Sorry if I missed this topic, but what is up with Rondo?

[Greenbean]

  Rondo began the most consistent stretch of basketball of his career when Bradley was inserted into the starting line up.

  There are two reasons for this.

 !)  Bradley guarded the opposing teams primary ball handler allowing Rondo to play off the ball on defense.  This allowed Rondo to save energy for offense and pushing the ball at every opportunity.  Bradley's ball pressure made our defense better by running down the shot clock and creating turnovers which got us into the open court where Rondo thrives.

2) Bradley gave Rondo a running mate.  Without Bradley in the lineup there is little reason for Rondo to push the ball because he is the only guy running while the rest prefer to play in the half court.  Bradley's speed stretched opposing teams transition defense leaving big lanes for Rondo to exploit. 

  It not really that Rondo is playing that bad anyways.  It is hard to a pass first PG to excel when no one is hitting shots as as the case in the most recent games.  He just isn't going to play his best when he is stuck playing in quicksand with guys who all would rather play in the half court.  It's the same reason he wasn't playing consistently great when he was starting alongside the Big Three and the corpse of JO. 

He needs a running mate, we no longer have one on the roster.

Unfortunately this is true.

I am a green teamer to the fullest but the Celtics turned the corner this season with Avery Bradley getting significant minutes.

I am just hoping that Danny's proclamation of 90% is blowing smoke.

[RJ87]

  Rondo began the most consistent stretch of basketball of his career when Bradley was inserted into the starting line up.

  There are two reasons for this.

 !)  Bradley guarded the opposing teams primary ball handler allowing Rondo to play off the ball on defense.  This allowed Rondo to save energy for offense and pushing the ball at every opportunity.  Bradley's ball pressure made our defense better by running down the shot clock and creating turnovers which got us into the open court where Rondo thrives.

2) Bradley gave Rondo a running mate.  Without Bradley in the lineup there is little reason for Rondo to push the ball because he is the only guy running while the rest prefer to play in the half court.  Bradley's speed stretched opposing teams transition defense leaving big lanes for Rondo to exploit. 

  It not really that Rondo is playing that bad anyways.  It is hard to a pass first PG to excel when no one is hitting shots as as the case in the most recent games.  He just isn't going to play his best when he is stuck playing in quicksand with guys who all would rather play in the half court.  It's the same reason he wasn't playing consistently great when he was starting alongside the Big Three and the corpse of JO. 

He needs a running mate, we no longer have one on the roster.

Exactly. He's back to running by himself again, and waiting in vain for Ray Allen to get open while coming off screens.

[thestackshow]

In order for this team to succeed, Ray Allen must be used only as a spot up shooter, he needs to be completely cut out of our offense, Rondo is spending the entire shot clock at the top of the key, waiting for Ray to get open.

The team needs to forget that.

Have Ray Allen sit in a corner for the entire game, and be ready to shoot when KG gets doubled, or when Rondo or Pierce penetrates.

Thats it.

We are blowing far too many offensive trips running plays for Ray Allen that never work.

He cant shoot anymore, and he cant get open, have him sit in a corner like the other 38 year old shooting guards do when they are that age.

[BudweiserCeltic]

  Rondo began the most consistent stretch of basketball of his career when Bradley was inserted into the starting line up.

  There are two reasons for this.

 !)  Bradley guarded the opposing teams primary ball handler allowing Rondo to play off the ball on defense.  This allowed Rondo to save energy for offense and pushing the ball at every opportunity.  Bradley's ball pressure made our defense better by running down the shot clock and creating turnovers which got us into the open court where Rondo thrives.

2) Bradley gave Rondo a running mate.  Without Bradley in the lineup there is little reason for Rondo to push the ball because he is the only guy running while the rest prefer to play in the half court.  Bradley's speed stretched opposing teams transition defense leaving big lanes for Rondo to exploit. 

  It not really that Rondo is playing that bad anyways.  It is hard to a pass first PG to excel when no one is hitting shots as as the case in the most recent games.  He just isn't going to play his best when he is stuck playing in quicksand with guys who all would rather play in the half court.  It's the same reason he wasn't playing consistently great when he was starting alongside the Big Three and the corpse of JO. 

He needs a running mate, we no longer have one on the roster.

Exactly. He's back to running by himself again, and waiting in vain for Ray Allen to get open while coming off screens.

Sorry, but he's not running. Ray or no Ray, Rondo needs to push the ball. When he does that, our offense runs well, even if some of the other players need to catch up, but the mere fact that Rondo pushes the ball, doesn't let the defense set-up, gives better flow to the offense, and gives us better opportunities at the basket.

