Rajon Rondo ESPN article

[timobusa]

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/rondo-140128/boston-celtics-rajon-rondo-new-perspective

"A lot of people always talk to me and tell me to stay positive, be patient, it'll come," Rondo said. "Rome wasn't built in a day. I've been out a year of basketball. It won't come back to me as quickly as I want it to be, but I still have the natural instincts and the mental part to do it. It's just that the physical part is a little bit behind."

"I accepted it [the injury] when it happened," he said. "It was frustrating not playing, but I didn't really watch much basketball. It's not entertaining to me really. If I'm not playing, if I'm not scouting, I don't like to watch it."

"Life is more important than just basketball, really," Rondo said. "Basketball's only so much of who I am. There's a lot of things that go on outside of basketball. Basketball is just what I do for a living. People get caught up in just thinking I just play basketball because obviously the spotlight that I'm in. But at the end of the day there's a lot of things that I do besides play basketball."

"His attitude on the court and off the court [has changed]," Sullinger said. "Instead of being like, 'I'll do it tomorrow,' it's more like, 'I've got to get it done today.' You're always going to have those days when your body isn't going to feel up to it, you're not going to be ready to shoot, or you just want to have a day off when you don't come in and kind of stay away from basketball. But he's been coming in every day, on days off, either lifting or doing some type of conditioning. It kind of made him go back to what made him who he is today, and with the hard work you're realizing he still wants to be a top point guard."

"You appreciate life more. You appreciate the game more," Rondo said. "You don't take the game for granted every day that you wake up and get to play this game and step on the court. It's a blessing. It's not guaranteed. Any moment, any play, any time in the game, your life could change. So every game that I do get to play, I'm very blessed and fortunate."

Read the full article here
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/rondo-140128/boston-celtics-rajon-rondo-new-perspective

[celtic -_- pride]

i'm glad hes being honest but does anyone get the sense he is not happy ? there just seems a lack of passion or enthusiasm in his choice of words. not sure if i'm reading into it too much but there just seems to be a change in rodno and im not sure what it is

[Boris Badenov]

i'm glad hes being honest but does anyone get the sense he is not happy ? there just seems a lack of passion or enthusiasm in his choice of words. not sure if i'm reading into it too much but there just seems to be a change in rodno and im not sure what it is

I think you're reading too much. It seems like the same old Rondo to me. And Sully is doing nothing but praise Rondo's commitment and work ethic. Of course Rondo's not "happy," he has been doing nothing but brutal rehab for a year, just to get back to where he is now, which is probably 50%.

[OhioGreen]

Rondo isn't happy! While our other guys are happy giving a great effort and competing, RR is only happy winning. It's who he is, and he's said he doesn't like losing at ANYTHING!
Well he better get ready for a big dose of it, cause his play isn't doing much to help this club win! JB on NBA TV the other nite even said it--Rondo is certainly an All Star, but is he really THAT GOOD without PP, KG, and RA around him, and I definitely echo that question! I really don't think so! Never was a good shooter, free throw shooter and went from a great defender, to a lazy defender. For a guy with incredible speed with the ball, he doesn't like to run. His rebounding stats were always blown up cause we had NO REBOUNDERS. He is a magician passing the ball, but a mad scientist too, as he stands and dribbles the ball figuring out a way to get an assist!
I don't think we can wait around to put 2 or 3 great players around him so he can work his magic---nor do I think he'll want to after loss after loss after loss pile up!
And finally, instead of uping his minutes to get him into better shape, maybe BS should tell him to try RUNNING up the court instead of walking!

[RJ87]

RR is only happy winning. It's who he is, and he's said he doesn't like losing at ANYTHING!

How is that a bad thing? The minute guys get complacent with losing is when I stop rooting for this team.

And I guarantee you, guys on this team aren't happy "just giving effort"? Have you listened to Jared Sullinger and Gerald Wallace? They want to win. I'm not gonna count that as a negative thing.

[BudweiserCeltic]

i'm glad hes being honest but does anyone get the sense he is not happy ? there just seems a lack of passion or enthusiasm in his choice of words. not sure if i'm reading into it too much but there just seems to be a change in rodno and im not sure what it is

Seven years with the Celtics, and people still don't understand who Rajon Rondo is.

