This is Rondos year! 2012-13 nba MVP!

[ManUp]

So apparently he CAN up his scoring and maintain his level of assists.

Interesting

Still, I don't think he'll up his scoring too much, quite simply to preserve his body, as well as keep other players happy by getting them their fair share of shots.

Agreed.

It's pretty clear at this point that Rondo plays the regular season and play-offs at two different paces. Not to suggest that he isn't trying during regular season. I just think he realizes the way he plays in the play-offs isn't sustainable for 82 games.

[SHAQATTACK]

With Green 4, AB 2, Wilcox 5, Joseph 3 , ... Rondo might get a fast break going with this small line up. .... Celtic "OVERDRIVE" squad ... might just be alot fun to watch.

Ps... Lord knows I deserves watching this at least once ....I was tortured & tormented watching JO last year...

[Brendan]

With Green 4, AB 2, Wilcox 5, Joseph 3 , ... Rondo might get a fast break going with this small line up. .... Celtic "OVERDRIVE" squad ... might just be alot fun to watch.

Ps... Lord knows I deserves watching this at least once ....I was tortured & tormented watching JO last year...

you need a trailer (Pierce, JET, or KG) to come down and drain a heartbreaking jumper after the other team plays good transition defense...

[perks-a-beast]

Rondo is a good enough talent to win MVP, no question, but he won't ever do it. Regular season Rondo is way more laid back than playoff Rondo and his regular season stats will never be good enough to put him in contention, ecspecially with LeBron putting up 27,8 and 8 each year. Alot of the time the voting comes down to statistics.

I will say this, I won't be surprised if Rondo is the MVP of the playoffs next year (I know that's not a real award). He's just so tenacious come playoff time. Perfectly capable of putting up 20, 14 and 5.

[Django]

Its pretty much LeBron or Durant.

Rondo could finish 3rd in voting though.

Ray Allen hitting wide open 3's from passes by LeBron certainly increases his chances.   

[greenpride32]

Pretty humorous to read a thread about an "mvp candidate" having two modes, a playoff and regular season one.  Last time I checked former MVPs like Jordan, Kobe, LeBron (all except crunch time) brought their game regular or post season; they didn't "turn into something else" for whatever that's supposed to mean in the playoffs.  To me it just means said player is capable of puttting up big games but not consistently; and that is what separates them from the truly elite.

[BballTim]

So apparently he CAN up his scoring and maintain his level of assists.

Interesting

Yeah too bad he's not getting defended by Mario Chalmers and Jeff Teague every game.

  Rondo went up against 3 of the top 6 defenses in the league in the playoffs. Why do you think Chalmers is a bad defender?

[ianboyextreme]

Pretty humorous to read a thread about an "mvp candidate" having two modes, a playoff and regular season one.  Last time I checked former MVPs like Jordan, Kobe, LeBron (all except crunch time) brought their game regular or post season; they didn't "turn into something else" for whatever that's supposed to mean in the playoffs.  To me it just means said player is capable of puttting up big games but not consistently; and that is what separates them from the truly elite.

Wrong, up until this year lebron has had regular season mode, then playoff mode, which is considerably worse.

[syfy9]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tccSvlrsAUM

hes the only guy I kno that can do this... ill take Rondo any day

He had the entire Warriors building ooh and awe at that pass! \

EXCEPT for the commentators however - SERIOUSLY, what is up with them?

[ianboyextreme]

You guys know that Rondo has done things that no other player in history has ever done right? You all understand that after only 5 years in the league he is already 3rd all time in playoff triple doubles? You can point out his flaws as a shooter all you want but he is truly a great. Most outside of Celticsblog seem to recognize that....I honestly thought this debate was over after our playoff run. To the guy that said Rondo was being guarded by Teague and Chalmers...I distinctly remember Rondo being guarded by Lebron and Wade for the majority of the time.
This man is gonna keep breaking records and continue to do unpresecdented  things and yall are gonna continue to find flaws because you are in love with shooting.

[BballTim]

Pretty humorous to read a thread about an "mvp candidate" having two modes, a playoff and regular season one.  Last time I checked former MVPs like Jordan, Kobe, LeBron (all except crunch time) brought their game regular or post season; they didn't "turn into something else" for whatever that's supposed to mean in the playoffs.  To me it just means said player is capable of puttting up big games but not consistently; and that is what separates them from the truly elite.

  Does Rondo coast a little during the regular season? Yes. But that's something he learned from playing with the big three.

[perks-a-beast]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tccSvlrsAUM

hes the only guy I kno that can do this... ill take Rondo any day

He had the entire Warriors building ooh and awe at that pass! \

EXCEPT for the commentators however - SERIOUSLY, what is up with them?

Yikes. Tough crowd. I feel like Rondo could have done a double front flip dunk and the announcers still would have used their inside voices to call it.

[BballTim]

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. 

  So you're saying that if you look at the stats for these guys, when their scoring goes down their assists go up?

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.

  That would mean that Rondo gets a lot fewer assists a game in the playoffs, when he takes significantly more shots? It might not be rocket surgery, but clearly things a little more complicated than you think they are.

[ianboyextreme]

"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."

....? Yes I can say that 11.7 assists is more impressive than 11.6 just like 25.7 points is more impressive than 25.6. One is more than the other.

[BASS_THUMPER]

i think rondo has already shown us his best game and i dont see him doing more than he is now
i dont ever see him gettin mvp
i love him and what he does here but..?

*bout to sip*