BUT - then again - this is ESPN we are following here, LOL.....so what is exactly the truth?
No, we're really following the Dallas PR staff and mavs.com's beat reporter:
https://twitter.com/EarlKSneed/status/590976998769430529
Or, alternatively, we're talking tin foil hats. It's pretty cut and dry, really.
Yeah, the same PR staff that gives Dirk Nowitski a free pass as he can't hit the broadside of a barn with a Tactical Nuke.
Dirk is an NBA legend and Mavs Lifer. One bad game will not bring him down to Rondo's level, especially considering (though it shouldn't even be relevant) Dirk's strong performance in game 1.
Rondo has been to the All-Star game a few times. He's not a legend. He's has not just one bad game but a really unimpressive 2-3 year stretch starting with the injury, making a pitstop for a lackluster 6 months of stat-padded basketball in Boston and ending with an absolutely pathetic performance in game 2.
I appreciate what Rondo did for the Celts from 2008-12, but I really don't understand how Boston's blue collar fanbase likes him anymore. He's a spoiled brat who thinks he's smarter than everyone else and believes the team needs to be built around him.
There are plenty of guys in the NBA just as intelligent as Rondo who don't let their intellect constantly disturb their team. That's not smarts, that's just being a jerk. I haven't watched the Mavs much but when I have I've observed Rondo's notably apathetic efforts to adjust to their system, particularly with respect to playing off the ball. I don't see Rondo diving to the rim when the defense takes their eyes off him to check Ellis or Parsons or Dirk. I don't see him crashing the offensive glass like he used to. I don't see any of the effort he put into being a dangerous off ball weapon despite his poor shot. All I see is a stubborn point guard who costs his team possessions against a formidable opponent on the road in protest of his coach calling the plays (last night's 8 sec violation). That's not the Rondo any of us used to know, so I can't understand why his supporters still love him as they do.
I'm sorry, but I'll have to passionately disagree. What he did against Rose, Kobe, Howard, Lebron, and Wade is nothing short of legendary. He's been the best player in series against every one of those guys, and if he wasn't here, there's no way that we could have made it to the Finals in 2010, let alone have continued our run for another two years. He dominated the Cavs. He destroyed the Bulls. He wiped the floor with the Magic, and the Lakers had no answer for him, either. In do-or-die games, he always shined the brightest. When we trailed the Cavs 2-1 going into game 4 in 2010, he played one of the greatest games I've ever seen, severely outplayed Lebron and was unguardable in that series. After dropping game 1 in the finals that year, he responded with a triple double in game 2, including a couple of huge plays down the stretch to ice it, in addition to feeding Ray for his record-setting performance. In 2012, after losing game 1 to the heat, he put up a career high of 44 points on the road, and was the main reason why we were able to tie that series. He also had another triple double, again on the road, in game 7, which many people seem to forget. Ask yourself this question - how many 6'1" players can nearly average a triple double in the postseason? He's just a great big game player, guys like that are extremely difficult to find, and if you come through the way he routinely has in the postseason, you'll never be forgotten.
I also disagree that he isn't the most intelligent player in the game. If he wasn't, wouldn't teams be able to successfully game plan against him? Tom Thibodeau said that you can't scheme for him, and have you forgotten the praise given to him by Bob Cousy, who is notoriously difficult to impress? He loved Rondo, probably because, like Cousy, Rondo sees so many things out there that most players don't - not even Lebron. How many players can score 6 points and dominate a game? He's the most unique player in the league, imo.
Finally, I realize that he can be a bit of a jerk, but I honestly don't care about that, and please explain the whole 'spoiled brat' part of the Rondo image, because I've never understood that part of it. Bottom line - I guess that we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one, and that's okay.
No problem.
