Be realistic about Rondo (I know it is asking a lot)

[Greenback]

Honestly...Rondo doesn't pass the ball well
he is a terrible defender
he can't run an offense
he has no bball iq
his jump shot isn't improving
he isn't athletic
he can't handle the ball
he can't lead a team.......

You forgot terrible free throw shooter
Too much showboating
Poor decision making
Can't control the tempo or know how to finish a game
Misses way too many bunnies
Throws tantrums
Nobody wants to trade for him

[masteremile123]

Well he averaged 20 ppg in the miami series (that's consistent). And he DESTROYED miami (the best team in the league) basically alone. His only help was Kg... So if we can't win a championship with a guy like that who else is on your mind ?? D-Rose ?? the same guy that go destroyed by the same miami defense ?? Plus this guy steps up during the playoffs so I personally don't want any other guy on my team when we start the post season...
Seriously guys the Rondo hate has got to stop this guy belongs in the top 2 pg and top 6 players in the league. And he is here to stay so get over it !!!

[BballTim]

^at 6'1", 170 lb

...and that outlier happened to be at arguably the biggest moment in his career.

Stats and PERs become meaningless very quickly unless you're a corny white guy that has never played a game of basketball in his life. I don't suggest Rondo will ever win an MVP, but to judge him based on his true shooting percentage is a joke my dude. No one can run an offense like the little guy in the game right now. He's the reason everyone else is getting theirs and one of the fiercest competitors in the game. If everyone adopted his approach to the game, the league would be incredible... not a bunch of disloyal, money-hungry, egotistical clowns.   

They're gonna come for this post.


I just want to talk about this bold part: Steve Nash has done so for an entire career (still going strong), regardless of the talent around him. RR hasn't had the opportunity to prove he can yet, but he will soon enough.

  I don't know that I'd agree with this. Nash has always been on teams with fast paced offense, I don't know that he'd be the player we've all seen if he was on a team where most of the players couldn't beat opponents down court and he had to spend most of his time directing traffic in the half court on a team full of players that can't create their own shot.

  I just saw an article the other day on how well Nash and Kobe will do together (http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/47595/can-nash-do-his-thing-in-l-a). It talked about the year Nash couldn't run his usual offense because they were integrating Shaq into the offense:

  "The result was something Kevin Arnovitz aptly called a "hummingbird trapped in a sandwich bag." It just didn't look right. O'Neal ate up the space Nash needed to operate and ended the team's tradition of confusing defenses by covering the entire floor with shooters.
 
The 2005 and 2006 MVP didn't even make the All-Star team in 2009, and most believed he was the same player he had ever been, but the system didn't allow him to do what he does best. Ask him to do everything on offense, and Nash runs a beautiful show. Ask him to do regular point guard things, like make an entry pass, cut through the lane, and stand in the corner, and it's not clear why he was ever the MVP. It's like Mario Andretti driving the school bus."

  "The takeaway is that Nash -- tiny by NBA standards and hampered by a bad back -- is not a magical player under all circumstances. He's a magical player in the right system -- namely one where he dominates the ball."

  Nash has spent his career (in Phoenix) on teams that are geared towards his strengths. Rondo's on a team that isn't geared toward his.

[BballTim]

Rondo drove Ray away.  Enough said.

  It sounds like everyone who didn't treat Ray like a superstar drove him away.

[goCeltics]

Rondo haters need to go find another team, just like ray did.

[goCeltics]

nash couldn't play with shaq, rondo made shaq better, rondo makes everyone better, enough said.

[HowardAvellino]

Be realistic about Rondo (I know it is asking a lot)

I think you would make your point better without the condescending.  If you start out assuming you are the only one who is being realistic, you're off to a very poor start.  Especially when your analysis is not particularly realistic.

You've latched on to one stat, and from that, you conclude his performance is "putrid" and "awful".  In your more generous statement, you claim he "can't score consistently".

You latch on to TS%, without even trying to understand why his was low.  You claim teams have dared him to shoot, so it sounds like you think he's standing around missing jumpers.  He isn't.  His "regular" shooting percentage was 12th among NBA point guards.