[OhioGreen]

RR is only happy winning. It's who he is, and he's said he doesn't like losing at ANYTHING!

How is that a bad thing? The minute guys get complacent with losing is when I stop rooting for this team.

And I guarantee you, guys on this team aren't happy "just giving effort"? Have you listened to Jared Sullinger and Gerald Wallace? They want to win. I'm not gonna count that as a negative thing.

I didn't say it was a BAD thing, but when it's so intense and you can't stop the losing, THAT FEELING could really eat at him.

[BballTim]

Rondo isn't happy! While our other guys are happy giving a great effort and competing, RR is only happy winning. It's who he is, and he's said he doesn't like losing at ANYTHING!
Well he better get ready for a big dose of it, cause his play isn't doing much to help this club win! JB on NBA TV the other nite even said it--Rondo is certainly an All Star, but is he really THAT GOOD without PP, KG, and RA around him, and I definitely echo that question! I really don't think so! Never was a good shooter, free throw shooter and went from a great defender, to a lazy defender. For a guy with incredible speed with the ball, he doesn't like to run. His rebounding stats were always blown up cause we had NO REBOUNDERS. He is a magician passing the ball, but a mad scientist too, as he stands and dribbles the ball figuring out a way to get an assist!
I don't think we can wait around to put 2 or 3 great players around him so he can work his magic---nor do I think he'll want to after loss after loss after loss pile up!
And finally, instead of uping his minutes to get him into better shape, maybe BS should tell him to try RUNNING up the court instead of walking!

  Have you seen any games this year? He's getting the ball up court faster this year than he had the last few years in spite of being injured. He walked the ball up court because of the 2-3 aging players walking up behind him. Also, he's always been a good rebounder, even when he was on good rebounding teams.

[Snakehead]

i'm glad hes being honest but does anyone get the sense he is not happy ? there just seems a lack of passion or enthusiasm in his choice of words. not sure if i'm reading into it too much but there just seems to be a change in rodno and im not sure what it is

Almost all writers have a spin to the story, a narrative.  And hers was the humbling.

It seems to be accurate in a way.  I don't see anything unhappy in Rondo.  I think it's just not taking his physical gifts for granted.  He has always been a super athlete in addition to being smart.

Might be something that makes you really focus on free throws and your shooting.  It's  a good thing.

[sed522002]

i'm glad hes being honest but does anyone get the sense he is not happy ? there just seems a lack of passion or enthusiasm in his choice of words. not sure if i'm reading into it too much but there just seems to be a change in rodno and im not sure what it is

He's talking about his injury and rehab and his new appreciation for life...I don't get it.

[sed522002]

Rondo isn't happy! While our other guys are happy giving a great effort and competing, RR is only happy winning. It's who he is, and he's said he doesn't like losing at ANYTHING!
Well he better get ready for a big dose of it, cause his play isn't doing much to help this club win! JB on NBA TV the other nite even said it--Rondo is certainly an All Star, but is he really THAT GOOD without PP, KG, and RA around him, and I definitely echo that question! I really don't think so! Never was a good shooter, free throw shooter and went from a great defender, to a lazy defender. For a guy with incredible speed with the ball, he doesn't like to run. His rebounding stats were always blown up cause we had NO REBOUNDERS. He is a magician passing the ball, but a mad scientist too, as he stands and dribbles the ball figuring out a way to get an assist!
I don't think we can wait around to put 2 or 3 great players around him so he can work his magic---nor do I think he'll want to after loss after loss after loss pile up!
And finally, instead of uping his minutes to get him into better shape, maybe BS should tell him to try RUNNING up the court instead of walking!

Ray, PP, and KG didn't win anything (except individual accomplishments) until they all came together. It's not going to be any different for Rondo until they have the "real" team.

Also, he's a very good rebounding guard even now. And the whole walking the ball up is an exaggeration because he passes the ball up plenty times. In order for them to run effectively they have to get STOPS..which they haven't really been getting.

[timobusa]

I think people are reading too much into this.

What I got from it was, Rondo appreciating his life and his talents/gifts on the basketball court more and not taking them for granted. He's working harder, because that athleticism is probably gonna leave him sooner than later.