That Rondo needs other players in order for him to start pushing the ball has always been crap in my opinion. It's upon himself to set the pace, and the rest of the players to accommodate accordingly. He's a "floor general" for a reason. Right now he's playing the PG position as a "follower" too frequently.

This is nothing new, I don't know why people look at the moment when Avery started getting minutes as the cure for Rondo. Well, Rondo has been having the same inconsistencies through the playoffs even when Avery was starting. This is the same thing we've seen through Rondo's whole career. It's upon himself to run the offense as it should. If it isn't, the he has to take the brunt of the blame since it starts with him setting the pace, something which he fails at constantly.

Also, when Rondo started playing well after the All Star break, Ray was playing. That we played better when Avery was getting minutes is immaterial. That wasn't the only change made though. Garnett was playing like a beast, particularly when he was moved to the 5.

So this correlation between Avery playing and Rondo running is simply very flawed and untrue. Rondo runs when he wants, he walks when he wants. Time to stop giving excuses, not for his poor performances (I really don't care if he misses shots or not), but for his poor application towards the game and his inconsistencies.

[BballTim]

  Rondo began the most consistent stretch of basketball of his career when Bradley was inserted into the starting line up.

  There are two reasons for this.

 !)  Bradley guarded the opposing teams primary ball handler allowing Rondo to play off the ball on defense.  This allowed Rondo to save energy for offense and pushing the ball at every opportunity.  Bradley's ball pressure made our defense better by running down the shot clock and creating turnovers which got us into the open court where Rondo thrives.

2) Bradley gave Rondo a running mate.  Without Bradley in the lineup there is little reason for Rondo to push the ball because he is the only guy running while the rest prefer to play in the half court.  Bradley's speed stretched opposing teams transition defense leaving big lanes for Rondo to exploit. 

  It not really that Rondo is playing that bad anyways.  It is hard to a pass first PG to excel when no one is hitting shots as as the case in the most recent games.  He just isn't going to play his best when he is stuck playing in quicksand with guys who all would rather play in the half court.  It's the same reason he wasn't playing consistently great when he was starting alongside the Big Three and the corpse of JO. 

He needs a running mate, we no longer have one on the roster.

Exactly. He's back to running by himself again, and waiting in vain for Ray Allen to get open while coming off screens.

Sorry, but he's not running. Ray or no Ray, Rondo needs to push the ball. When he does that, our offense runs well, even if some of the other players need to catch up, but the mere fact that Rondo pushes the ball, doesn't let the defense set-up, gives better flow to the offense, and gives us better opportunities at the basket.

  Rondo running ahead of the rest of the team when 2-3 defenders are ahead of him doesn't generally give us better opportunites at the rim, it gives us better chances at threes for the players trailing him. The problem is we're only hitting about 28% of our threes in this series.

[j804]

  Rondo began the most consistent stretch of basketball of his career when Bradley was inserted into the starting line up.

  There are two reasons for this.

!)  Bradley guarded the opposing teams primary ball handler allowing Rondo to play off the ball on defense.  This allowed Rondo to save energy for offense and pushing the ball at every opportunity.  Bradley's ball pressure made our defense better by running down the shot clock and creating turnovers which got us into the open court where Rondo thrives.

2) Bradley gave Rondo a running mate.  Without Bradley in the lineup there is little reason for Rondo to push the ball because he is the only guy running while the rest prefer to play in the half court.  Bradley's speed stretched opposing teams transition defense leaving big lanes for Rondo to exploit. 

  It not really that Rondo is playing that bad anyways.  It is hard to a pass first PG to excel when no one is hitting shots as as the case in the most recent games.  He just isn't going to play his best when he is stuck playing in quicksand with guys who all would rather play in the half court.  It's the same reason he wasn't playing consistently great when he was starting alongside the Big Three and the corpse of JO. 

He needs a running mate, we no longer have one on the roster.

Bingo to that

[azzenfrost]

Maybe he didn't get his nap.

[CoachBo]

We can find any number of them who will play as well as Rondo did Wednesday night, and often consistently better.

On those increasingly rare occasions when Rondo decides to play, you're probably right.

He'd be well served to play tonight; I suspect he won't be here next year if he doesn't.

[Celtics18]

We can find any number of them who will play as well as Rondo did Wednesday night, and often consistently better.

On those increasingly rare occasions when Rondo decides to play, you're probably right.

