Rondo is ruining it for the Celtics

[OsirusCeltics]

It was so evident that the quarter where the Celtics scored the most (2nd quarter, 35 points) was the quarter that Rondo was not being passive and attacking the paint to create opportunities for his teammates

How can you not blame Rondo for how he performed in this game? And don't use those cupcake stats. Watch the game and see the initial reason and not the end result. Yes his teammates missed shots, but if Rondo dribbles the ball on the top of the key for 22 seconds, then passes it to his teammates, obviously its going to be a low percentage shots, which causes them to miss

I like Rondo, but sometimes  I...Cant...stand...him... lol this guy is ruining it for the Celtics with his out of space ET dumb plays. The 2nd quarter Rondo was attacking the rim and getting everyone invovled. Then in the second half he decided to phone home and stop driving

[Chris16]

I think he wants a trade. He has been dogging it all year long and has become a complete headcase.

[indeedproceed]

Rondo has not become a complete headcase, and hasn't been dogging it all year.

Mercurial is the very best word I think one could use to describe the man. That's who he is, as much as he's the guy who will pass everyone but magic Johnson on the mark for triple doubles during the playoffs.

[EJPLAYA]

Rondo has not become a complete headcase, and hasn't been dogging it all year.

Mercurial is the very best word I think one could use to describe the man. That's who he is, as much as he's the guy who will pass everyone but magic Johnson on the mark for triple doubles during the playoffs.

No, he just dogs it when he chooses. At times he is truly a star out there that no one can stop, and at other times he chooses to play like a backup pg. I don't think that its an unfair comment to say that he dogged it in 3/4 quarters tonight. The only one who can stop Rondo however is Rondo and oddly enough "bad Rondo" shows up way too often when it matters. That was actually a winnable game, and his poor timing of not showing up put that completely out of the question.

[OsirusCeltics]

Rondo has not become a complete headcase, and hasn't been dogging it all year.

Mercurial is the very best word I think one could use to describe the man. That's who he is, as much as he's the guy who will pass everyone but magic Johnson on the mark for triple doubles during the playoffs.

True, and its so funny how alot of fans would defend Rondo to the ends of the earth. Pierce and Ray could make the SAME number of turnovers and be non-aggressive and they would get blasted on the boards and be blamed for losing the game for the Celtics

But when Rondo does the same actions its "Oh well, Rondo wasn't feeling good today, the sun was in his eyes".. "Um he still misses Perk"... "He just made a few mistakes, he'll get it together"

[j804]

I would start with Paul Pierce if anything....

[Celtics18]

It was so evident that the quarter where the Celtics scored the most (2nd quarter, 35 points) was the quarter that Rondo was not being passive and attacking the paint to create opportunities for his teammates

How can you not blame Rondo for how he performed in this game? And don't use those cupcake stats. Watch the game and see the initial reason and not the end result. Yes his teammates missed shots, but if Rondo dribbles the ball on the top of the key for 22 seconds, then passes it to his teammates, obviously its going to be a low percentage shots, which causes them to miss

I like Rondo, but sometimes  I...Cant...stand...him... lol this guy is ruining it for the Celtics with his out of space ET dumb plays. The 2nd quarter Rondo was attacking the rim and getting everyone invovled. Then in the second half he decided to phone home and stop driving

Can you point to a specific possession in that game where Rondo dribbled the ball at the top of the key for 22 seconds and then passed it to a teammate?

I don't think that happened at all.  Sure, he doesn't drive into the lane on every single possession. 
Sometimes, he starts the offense by moving the ball to a teammate.  But, he got in the lane plenty in the second half.  Unfortunately, he couldn't convert enough and the Heat were not giving him easy passing lanes. 

I agree that Rondo has to play better, but he has been the best or second best player on this team all post season.  He was again tonight.  KG and Rondo need help.  Pierce is working hard, and he'll have his moments, but if nobody else steps up, we will not beat the Heat. 

Maybe we just don't have the horses with Avery down, Ray looking like he doesn't have it, and Brandon often times looking not ready for the moment. 

[blink]

I agree 100%.  I don't remember one possession that Rondo dribbled at the top of the key for 22 sec of the shot clock.  Was he an MVP tonight, no.  Was he one of our two best players?  Yes.  Does he deserve all the blame for tonight?  No.

I really wish people would understand that one person doesn't lose a game for a team.  Look this series is going to be like climbing a mountain.  Miami, even though we all hate them, are really really talented.  They are an especially good Def team.  We have to play smarter and execute on O if we want to score points.  Execution is up to all 5 players on the floor.  Rondo was 3 assists and 1 rebound from a triple double on a night that we played poorly as a team.  I am not sure how much more you want out of Rondo?

I think because at times Rondo makes looking getting to the hoop very easy that everyone thinks he can do it all the time with his eyes closed.  No.  As a point guard you have to pick your times to drive, try to keep their D off balance, and you need your wings to be able to knock down shots.  If they aren't hitting shots, the little bit of room that you had to drive before, well it just got smaller.  When PP and RA, and whoever else is on the floor can't hit their shots, the other teams D is going to try to shut down Rondo.  That is exactly what happened in the 3rd quarter. No one hitting shots, miami focuses on helping to stop rondo.