His TS is low because his secondary percentage is abysmal.  He doesn't shoot threes -- this, I don't care about.  The concern is, he shoots free throws rarely and poorly.  And because he shoots them poorly, he sometimes avoids contact and avoids driving at all, and becomes passive.

To be a truly elite point guard, he needs to improve his free throw shooting, and to become confident in it.

That's a much more "realistic" criticism than yours, which can pretty much be paraphrased as, "he sucks".  This web site is mostly for Celtics fans, and fans of all teams do tend to overvalue their own players a bit.  But there are tons of impartial people out there who know basketball very well and will tell you Rondo is among the best.

And, if you ask anyone who knows anything about basketball and point guard play, none of them will tell you, "look at the TS%".  Last year, Jordan Farmar, Mario Chalmers, Devin Harris, Chris Duhon, Jose Calderon, and Jarrett Jack all had higher TS% than Tony Parker, Russel Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Deron Williams, and Mike Conley.

Yeah, there are a few good point guards with good TS%.  Chris Paul was fourth; he's the best point guard in the NBA.  Nash, Curry (in limited minutes), and Lawson were also in the top 5, and they're all good.  Kyrie Irving's and Kyle Lowry's were both top 15, and they are good.  But generally, TS% is about the 18th thing you'd look at in evaluating a point guard.

[esel1000]

Honestly...Rondo doesn't pass the ball well
he is a terrible defender
he can't run an offense
he has no bball iq
his jump shot isn't improving
he isn't athletic
he can't handle the ball
he can't lead a team.......

explains why he led the league in assists right...?

this forum amazes me sometimes, Rondo has a breakout year, has like 15 triple doubles,  was in the convo for MVP and you ppl still find ways to criticize his every move... its amazing.

[Greenback]

Rondo drove Ray away.  Enough said.

  It sounds like everyone who didn't treat Ray like a superstar drove him away.

It is worth considering Ray's comments.  Here is an interesting thread to review, Rondo team cancer?:

http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1193825&start=45

[bucknersrevenge]

Rondo drove Ray away.  Enough said.

LOL Well the comedian's here.

[HowardAvellino]

It is worth considering Ray's comments.

In my opinion, no.  I've considered many of Ray's comments, and found them nonsensical.  He wanted a starting role, where he'd be a key guy, with a lot of touches.  He also wanted a lot of money.  Then he signed up with a team with three offensive superstars, for the mini-midlevel.  Until he starts making some sense, no, I'm not going to take anything he says seriously.

[bucknersrevenge]

Rondo drove Ray away.  Enough said.

  It sounds like everyone who didn't treat Ray like a superstar drove him away.

It is worth considering Ray's comments.  Here is an interesting thread to review, Rondo team cancer?:

http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1193825&start=45

Well if it's a RealGM thread then you can definitely take it to the bank.

[esel1000]

Rondo drove Ray away.  Enough said.

  It sounds like everyone who didn't treat Ray like a superstar drove him away.

It is worth considering Ray's comments.  Here is an interesting thread to review, Rondo team cancer?:

http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1193825&start=45

Rondo makes this team better... hes makes his teammates better and anyone with a basketball iq understand that. Rondo knew starting Bradley made this team better and Ray had a problem with it. Well good riddance, Ray was being a baby end of story. Notice how KG hates playing the 5 but did it for the betterment of the team? If Ray had half the balls KG had he'd still be here, end of story.

Enough of the Rondo drove him away nonsense I still see 14+ other guys who want to be Celtics on this roster and some (pietrus) trying to get back on it...Rondo doesnt drive ppl away, Rays just a 37 year old kid

[lightspeed5]

hes the best point guard in the nba

[BballTim]

Rondo drove Ray away.  Enough said.

  It sounds like everyone who didn't treat Ray like a superstar drove him away.

It is worth considering Ray's comments.  Here is an interesting thread to review, Rondo team cancer?:

http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1193825&start=45

  Show me threads about Ray being upset that PP and KG got more money than him or had a bigger role in the offense than him or maybe that he felt he was forced to sacrifice too much of his game because he didn't complain enough about it.