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.
Tim... I already know what you are alluding to. I smell the bait. I made the statement that if Rondo scored more/took more shots/used offensive possessions to take more shots... his assists would go down.
I already know your rebuttal will be to point out that Rondo took more shots in the playoffs and scored more points (17.3) while averaging more assists (11.9) and thus believe you are proving me wrong.
First of all... I already admitted that ROndo's playoff was nothing short of amazing. But playing 19 games against the likes of Jeff Teague and Mario Chalmers isn't the same as playing 82 games against a variety of defenses.
That said... you're still wrong. You're forgetting that in the playoffs Rondo averaged significantly more minutes (42.6) than in the regular season (36.9).
If you take Rondo's regular season averages: 36.9 minutes: 11.9 points, 11.7 assists, 10.8 shots per game... and project it out to 42.6 minutes ... You'd get 13.7 points, 13.5 assists on 12.4 shots.
Alternatively, if you take his playoff numbers: 42.6 minutes, 17.3 points, 11.9 assists, 15.8 shots per game... and compress it to 36.9 minutes... you'd get 14.9 points, 10.3 assists and 13.6 shots.
Either way, if you even the minutes... you'll see my point:
Regular season: 36.9 minutes - 11.9 points, 11.7 assists, 10.8 shots
Post season (adjusted): 36.9 minutes - 14.9 points, 10.3 assists, 13.6 shots
Regular season (adjusted): 42.6 minutes - 13.7 points, 13.5 assists, 12.4 shots
Post Season: 42.6 minutes - 17.3 points, 11.9 assists, 15.8 shots
More shots = less assists.
From this we can guesstimate that if Rondo continues his incredible post-season form... he'd average close to 15 points per game and just over 10 assists per game (since there is no way he'd play 43 minutes a night in the regular season)... which is still significantly less than Nash, Deron and Chris Paul at their best (20 points 11 assists). Additionally... the problem for ROndo is that if he becomes more assertive on the offensive end (tries to average 15+ per game), defenders might actually start guarding him. And if defenders start guarding him... we just aren't certain how he'd fair with defensive pressure. Paul, Williams and Nash have all had to face double teams and still succeeded. We don't know if Rondo can do the same.
Topic: This is Rondos year! 2012-13 nba MVP! (Read 19980 times)