Rajon Rondo's March

[Eddie20]

All these are points great points and I've lol'd as well. "Rondo can't play without the big three" yet he still finds a way to average 11 assists per game? Give me a break people.

The narrative was that Rondo cannot carry the team on his back without the Big Three (or without someone reasonably close to their skill level). I think so far it's been fairly self-evident that assists or no assists, Rondo hasn't made much of a difference in overall team performance.

Wait.  Someone was claiming Rondo could "carry the team on his back without the Big Three (or without someone reasonably close to their skill level)."?

Is that something anybody really every argued?

There were people who considered him as good as Chris Paul, and better than Rose, Westbrook, and other top tier PGs in the league. It's only natural that his ability to be a top dog on a reasonably good NBA franchise when completely healthy was implied. At least to me it was.

Fixed that for you

Weren't we below 500 with a completely healthy Rondo last year?

[D.o.s.]

No that wasn't Rondo's fault. Because reasons.

[Celtics18]

No that wasn't Rondo's fault. Because reasons.

Yes. That was solely Rondo's fault. Because, you know, reasons. 

[D.o.s.]

Perfect. Case closed.

[BballTim]

All these are points great points and I've lol'd as well. "Rondo can't play without the big three" yet he still finds a way to average 11 assists per game? Give me a break people.

The narrative was that Rondo cannot carry the team on his back without the Big Three (or without someone reasonably close to their skill level). I think so far it's been fairly self-evident that assists or no assists, Rondo hasn't made much of a difference in overall team performance.

Wait.  Someone was claiming Rondo could "carry the team on his back without the Big Three (or without someone reasonably close to their skill level)."?

Is that something anybody really every argued?

There were people who considered him as good as Chris Paul, and better than Rose, Westbrook, and other top tier PGs in the league. It's only natural that his ability to be a top dog on a reasonably good NBA franchise was implied. At least to me it was.

  If Rondo's healthy you could stick him on teams with frontcourts like Griffin/Jordan/Dudley or Durant/Ibaka/Perk or Noah/Boozer/Deng and see plenty of success.
 

[BballTim]

We all knew Rondo was going to keep getting his assist numbers -- the bigger difference is that Rondo's getting his numbers on a (mostly) losing team.

  You must be fairly new here if you haven't seen loads of posts attributing Rondo's assists to the great shooters he was around or claiming things like "you could stick most point guards on a team full of HOFers and they'd get as many assists as Rondo" or the like. You'll hear plenty of claims that people expected Rondo to get as many or almost as many assists without the big three from people who have been saying the opposite for years, in fact we're already seeing posts like that.

[Vermont Green]

All these are points great points and I've lol'd as well. "Rondo can't play without the big three" yet he still finds a way to average 11 assists per game? Give me a break people.

The narrative was that Rondo cannot carry the team on his back without the Big Three (or without someone reasonably close to their skill level). I think so far it's been fairly self-evident that assists or no assists, Rondo hasn't made much of a difference in overall team performance.

Yes, this.  Of course there are always some limited very extreme opinions posted, but most of the so called Rondo haters have simply said that a team with Rondo as the best player is not going very far as compared to a team with Rondo and 3 hall of famers.

Rondo is still getting assist numbers, no denying that.  He started out shooting a little better and I actually think he is shooting better but he is being covered tighter and is getting less space to make shots as compared to when he had the HOFers.

[kozlodoev]

All these are points great points and I've lol'd as well. "Rondo can't play without the big three" yet he still finds a way to average 11 assists per game? Give me a break people.

The narrative was that Rondo cannot carry the team on his back without the Big Three (or without someone reasonably close to their skill level). I think so far it's been fairly self-evident that assists or no assists, Rondo hasn't made much of a difference in overall team performance.

Wait.  Someone was claiming Rondo could "carry the team on his back without the Big Three (or without someone reasonably close to their skill level)."?

Is that something anybody really every argued?

There were people who considered him as good as Chris Paul, and better than Rose, Westbrook, and other top tier PGs in the league. It's only natural that his ability to be a top dog on a reasonably good NBA franchise when completely healthy was implied. At least to me it was.