KG and Rondo have been playing great for us.  We wouldn't BE in the ECF without Rondo.  How short of a memory does everyone have?  Yeah I guess game 7 vs Philly was three days ago.

It was so evident that the quarter where the Celtics scored the most (2nd quarter, 35 points) was the quarter that Rondo was not being passive and attacking the paint to create opportunities for his teammates

How can you not blame Rondo for how he performed in this game? And don't use those cupcake stats. Watch the game and see the initial reason and not the end result. Yes his teammates missed shots, but if Rondo dribbles the ball on the top of the key for 22 seconds, then passes it to his teammates, obviously its going to be a low percentage shots, which causes them to miss

I like Rondo, but sometimes  I...Cant...stand...him... lol this guy is ruining it for the Celtics with his out of space ET dumb plays. The 2nd quarter Rondo was attacking the rim and getting everyone invovled. Then in the second half he decided to phone home and stop driving

Can you point to a specific possession in that game where Rondo dribbled the ball at the top of the key for 22 seconds and then passed it to a teammate?

I don't think that happened at all.  Sure, he doesn't drive into the lane on every single possession.  
Sometimes, he starts the offense by moving the ball to a teammate.  But, he got in the lane plenty in the second half.  Unfortunately, he couldn't convert enough and the Heat were not giving him easy passing lanes.  

I agree that Rondo has to play better, but he has been the best or second best player on this team all post season.  He was again tonight.  KG and Rondo need help.  Pierce is working hard, and he'll have his moments, but if nobody else steps up, we will not beat the Heat.  

Maybe we just don't have the horses with Avery down, Ray looking like he doesn't have it, and Brandon often times looking not ready for the moment.  

[LarBrd33]

Rondo isn't a superstar.  The sooner everyone accepts that fact the sooner we can stop blaming him for all our problems.  He's a great player and key part of this team... but he's not even the best guy on the Celtics (that would be KG).  He's arguably not even the 2nd best guy on the Celtics (that would be Pierce). 

Bigger issue than Rondo's inconsistent play (he is who he is) is the fact Pierce is less than 100%.  Pierce is the only guy on our team who can score consistently and create his own shot.  When he goes 5-18... you're gonna have a bad time.  KG is doing his best picking up the slack and has been a nightly beast carrying us on his back with 20/10... but it's not enough.

[j804]

It was so evident that the quarter where the Celtics scored the most (2nd quarter, 35 points) was the quarter that Rondo was not being passive and attacking the paint to create opportunities for his teammates

How can you not blame Rondo for how he performed in this game? And don't use those cupcake stats. Watch the game and see the initial reason and not the end result. Yes his teammates missed shots, but if Rondo dribbles the ball on the top of the key for 22 seconds, then passes it to his teammates, obviously its going to be a low percentage shots, which causes them to miss

I like Rondo, but sometimes  I...Cant...stand...him... lol this guy is ruining it for the Celtics with his out of space ET dumb plays. The 2nd quarter Rondo was attacking the rim and getting everyone invovled. Then in the second half he decided to phone home and stop driving

Can you point to a specific possession in that game where Rondo dribbled the ball at the top of the key for 22 seconds and then passed it to a teammate?

I don't think that happened at all.  Sure, he doesn't drive into the lane on every single possession. 
Sometimes, he starts the offense by moving the ball to a teammate.  But, he got in the lane plenty in the second half.  Unfortunately, he couldn't convert enough and the Heat were not giving him easy passing lanes. 

I agree that Rondo has to play better, but he has been the best or second best player on this team all post season.  He was again tonight.  KG and Rondo need help.  Pierce is working hard, and he'll have his moments, but if nobody else steps up, we will not beat the Heat. 

Maybe we just don't have the horses with Avery down, Ray looking like he doesn't have it, and Brandon often times looking not ready for the moment. 

I agree and think its the Captain that is killing us, as much as I love him he has just been awful and done nothing since he had that big night of his against ATL when Rondo was suspended. It's a HUGE reason why we are struggling to score. 

[blink]

I am actually not willing to dump the whole loss on PP either.  Paul actually played some decent 1/2 court D on lebron at times.  But it is going to be a serious challenge for him in this series energy wise to guard and then produce  points. 

I just think we need to execute better, play smarter and get PP involved early for some easy looks to get his confidence up.
Yeah he is banged up, nothing to do about that. 

It was so evident that the quarter where the Celtics scored the most (2nd quarter, 35 points) was the quarter that Rondo was not being passive and attacking the paint to create opportunities for his teammates

How can you not blame Rondo for how he performed in this game? And don't use those cupcake stats. Watch the game and see the initial reason and not the end result. Yes his teammates missed shots, but if Rondo dribbles the ball on the top of the key for 22 seconds, then passes it to his teammates, obviously its going to be a low percentage shots, which causes them to miss

I like Rondo, but sometimes  I...Cant...stand...him... lol this guy is ruining it for the Celtics with his out of space ET dumb plays. The 2nd quarter Rondo was attacking the rim and getting everyone invovled. Then in the second half he decided to phone home and stop driving

Can you point to a specific possession in that game where Rondo dribbled the ball at the top of the key for 22 seconds and then passed it to a teammate?

