"Rondo has three hall of famers; a better support cast than CP3/Rose"

[bfrombleacher]

Does that still even apply? Especially in the Heat series.



Bass was our leading scorer. KG and Bass were pretty much the only players playing above average basketball.

Do you still think Rondo was only good because of the team?

Or was the team, in fact, dragging Rondo down?

The reliance on jumpshots certainly has contributed to the inconsistencies. While the team could make incredible runs with tough D turning into momentum but the team was also prone to having runs made against them. The lack of rebounding is awfully deflating.

Do you think having to work with an inconsistent jumpshot and constantly having to work against the grain ultimately slowed down what Rondo could have accomplished?

[Who]

Bass averaged 9.9ppg against the Heat. He was the fifth leading scorer on the team.

Rondo (20.9), Garnett (19.1), Pierce (18.0) and Ray (11.9) all scored more than him.

[syfy9]

Well, imagine Rondo on the Clippers, Bulls, and Celtics.

I'd say the Bulls would be the most dominant defensive team the NBA has seen in a while, but also one of the worst offensive teams as well.

Rondo would have better numbers with the Clippers, I believe, but their defense wouldn't be Celtics caliber/ They would not be a contender.


I would say that for Rondo as the individual, he'd have more success with the Clippers than Celtics, but he'd have more team success with the Celtics.

[bfrombleacher]

Well, imagine Rondo on the Clippers, Bulls, and Celtics.

I'd say the Bulls would be the most dominant defensive team the NBA has seen in a while, but also one of the worst offensive teams as well.

Rondo would have better numbers with the Clippers, I believe, but their defense wouldn't be Celtics caliber/ They would not be a contender.


I would say that for Rondo as the individual, he'd have more success with the Clippers than Celtics, but he'd have more team success with the Celtics.

Interesting way of putting it. I agree with the Clippers part. Especially with Del Negro at the helm.

However, with the Bulls, I've honestly wondered what would happen. Guys like Noah and Boozer might end up scoring more easily with Rondo (especially now).

Rondo's passes to shooters may look easy but he has to know exactly where they are and when to hit them...

Even if you factor in Rondo's lack of scoring ability, I wonder if their offense would be terrible with Rondo. I think having some semblence of inside scoring versus none whatsoever on the C's might make quite a bit of difference. (I'm pegging Noah and Boozer somewhere between Shaq and JO/Ryan Hollins as Rondo's partners when I say this.)

I'm not saying Rondo is better than Rose though. Without a go-to scorer in crunch time and scoring droughts, there'd certainly be problems.

But Rondo's ability to get you where you need the ball is incredible and I don't think the dropoff in offense would be as drastic as some would imagine.

[BballTim]

Well, imagine Rondo on the Clippers, Bulls, and Celtics.

I'd say the Bulls would be the most dominant defensive team the NBA has seen in a while, but also one of the worst offensive teams as well.

Rondo would have better numbers with the Clippers, I believe, but their defense wouldn't be Celtics caliber/ They would not be a contender.


I would say that for Rondo as the individual, he'd have more success with the Clippers than Celtics, but he'd have more team success with the Celtics.

  I doubt that the Bulls would have a very bad offense with Rondo. They lose scoring from Rose, they gain Rondo's distribution. He'll score some, all the other players will likely score more efficiently.

[2short]

2 things to add; rondo to me appears to be a team player, better than most pg in the league
second, i think with JUST the addition of bradley at sg shows how much better the team would be if they play to rondo's strength
our team is awesome but beginning of year we were pretty stagnant (see jermaine as starter)


midseason when ray was hurt or whatever the  reason, he and the team took a turn for the worse, bradley was inserted into starting lineup and suddenly a guy who could run with rondo i.e. easy baskets!

[syfy9]

Well, imagine Rondo on the Clippers, Bulls, and Celtics.

I'd say the Bulls would be the most dominant defensive team the NBA has seen in a while, but also one of the worst offensive teams as well.

Rondo would have better numbers with the Clippers, I believe, but their defense wouldn't be Celtics caliber/ They would not be a contender.


I would say that for Rondo as the individual, he'd have more success with the Clippers than Celtics, but he'd have more team success with the Celtics.

Interesting way of putting it. I agree with the Clippers part. Especially with Del Negro at the helm.

However, with the Bulls, I've honestly wondered what would happen. Guys like Noah and Boozer might end up scoring more easily with Rondo (especially now).

Rondo's passes to shooters may look easy but he has to know exactly where they are and when to hit them...

Even if you factor in Rondo's lack of scoring ability, I wonder if their offense would be terrible with Rondo. I think having some semblence of inside scoring versus none whatsoever on the C's might make quite a bit of difference. (I'm pegging Noah and Boozer somewhere between Shaq and JO/Ryan Hollins as Rondo's partners when I say this.)

I'm not saying Rondo is better than Rose though. Without a go-to scorer in crunch time and scoring droughts, there'd certainly be problems.

But Rondo's ability to get you where you need the ball is incredible and I don't think the dropoff in offense would be as drastic as some would imagine.

Well, imagine Rondo on the Clippers, Bulls, and Celtics.

I'd say the Bulls would be the most dominant defensive team the NBA has seen in a while, but also one of the worst offensive teams as well.

Rondo would have better numbers with the Clippers, I believe, but their defense wouldn't be Celtics caliber/ They would not be a contender.


