Early season predictions for Rondo
15.0 ppg
13.5 apg
5.2 rpg
2.3 spg
MVP

I like it! 

pre season predictions for Rondo
15.0 ppg
13.5 apg
5.2 rpg
2.3 spg
MVP

I really don't see how he'd be able to score more points and average more assists at the same time.  Part of the reason he averages so many assists is that he has very little responsibility to score the ball.  He could get away with scoring 12 a night, because this team had Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett... shooters like Ray and Bass.  His main role was the pass the ball to shooters.  And since the majority of our shooters (Ray, Bass, KG) can't create their own shot either... their offense was more than likely to come from a Rondo pass.   

You compare Rondo last season to Chris Paul, for example.  Chris Paul averaged 2 less assists, but 8 more points... and he scored his 20 per night while posting shooting percentages of 48%/37%/86%.   If Paul were told to score less and only focus on passing... he could easily get 11+ assists a night.  But as a reliable scorer, he understands that more often than not the best shot is his own.  That's something Rondo might never have. 44%/24%/59% is not reliable offense.  Hopefully his strong play during the 19 playoff games (against the likes of jeff Teague and Mario Chalmers) will continue on into the next season, tho.  He shot a lot better in the playoffs.

Quote from: ianboyextreme on July 13, 2012, 05:11:41 PM

pre season predictions for Rondo
15.0 ppg
13.5 apg
5.2 rpg
2.3 spg
MVP

I really don't see how he'd be able to score more points and average more assists at the same time.  Part of the reason he averages so many assists is that he has very little responsibility to score the ball.  He could get away with scoring 12 a night, because this team had Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett... shooters like Ray and Bass.  His main role was the pass the ball to shooters.  And since the majority of our shooters (Ray, Bass, KG) can't create their own shot either... their offense was more than likely to come from a Rondo pass.    

I disagree with that analyis - Rondo can improve his scoring without his assists taking a huge hit. I think these past playoffs showed that, he improved on his regular season assist average by .2 and added 5 more points to his scoring average.

Now, I'm not saying he'll meet the 15 pts/13.5 ast prediction - but I could realistically see:

15.0 pts
11.3 asts
4.9 rebs
2.3 stls

Quote from: ianboyextreme on July 13, 2012, 05:11:41 PM

pre season predictions for Rondo
15.0 ppg
13.5 apg
5.2 rpg
2.3 spg
MVP

I really don't see how he'd be able to score more points and average more assists at the same time.  Part of the reason he averages so many assists is that he has very little responsibility to score the ball.  He could get away with scoring 12 a night, because this team had Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett... shooters like Ray and Bass.  His main role was the pass the ball to shooters.  And since the majority of our shooters (Ray, Bass, KG) can't create their own shot either... their offense was more than likely to come from a Rondo pass.   

You compare Rondo last season to Chris Paul, for example.  Chris Paul averaged 2 less assists, but 8 more points... and he scored his 20 per night while posting shooting percentages of 48%/37%/86%.   If Paul were told to score less and only focus on passing... he could easily get 11+ assists a night.  But as a reliable scorer, he understands that more often than not the best shot is his own.  That's something Rondo might never have. 44%/24%/59% is not reliable offense.

Rondo averaged 3 more assists than Paul and even if Paul was looking to pass first every time down the court he still wouldnt average more assists than Rajon because he is simply an inferior passer compared to Rondo. We all know Rondo can score when the occasion calls for it. I really dont see how this is any arguement after what he just did in the playoffs.

As much as I love Rondo, the MVP is a media game. The media dictates who receives the award, a recently example being Rose winning the MVP over LeBron two years ago. With that being said, Rondo isn't the most liked guy by the media.

This is true.

Quote from: LarBrd33 on July 13, 2012, 05:13:53 PM

Nah.

When Nash won those MVP's he was getting as many assists as Rondo, but also scoring 17-19 a night while shooting RIDICULOUS percentages of 50%/44%/90% ... Rondo is a great point guard, but he's completely unreliable on the offensive end.  He can pass and play solid defense.. and run an offense as well as anyone in the league... but he lacks the ability to create his own shot or score consistently... a skill that point guards (equal to him in playmaking) like Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Nash have.... and point guards (less than him in playmaking) like Rose and Westbrook also have.

Rondo did have an amazing playoff this year, though.  But he's had huge series in the past (2009 comes to mind) that didn't translate to huge regular seasons. 

The idea that Rondo can not create his own shot is absurd. I would say "did you watch the playoofs?", but since you mentioned them in your post I know you did which leaves me wondering what you are talking about. It is true that he doesnt score in the high teens consistently but I believe it is commonly recognized around the league that he doesn't try to score big every night- only when it is needed. Steve Nash has never averaged more assists in a season than Rondo did this year. The most he ever averaged was 11.6. Paul, Williams, despite being very good playmakers, are nowhere close to Rondo as far as being a set-up man.

Rondo's best:  11.9 points, 11.7 assists 45%/24%/60%
Nash's best:  18.6 points, 11.6 assists 53%/45%/90%
Paul's best:  22.8 points, 11 assists  50%/36%/87%
Deron's best:  18.8 points, 10.5 assists, 51%/40%/80%

You figure if Chris Paul is scoring 22.8 points and 11 assists... that' means he's minimum responsible for 44.8 points per night, right?  Likely more if his teammates are scoring threes.   If rondo is getting 11.9 and 11.7... that means he's minimum responsible for 35.3 points per night.   

Do you get my point?  All of those guys are more consistent scorers than Rondo.  If they only needed to score 12 a night, they could easily get more than 11 assists.  They already proved capable of getting 11 assists while scoring far more consistently than ROndo likely ever will be able. 

You can't possibly say that Rondo's 11.7 assists is more impressive than Nash's 11.6 assists.  That's just ignorant.  Nash scored 18.6 points, because his shooting percentages were RIDICULOUS 53%/45%/90%... If he was a subpar scorer like Rondo, then he presumably would have taken less shots (or he'd be a detriment to his team)... in which case, he would have made up for the shots by using offensive possessions to rack up more assists... and thus... would have averaged more assists than Rondo did last year.  The point is that as the hall of famers fade away from the Celtics, Rondo will be asked to score the ball more.  If he's asked to score the ball more that means he'll be taking more shots.  If he's taking more shots that mean's less offensive possessions to get assists.  Less offensive possessions to get assists = less assists.  This isn't rocket surgery.

Anybody care to remind me what Rondo's averages were this past playoffs?