I don't think that happened at all.  Sure, he doesn't drive into the lane on every single possession. 
Sometimes, he starts the offense by moving the ball to a teammate.  But, he got in the lane plenty in the second half.  Unfortunately, he couldn't convert enough and the Heat were not giving him easy passing lanes. 

I agree that Rondo has to play better, but he has been the best or second best player on this team all post season.  He was again tonight.  KG and Rondo need help.  Pierce is working hard, and he'll have his moments, but if nobody else steps up, we will not beat the Heat. 

Maybe we just don't have the horses with Avery down, Ray looking like he doesn't have it, and Brandon often times looking not ready for the moment. 

I agree and think its the Captain that is killing us, as much as I love him he has just been awful and done nothing since he had that big night of his against ATL when Rondo was suspended. It's a HUGE reason why we are struggling to score. 

[guava_wrench]

A lot of Rondo's best passes are when he holds the ball a little longer. You need to really break down plays to make this kind of criticism. Rondo also needs to mix it up, which means some quick passes, and some plays where he works longer for a move.

[clover]

I am actually not willing to dump the whole loss on PP either.  Paul actually played some decent 1/2 court D on lebron at times.  But it is going to be a serious challenge for him in this series energy wise to guard and then produce  points. 

I just think we need to execute better, play smarter and get PP involved early for some easy looks to get his confidence up.
Yeah he is banged up, nothing to do about that. 

It was so evident that the quarter where the Celtics scored the most (2nd quarter, 35 points) was the quarter that Rondo was not being passive and attacking the paint to create opportunities for his teammates

How can you not blame Rondo for how he performed in this game? And don't use those cupcake stats. Watch the game and see the initial reason and not the end result. Yes his teammates missed shots, but if Rondo dribbles the ball on the top of the key for 22 seconds, then passes it to his teammates, obviously its going to be a low percentage shots, which causes them to miss

I like Rondo, but sometimes  I...Cant...stand...him... lol this guy is ruining it for the Celtics with his out of space ET dumb plays. The 2nd quarter Rondo was attacking the rim and getting everyone invovled. Then in the second half he decided to phone home and stop driving

Can you point to a specific possession in that game where Rondo dribbled the ball at the top of the key for 22 seconds and then passed it to a teammate?

I don't think that happened at all.  Sure, he doesn't drive into the lane on every single possession. 
Sometimes, he starts the offense by moving the ball to a teammate.  But, he got in the lane plenty in the second half.  Unfortunately, he couldn't convert enough and the Heat were not giving him easy passing lanes. 

I agree that Rondo has to play better, but he has been the best or second best player on this team all post season.  He was again tonight.  KG and Rondo need help.  Pierce is working hard, and he'll have his moments, but if nobody else steps up, we will not beat the Heat. 

Maybe we just don't have the horses with Avery down, Ray looking like he doesn't have it, and Brandon often times looking not ready for the moment. 

I agree and think its the Captain that is killing us, as much as I love him he has just been awful and done nothing since he had that big night of his against ATL when Rondo was suspended. It's a HUGE reason why we are struggling to score. 

5-18 with no FTA's and 2 RB's is not going to cut it for the Captain, but Ray and Bass were close to dead weight too.

Rondo was easily the Celtics' second best player tonight.

[Renee2]

-bump-

[Yoki_IsTheName]

It was so evident that the quarter where the Celtics scored the most (2nd quarter, 35 points) was the quarter that Rondo was not being passive and attacking the paint to create opportunities for his teammates

How can you not blame Rondo for how he performed in this game? And don't use those cupcake stats. Watch the game and see the initial reason and not the end result. Yes his teammates missed shots, but if Rondo dribbles the ball on the top of the key for 22 seconds, then passes it to his teammates, obviously its going to be a low percentage shots, which causes them to miss

I like Rondo, but sometimes  I...Cant...stand...him... lol this guy is ruining it for the Celtics with his out of space ET dumb plays. The 2nd quarter Rondo was attacking the rim and getting everyone invovled. Then in the second half he decided to phone home and stop driving

The 2nd quarter Rondo was really good. The second half wasnt as good, we agree on that. But that's not for lack of effort.

Miami made adjustments. Everytime he gets to the lane, passing lanes are narrow. Everywhere he goes there was help defense. And when he hits open people, they miss shots. Sure he had something to do with the loss, and he has to play better and understand that Miami is clogging him and make adjustments off of it, but to say he is ruining this team, i disagree.

He was the 2nd best player tonight after KG. Rather than looking at what Rondo wasn't doing, look at how Miami prevented him from doing what he does.

Someone said he thinks Rondo wants a trade. The way some other fans treats him, would you blame him?