I would say that for Rondo as the individual, he'd have more success with the Clippers than Celtics, but he'd have more team success with the Celtics.

  I doubt that the Bulls would have a very bad offense with Rondo. They lose scoring from Rose, they gain Rondo's distribution. He'll score some, all the other players will likely score more efficiently.

Yeah, you guys make a good point. I'm just concerned about how the Bulls go through so many scoring droughts even with Rose. He's the only one who can create a shot off the dribble well enough. I guess Rondo can create scoring opportunities just as well, though.

[Yogi]

For the last two years replace "hall-of-famers" with old guys who can't run but play defense and shoot well.  Maybe in 2008 he played with 3 hall-of-famers.  

[fairweatherfan06]

Mario Chalmers could say the same (Not sure Bosh will make it but he may sneak in because he was on this team) and does anybody think he's half as good as Rondo?  Could he have done what Rondo has with our players...DOUBT IT.

[manl_lui]

that used to be the case in 2008, but once KG went down in 2009, you can tell this team will belong to Rondo in the future. The way he played in that chicago series averaging a triple double. Then come this year, when Pierce was in foul trouble, Rondo took over. At this point, this is Rondo's team now (well once Pierce retires).

[bfrombleacher]

Bass averaged 9.9ppg against the Heat. He was the fifth leading scorer on the team.

Rondo (20.9), Garnett (19.1), Pierce (18.0) and Ray (11.9) all scored more than him.

Most reliable was the phrase I was looking for (and maybe most efficient)*

Outside of Rondo and Bass, KG is probably the next most consist, efficient scorer (and even he's been somewhat inconsistent on that end of the floor. Defensively he's a beast though).

i think with JUST the addition of bradley at sg shows how much better the team would be if they play to rondo's strength
our team is awesome but beginning of year we were pretty stagnant (see jermaine as starter)


midseason when ray was hurt or whatever the  reason, he and the team took a turn for the worse, bradley was inserted into starting lineup and suddenly a guy who could run with rondo i.e. easy baskets!

That's another issue as well. This team is built to grind (on top of relying on the jumpshot a lot). Rondo is certainly not at his best in grind it out games and I can't help but imagine how much better Rondo could be if the team was less "grind-it-out" (I'm not even talking about a team completely built around Rondo).

I think "Rondo would function better in the open court" is a bit misleading. That gives me the impression that he needs 4 other guys who can run like gazettes down the floor and that our offense would only predicate on fast breaks.

Certainly he would benefit from it but I think that even in a half court setting by having a more dynamic offense, more cuts to the basket and more inside scoring Rondo would thrive.

I think even a guy like Sullinger who doesn't seem fast to me at all would have an incredible symbiotic relationship with Rondo (again, look at what Rondo did with Shaq).


As for JO...I don't even think it's a matter of fit. He was a 15 minute a game guy put into a 20-25 minute a game role. Words cannot express my frustration with this guy.

[greenpride32]

When KG/Allen/Pierce were younger and more effective players we won the title, and had a great shot of repeating if not for KG's injury in 2009.  Now that the big 3 are in decline, and add in KG's injury, our team had to fight and claw to stay above .500 for much of the past season.  If you want to call it Rondo's team now, we aren't consided title favorites with him at the helm. So you tell me who carried who.


We are still capable of beating any team since the talent is still there, but not as consistently because of the old legs.

[BballTim]

When KG/Allen/Pierce were younger and more effective players we won the title, and had a great shot of repeating if not for KG's injury in 2009.  Now that the big 3 are in decline, and add in KG's injury, our team had to fight and claw to stay above .500 for much of the past season.  If you want to call it Rondo's team now, we aren't consided title favorites with him at the helm. So you tell me who carried who.

  Nobody's disputing that the biog three carried the team in 2008. Since then they've been in decline as you've noticed, and we came within a game of our second trip to the finals during their decline. Rondo's been our best or second best player (debatable) since KG's knee injury and we've had plenty of success during that time. This year we struggled when KG and PP were playing terribly, meaning we were getting average or worse play from 3-4 of the players that were on the court with Rondo.

[indeedproceed]

Rondo still has a better supporting cast, at least among the starters. Much better, even. Garnett is head and shoulder above the second best players on either team (Blake Griffin isn't there yet, until he becomes a better defender, passer, and figures out again how that 18ft jumper works).

But I do think the criticism is a bit tired now. I think now it's fair to judge them all on even footing. Deron Williams still has an excuse though. At least until the signings/trades start flying.

[LarBrd33]

Rondo still has a better supporting cast, at least among the starters. Much better, even. Garnett is head and shoulder above the second best players on either team (Blake Griffin isn't there yet, until he becomes a better defender, passer, and figures out again how that 18ft jumper works).

But I do think the criticism is a bit tired now. I think now it's fair to judge them all on even footing. Deron Williams still has an excuse though. At least until the signings/trades start flying.

Pretty much agree with Indeed on this one.

This is a tired argument that seems to be only relevant to Boston fans.  Most of you already know my thoughts on it.  I think Rondo is great, but I have Chris Paul ranked well above him.

At this point I don't care.  We're going to know the answer to this question within the next 5 years.  KG, Ray and Pierce will inevitably be gone and it will probably be Rondo's team.  We'll see what happens.