season. If we can get guys to score the ball we have Rondo willing and able to do just about everything else.

[Roy H.]

It was definitely a missed bag.

Rondo through 1:04 left in the third quarter: 3 points, 1-for-7 shooting, 12 assists, 6 rebounds, 6 turnovers

Rondo in the last 13:04 of the game:  10 points, 5-for-8 shooting, 5 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 turnover

Rondo had a poor game through the very end of the third quarter.  He then really turned it down the stretch, and helped guide us to victory.

[LarBrd33]

Rondo played like garbage for most of that game.  Everyone who watched the game with me last night had the same exact feeling.  I called my dad later and he said the same thing to me.

I remember specifically at one point a graphic flashing that Rondo had 12 assists.  WE were down by like 10 at the time and our offense had looked like garbage.  I said out loud, "12 assists??!  When the heck did he get 12 assists?".   I guess when you control the ball exclusively like he does and almost every single shot comes off a pass from Rondo... he's bound to get boatloads of assists.   I remember thinking to myself, "man... our offense looks horrible.  NObody can score.  The most we can ask out Rondo is for him to pass the ball to an open shooter... too bad he can't control whether or not they make the shot.  Too bad he can't hit any shots himself"

But that 2nd half 4th quarter he really picked it up.  He hit HUGE shots down the stretch and the ball bounced to him for a bunch of rebounds.  That game MVP, hands down, was Kevin Garnett.  No question.  KG carried us while everyone else on the team was crapping the bed.  But Rondo down the stretch was HUGE.  Have to agree with Jeff here.  One of the worst triple doubles (start-to-finish) I've ever seen.  But his flukey jumpers down the stretch were crucial.