Fixed that for you

Because, when completely healthy, he will miraculously start making threes and free throws? Good luck with that.

[LarBrd33]

Here's the sequel thread to "Rajon Rondo's February":  http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=69934.msg1631531#msg1631531

Based on his February, it was proclaimed that Rondo's shooting was "much improved".

Here's his stats for March:

11.4 points, 11.1 assists, 5.6 rebounds, 1.3 steals - 36.8 minutes - 37%/24%/56% shooting

Pretty turrible shootin.  Thoughts?

To me, it seems he's as bad a shooter as ever, but now he's a terrible finisher as well.  This is partially because he's coming off an injury... partially, because he's no longer sharing the court with 3 hall of fame champs carrying the offensive load and drawing defensive attention.   Collectively for the season, his 3P and FT shooting is as bad as ever.  His overall FG% is a career low.

  We'll see how much of it's due to his coming back from injury next year. Hopefully your claim that he's missing shots because he's not playing with the big three will prove to be as accurate as all of your posts claiming that his being on the court with those guys was the main reason he got all those assists.

It'll only be a matter of time before he calls Bass a future hall of famer

"I mean...Bass is practically a hall of famer if you're just talking mid-range shots. Case still stands - Rondo can only get assists with hall of famers and is overrated."

I just Lol'd

There are some that Rondo will never please, people will always take shots at him and gripe about how he's overrated because their minds are made up already.

With that said, there's no question he's shooting badly but he's still managing to impact the game in other ways. 11.1 assists (also he averaged 9.9 assists for February - remember when people said he'd never be able to crack double digit assists without the Big Three?) and 5.6 rebounds (not too shabby for an over the hill, 6'1" PG with a bum knee).

All in all, Rondo's up and down play has been about what I expected so far. Would I like his percentages to be higher? Sure, but this season has been more about process than results for the entire team and I'm a bit more interested in the types of shots he's taking. He's clearly more comfortable being a facilitator than a scorer, but is he willing to be more aggressive in finding his own offense?

All these are points great points and I've lol'd as well. "Rondo can't play without the big three" yet he still finds a way to average 11 assists per game? Give me a break people.

Yeah it's hilarious... he's leading us to the 4th worst record in the entire NBA.  High comedy.  At some point he's going to have to adjust.  He's averaging 9.5 assists... which is 1 more than I expected.  But he's scoring less than I expected.    So far, the minority opinion that Rondo is a superstar has been proven false this season.   9.5 assists and 11 points on ghastly shooting while leading a bottom 5 team is nothing to celebrate or gloat about.   Rondo's a good player who needs great players to carry the load.

[BballTim]

All these are points great points and I've lol'd as well. "Rondo can't play without the big three" yet he still finds a way to average 11 assists per game? Give me a break people.

The narrative was that Rondo cannot carry the team on his back without the Big Three (or without someone reasonably close to their skill level). I think so far it's been fairly self-evident that assists or no assists, Rondo hasn't made much of a difference in overall team performance.

Wait.  Someone was claiming Rondo could "carry the team on his back without the Big Three (or without someone reasonably close to their skill level)."?

Is that something anybody really every argued?

There were people who considered him as good as Chris Paul, and better than Rose, Westbrook, and other top tier PGs in the league. It's only natural that his ability to be a top dog on a reasonably good NBA franchise when completely healthy was implied. At least to me it was.

Fixed that for you

Because, when completely healthy, he will miraculously start making threes and free throws? Good luck with that.

  Yes, threes and free throws, the most important parts of Rondo's game.

[LarBrd33]

We all knew Rondo was going to keep getting his assist numbers -- the bigger difference is that Rondo's getting his numbers on a (mostly) losing team.

  You must be fairly new here if you haven't seen loads of posts attributing Rondo's assists to the great shooters he was around or claiming things like "you could stick most point guards on a team full of HOFers and they'd get as many assists as Rondo" or the like. You'll hear plenty of claims that people expected Rondo to get as many or almost as many assists without the big three from people who have been saying the opposite for years, in fact we're already seeing posts like that.