He'd be well served to play tonight; I suspect he won't be here next year if he doesn't.

Of course there are many point guards who can play better than Rondo did on Wednesday night.  He had a pretty rough game. 

I am completely baffled by the "rare occasions" comment, though.  Up until that game, he's been absolutely brilliant in the playoffs.  And, he was absolutely brilliant for most of the last two months of the regular season.

I really hope he bounces back with a Rondo-like performance tonight.  We'll need it. 

Basing your entire opinion about his overall play on one game is beyond absurd, however.

[CoachBo]

I am completely baffled, as well, by anyone who could contend with a straight face that Rondo has been "brilliant" throughout the playoffs and that Wednesday was his first "rough" game.

Getting ejected at Atlanta was brilliant? Throwing the offense into reverse in Game 4 with a big lead was brilliant? Please. Rondo plays when he wants to.

You are pushing an extreme and wildly inaccurate piece of revisionist history.

[Geo123]

I am completely baffled, as well, by anyone who could contend with a straight face that Rondo has been "brilliant" throughout the playoffs and that Wednesday was his first "rough" game.

Getting ejected at Atlanta was brilliant? Throwing the offense into reverse in Game 4 with a big lead was brilliant? Please. Rondo plays when he wants to.

You are pushing an extreme and wildly inaccurate piece of revisionist history.

I'm completely baffled by anyone who has seen Rondo play and mentions how "on rare occasions" Rondo decides to play.  We get it you don't like Rondo but you're not dealing in facts as you try and claim that the other poster was doing.

He's an all NBA 3rd teamer for a reason.  That means he is a player and is a great player.  Obviously we can find another PG but no we won't find another one better than him.  He's in the talk with the top 4 or 5 PG's in the league.  Has he had bad games? Yes definitely but those are rare not the other way around. THose are the facts look up the stats and you'll see that...

[Celtics18]

I am completely baffled, as well, by anyone who could contend with a straight face that Rondo has been "brilliant" throughout the playoffs and that Wednesday was his first "rough" game.

Getting ejected at Atlanta was brilliant? Throwing the offense into reverse in Game 4 with a big lead was brilliant? Please. Rondo plays when he wants to.

You are pushing an extreme and wildly inaccurate piece of revisionist history.

The facts back me up.  Just look at the numbers.  I won't repost them again.  We all have easy access to them.  

I know you'll probably say the numbers mean nothing, but without them the discussion is just a pointless exercise in "my observations vs. your observations."  The overall numbers, however, back up my observations from watching the games.  They don't back up yours.  You have to claim that he's been awful and inconsistent throughout the playoffs despite numbers that show otherwise.  

Revisionist history?

[CelticHooligan3]

I am completely baffled, as well, by anyone who could contend with a straight face that Rondo has been "brilliant" throughout the playoffs and that Wednesday was his first "rough" game.

Getting ejected at Atlanta was brilliant? Throwing the offense into reverse in Game 4 with a big lead was brilliant? Please. Rondo plays when he wants to.

You are pushing an extreme and wildly inaccurate piece of revisionist history.

I'm completely baffled by anyone who has seen Rondo play and mentions how "on rare occasions" Rondo decides to play.  We get it you don't like Rondo but you're not dealing in facts as you try and claim that the other poster was doing.

He's an all NBA 3rd teamer for a reason.  That means he is a player and is a great player.  Obviously we can find another PG but no we won't find another one better than him.  He's in the talk with the top 4 or 5 PG's in the league.  Has he had bad games? Yes definitely but those are rare not the other way around. THose are the facts look up the stats and you'll see that...

The point your missing is that yes although he's an NBA "third" teamer he probably should be a second or even first. He has the skills. We've all seen them. But he shows up when he wants to.

There are many fans like Coach and myself who are just sick of seeing the inconsistent play. Especially when the kid is so talented. I dont care what the stats say he was a no show for a deciding game 6 in my eyes and to me that's unacceptable.

He's the best player on this team at this point and they will only go as far as he takes them so when he decides to mail it in it's maddening. He needs to be a leader. And leaders lead by example. So far iv'e seen him struggle mightily with this.

You shouldn't have to motivate any player for an elimination game. With Rondo it certainly seemed like Pierce was trying to do just that.

The thing that worries me is his attitude will go down hill even further if this team spirals into rebuild mode and it could get really ugly. We're not there yet but the fact Danny tried to move him numerous times tells me this is a concern of his too.

