Rozier =Rondo with Offense

[Pucaccia]

I know a lot of you are disappointed but Rozier is a solid pic especially if you look at the talent out of the lottery.  Rozier is as tough on defense as the good Rondo and he has way better offensive skills as Rondo(plus he can hit free throws). With the ball movement the C's  play this kid is going to be a good one.
Power bursts to the hoop.  This kid had to do everything at Louisville.  We really don't have a point guard. Now we do.

[Rondo9]

Nah he's Banks 3.0. 

[max215]

Nah he's Banks 3.0. 

Well done, TP!

[LarBrd33]

I'm actually fine with all these people retroactively pretending like Hozier was a good pick.  Maybe you're right... maybe he'll be a surprise talent.  Maybe he'll beat out Smart and Thomas and end up a starting PG.  Fine.  Dream your little dream. 

But the fact is, that guy was projected in some mocks to be a 2nd round pick.  If Ainge wanted him, why didn't he trade down?  There was no reason to take him that high. It seems dumb to me.

Unless you're telling me that everything from 16-30 was interchangeable, that pick was a reach.

[Roy H.]

... and without the elite passing.

[beantownboy171]

Rozier has not shown any of the pass making and court vision skills that rondo had out of college. I don't hate the pick like some on the blog. But I don't think its a good comparison.

My main knock on Rozier is that he can't run an offense. But I think in Brad Stevens system a true point guard is obsolete.

My best case scenario comparison is Damian Lillard. I think Rozier has a bit of a shaky handle, his moves aren't totally fluid some of the times. But he has the skills and athleticism to get to that level.

A more realistic comparison is a mini- Jamal Crawford.

[Scintan]

Every team's draft picks are HOF locks on draft night.

[Rondo9]

I'm actually fine with all these people retroactively pretending like Hozier was a good pick.  Maybe you're right... maybe he'll be a surprise talent.  Maybe he'll beat out Smart and Thomas and end up a starting PG.  Fine.  Dream your little dream. 

But the fact is, that guy was projected in some mocks to be a 2nd round pick.  If Ainge wanted him, why didn't he trade down?  There was no reason to take him that high. It seems dumb to me.

Unless you're telling me that everything from 16-30 was interchangeable, that pick was a reach.

You know maybe people actually like him and that's a real laugh coming from the guy who gushes over Anthony Bennett.

[Pucaccia]

... and without the elite passing.

Elite passing when you have Allen, Pierce and Garnett.  How is he doing now?

[Tr1boy]

He does not have the vision Rondo does but is a better scorer, no doubt.    Not a pure pg.  lock down type defender to add to our already lock down defensive backcourt roster (AB, Smart)

[hwangjini_1]

I'm actually fine with all these people retroactively pretending like Hozier was a good pick.  Maybe you're right... maybe he'll be a surprise talent.  Maybe he'll beat out Smart and Thomas and end up a starting PG.  Fine.  Dream your little dream. 

But the fact is, that guy was projected in some mocks to be a 2nd round pick.  If Ainge wanted him, why didn't he trade down?  There was no reason to take him that high. It seems dumb to me.

Unless you're telling me that everything from 16-30 was interchangeable, that pick was a reach.

talk during the draft was that chicago was going to pick rozier at 22. it made little sense to trade down from 16, even if it were to be possible.

given the talent at #16, rozier was not a bad pick. not expected, not sexy, not great. but ok for #16.

i posted earlier a tweet that said NONE of the top pgs would work out against rozier. this explains a bit as to why he flow under the radar, and, shows that other pgs worried about rozier's defense making them look bad.

let's see what rozier brings in summer play. is he the athlete that ainge says he is? i can be patient and watch to find out.

[Scintan]

... and without the elite passing.

Elite passing when you have Allen, Pierce and Garnett.  How is he doing now?

Trying to come back from a knee injury that's clearly made him a shell of himself.  I'm not a Rondo fan, but to try to equate 2014-2015 Rondo with a healthy pre-injuyry Rondo is an incredibly disingenuous thing to do.

[Pucaccia]

Rozier has not shown any of the pass making and court vision skills that rondo had out of college. I don't hate the pick like some on the blog. But I don't think its a good comparison.

My main knock on Rozier is that he can't run an offense. But I think in Brad Stevens system a true point guard is obsolete.

My best case scenario comparison is Damian Lillard. I think Rozier has a bit of a shaky handle, his moves aren't totally fluid some of the times. But he has the skills and athleticism to get to that level.

He was the offense at Louisville. Look who he had on his team. Harrell was their second best player and he couldn't score. 

[max215]

... and without the elite passing.

Elite passing when you have Allen, Pierce and Garnett.  How is he doing now?

Trying to come back from a knee injury that's clearly made him a shell of himself.  I'm not a Rondo fan, but to try to equate 2014-2015 Rondo with a healthy pre-injuyry Rondo is an incredibly disingenuous thing to do.

I think people have forgotten just how good Rondo was for a while. The knee injury was the dagger for him though, such a shame...

[GetLucky]

Except that he averaged only .1 more assists per 40 minutes than Frank Kaminsky, and his field goal percentage in the paint (55%) at the college level was lower than prime Rondo's field goal percentage in the paint at the NBA level.

I'm actually not low on him, though. I think him and Smart can be an exciting, young, athletic backcourt if everything goes right. And if he was the one that "blew Danny away," I'm trusting Ainge's judgement.

EDIT: Rondo most definitely was an elite passer. Is anyone forgetting that he was averaging the most assists per game in the league with the Celtics this year (which was about half the season)?