Eh... You keep suggesting I claimed his assists were due to Ray Allen.  Find me a quote.  Pretty sure you misinterpreted what I said.

I think Rondo is a great passer.  I've felt like his numbers were slightly skewed by the system he played in.  They went out and got players who could mask his weaknesses.  He couldn't shoot, so they surrounded him with mid-range shooters like Brandon Bass and KG who could keep big men defenders out of the paint.  Rondo controlled the ball 90% of the time...  he could penetrate for layups or kick it out to several players.  The system contributed to his high assist numbers.  That doesn't mean he doesn't have skill.   I said he'd average 8.6 assists in 32 minutes.  Part of the reason was that I thought he'd be scoring more points.  He's not scoring more points... he's averaging 9.5 assists.   THe team is terrible.

Not understanding the "told you so" mentality about him averaging 9.5 assists with Brandon Bass here.  Is that a surprise?  Brandon Bass is a mid-range shooter.  We are still having our bigs spread the floor.  Rondo is still controlling the ball 90% of the time.  He's still getting his assists.  The team is bottom 5 with him running the show.

He's still very good.  He's not (and has never been) on Chris Paul's level, but who cares.  He's a good piece to have for the next 3-5 years.  Hopefully we can get some superstars on this team who fit Rondo's strengths and weaknesses.  He's not on the level of someone like Melo who can lead a team to the playoffs with minimal help. 

[GreenFaith1819]

Doesn't really mean anything.

Not placing much stock in Rondo's (Or Jeff Green's) stats this season.

To me - in a nutshell - the lineup has seen so many variances....so many absences....I just can't call it yet.

Regardless of what the numbers say right now, Rajon Rondo will be the engine that leads BOS back to relevance.

[BballTim]

Here's the sequel thread to "Rajon Rondo's February":  http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=69934.msg1631531#msg1631531

Based on his February, it was proclaimed that Rondo's shooting was "much improved".

Here's his stats for March:

11.4 points, 11.1 assists, 5.6 rebounds, 1.3 steals - 36.8 minutes - 37%/24%/56% shooting

Pretty turrible shootin.  Thoughts?

To me, it seems he's as bad a shooter as ever, but now he's a terrible finisher as well.  This is partially because he's coming off an injury... partially, because he's no longer sharing the court with 3 hall of fame champs carrying the offensive load and drawing defensive attention.   Collectively for the season, his 3P and FT shooting is as bad as ever.  His overall FG% is a career low.

  We'll see how much of it's due to his coming back from injury next year. Hopefully your claim that he's missing shots because he's not playing with the big three will prove to be as accurate as all of your posts claiming that his being on the court with those guys was the main reason he got all those assists.

It'll only be a matter of time before he calls Bass a future hall of famer

"I mean...Bass is practically a hall of famer if you're just talking mid-range shots. Case still stands - Rondo can only get assists with hall of famers and is overrated."

I just Lol'd

There are some that Rondo will never please, people will always take shots at him and gripe about how he's overrated because their minds are made up already.

With that said, there's no question he's shooting badly but he's still managing to impact the game in other ways. 11.1 assists (also he averaged 9.9 assists for February - remember when people said he'd never be able to crack double digit assists without the Big Three?) and 5.6 rebounds (not too shabby for an over the hill, 6'1" PG with a bum knee).

All in all, Rondo's up and down play has been about what I expected so far. Would I like his percentages to be higher? Sure, but this season has been more about process than results for the entire team and I'm a bit more interested in the types of shots he's taking. He's clearly more comfortable being a facilitator than a scorer, but is he willing to be more aggressive in finding his own offense?

All these are points great points and I've lol'd as well. "Rondo can't play without the big three" yet he still finds a way to average 11 assists per game? Give me a break people.

Yeah it's hilarious... he's leading us to the 4th worst record in the entire NBA.  High comedy.  At some point he's going to have to adjust.  He's averaging 9.5 assists... which is 1 more than I expected.  But he's scoring less than I expected.    So far, the minority opinion that Rondo is a superstar has been proven false this season.   9.5 assists and 11 points on ghastly shooting while leading a bottom 5 team is nothing to celebrate or gloat about.   Rondo's a good player who needs great players to carry the load.