[Celtics18]

I am completely baffled, as well, by anyone who could contend with a straight face that Rondo has been "brilliant" throughout the playoffs and that Wednesday was his first "rough" game.

Getting ejected at Atlanta was brilliant? Throwing the offense into reverse in Game 4 with a big lead was brilliant? Please. Rondo plays when he wants to.

You are pushing an extreme and wildly inaccurate piece of revisionist history.

I'm completely baffled by anyone who has seen Rondo play and mentions how "on rare occasions" Rondo decides to play.  We get it you don't like Rondo but you're not dealing in facts as you try and claim that the other poster was doing.

He's an all NBA 3rd teamer for a reason.  That means he is a player and is a great player.  Obviously we can find another PG but no we won't find another one better than him.  He's in the talk with the top 4 or 5 PG's in the league.  Has he had bad games? Yes definitely but those are rare not the other way around. THose are the facts look up the stats and you'll see that...

The point your missing is that yes although he's an NBA "third" teamer he probably should be a second or even first. He has the skills. We've all seen them. But he shows up when he wants to.

There are many fans like Coach and myself who are just sick of seeing the inconsistent play. Especially when the kid is so talented. I dont care what the stats say he was a no show for a deciding game 6 in my eyes and to me that's unacceptable.

He's the best player on this team at this point and they will only go as far as he takes them so when he decides to mail it in it's maddening. He needs to be a leader. And leaders lead by example. So far iv'e seen him struggle mightily with this.

You shouldn't have to motivate any player for an elimination game. With Rondo it certainly seemed like Pierce was trying to do just that.

The thing that worries me is his attitude will go down hill even further if this team spirals into rebuild mode and it could get really ugly. We're not there yet but the fact Danny tried to move him numerous times tells me this is a concern of his too.

Look, I realize he can be inconsistent.  My issue with the posts that call for getting rid of Rondo every time he has a bad game is that everybody has bad games.  Rondo's under a ridiculously small microscope, which I guess is to be expected when you are the young star of a storied franchise like the Boston Celtics.

I happen to love the way he plays and want to see him in Celtics green for a long, long time.  Hopefully, he has a good game tonight and the Celtics advance to the ECF.  If not, the blogosphere will undoubtedly blow up with venomous posts wanting to ship our young point guard out of here on the first available bus. 

[BudweiserCeltic]

 Rondo began the most consistent stretch of basketball of his career when Bradley was inserted into the starting line up.

  There are two reasons for this.

 !)  Bradley guarded the opposing teams primary ball handler allowing Rondo to play off the ball on defense.  This allowed Rondo to save energy for offense and pushing the ball at every opportunity.  Bradley's ball pressure made our defense better by running down the shot clock and creating turnovers which got us into the open court where Rondo thrives.

2) Bradley gave Rondo a running mate.  Without Bradley in the lineup there is little reason for Rondo to push the ball because he is the only guy running while the rest prefer to play in the half court.  Bradley's speed stretched opposing teams transition defense leaving big lanes for Rondo to exploit.  

  It not really that Rondo is playing that bad anyways.  It is hard to a pass first PG to excel when no one is hitting shots as as the case in the most recent games.  He just isn't going to play his best when he is stuck playing in quicksand with guys who all would rather play in the half court.  It's the same reason he wasn't playing consistently great when he was starting alongside the Big Three and the corpse of JO.  

He needs a running mate, we no longer have one on the roster.

Exactly. He's back to running by himself again, and waiting in vain for Ray Allen to get open while coming off screens.

Sorry, but he's not running. Ray or no Ray, Rondo needs to push the ball. When he does that, our offense runs well, even if some of the other players need to catch up, but the mere fact that Rondo pushes the ball, doesn't let the defense set-up, gives better flow to the offense, and gives us better opportunities at the basket.

  Rondo running ahead of the rest of the team when 2-3 defenders are ahead of him doesn't generally give us better opportunites at the rim, it gives us better chances at threes for the players trailing him. The problem is we're only hitting about 28% of our threes in this series.

That's not the only scenario. Problem is that those 3s are rhythm 3s, and they usually are better than the alternative. Also, it allows us to start the offense earlier, than the normal 12-14 seconds we are usually taking when Rondo walks the ball up.

It's not about fast breaks, it's about pushing the ball constantly, get into our sets earlier, among other things. It improves ball movement vastly also.

I really don't understand this contentment with Rondo walking the ball up, it's one of our biggest problems.

That we make or miss shots, it's out of our control for the most part, but you can control pace.