   Every time Rondo's been hurt or missing from the playoffs since 2009 or so we've seen exactly how far those "great players" could "carry the load".

[nickagneta]

All these are points great points and I've lol'd as well. "Rondo can't play without the big three" yet he still finds a way to average 11 assists per game? Give me a break people.

The narrative was that Rondo cannot carry the team on his back without the Big Three (or without someone reasonably close to their skill level). I think so far it's been fairly self-evident that assists or no assists, Rondo hasn't made much of a difference in overall team performance.

Wait.  Someone was claiming Rondo could "carry the team on his back without the Big Three (or without someone reasonably close to their skill level)."?

Is that something anybody really every argued?

There were people who considered him as good as Chris Paul, and better than Rose, Westbrook, and other top tier PGs in the league. It's only natural that his ability to be a top dog on a reasonably good NBA franchise when completely healthy was implied. At least to me it was.

Fixed that for you

Because, when completely healthy, he will miraculously start making threes and free throws? Good luck with that.

Why? Can he only be as good as those other PGs if he hits threes and free throws?

Perhaps what is much more likely is that all PGs no matter how good will struggle to make their team good when there is very little talent around them.

[LarBrd33]

Here's the sequel thread to "Rajon Rondo's February":  http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=69934.msg1631531#msg1631531

Based on his February, it was proclaimed that Rondo's shooting was "much improved".

Here's his stats for March:

11.4 points, 11.1 assists, 5.6 rebounds, 1.3 steals - 36.8 minutes - 37%/24%/56% shooting

Pretty turrible shootin.  Thoughts?

To me, it seems he's as bad a shooter as ever, but now he's a terrible finisher as well.  This is partially because he's coming off an injury... partially, because he's no longer sharing the court with 3 hall of fame champs carrying the offensive load and drawing defensive attention.   Collectively for the season, his 3P and FT shooting is as bad as ever.  His overall FG% is a career low.

  We'll see how much of it's due to his coming back from injury next year. Hopefully your claim that he's missing shots because he's not playing with the big three will prove to be as accurate as all of your posts claiming that his being on the court with those guys was the main reason he got all those assists.

It'll only be a matter of time before he calls Bass a future hall of famer

"I mean...Bass is practically a hall of famer if you're just talking mid-range shots. Case still stands - Rondo can only get assists with hall of famers and is overrated."

I just Lol'd

There are some that Rondo will never please, people will always take shots at him and gripe about how he's overrated because their minds are made up already.

With that said, there's no question he's shooting badly but he's still managing to impact the game in other ways. 11.1 assists (also he averaged 9.9 assists for February - remember when people said he'd never be able to crack double digit assists without the Big Three?) and 5.6 rebounds (not too shabby for an over the hill, 6'1" PG with a bum knee).

All in all, Rondo's up and down play has been about what I expected so far. Would I like his percentages to be higher? Sure, but this season has been more about process than results for the entire team and I'm a bit more interested in the types of shots he's taking. He's clearly more comfortable being a facilitator than a scorer, but is he willing to be more aggressive in finding his own offense?

All these are points great points and I've lol'd as well. "Rondo can't play without the big three" yet he still finds a way to average 11 assists per game? Give me a break people.

Yeah it's hilarious... he's leading us to the 4th worst record in the entire NBA.  High comedy.  At some point he's going to have to adjust.  He's averaging 9.5 assists... which is 1 more than I expected.  But he's scoring less than I expected.    So far, the minority opinion that Rondo is a superstar has been proven false this season.   9.5 assists and 11 points on ghastly shooting while leading a bottom 5 team is nothing to celebrate or gloat about.   Rondo's a good player who needs great players to carry the load.

   Every time Rondo's been hurt or missing from the playoffs since 2009 or so we've seen exactly how far those "great players" could "carry the load".

Glad we are in agreement about something.  KG and Pierce carried us to the playoffs last year.  They are contributing to the playoffs again this year in Brooklyn despite being geriatrics.  Post-prime ROndo has yet to lead a team to the playoffs.