Is IT better than prime Rondo? (POLL)

[Rosco917]

Interesting question, if you put IT with the big three Celtic team, it wouldn't work at all. They would hate playing with him.

We've already seen how Rondo performed with the current Celtic team, not good at all.

To answer the question, it has very much to do with fit. Personally I like IT, and I think he would be a good guy to have a beer with. While Rondo would be... difficult.

[MJohnnyboy]

Both came from different times. Rondo was the faciliator for a team whose time as a contender lasted longer than anyone could have expected. Thomas is the leader of a team that overachieves tremendously. To me its apples and oranges between those two because they are very different as point guards. When Rondo was motivated, he was a great defender/rebounder, something IT will never be. At the same time, IT is a much better overall scorer than Rondo ever was. Their ability to drive to the basket was pretty much even. Both have had issues keeping their cool but I would say IT is better at it than Rondo ever was. I can't honestly say who is better because both do things better than the other one could.

I'm not going to pounce on the Rondo bashing because the Celtics don't get past the Bulls and push the Magic to game 7 in 2009, they don't make it to the finals in 2010, and they certainly don't push Miami to the brink of elimination in 2012 without the play of Rajon Rondo. I'm glad the Celtics have moved on from Rondo but I will always appreciate what he did for them.

[GreenFaith1819]

I will say that the posters mentioning FIT seem to get it.

The others? Mostly baseless, biased Rondo-bashing. Nothing new on CelticsBlog.

At least Sully gets a break from the weight jokes (which I believe are unfair and cruel). And Marcus has redeemed himself (for now).

This blog HAS to keep a Whipping Boy. I have monitored you guys since like 2005 and it STILL rings true, LOL.

[Ilikesports17]

I will say that the posters mentioning FIT seem to get it.

The others? Mostly baseless, biased Rondo-bashing. Nothing new on CelticsBlog.

At least Sully gets a break from the weight jokes (which I believe are unfair and cruel). And Marcus has redeemed himself (for now).

This blog HAS to keep a Whipping Boy. I have monitored you guys since like 2005 and it STILL rings true, LOL.

do you believe Rondo is immune to criticism because he did great things for us?

[GreenFaith1819]

I will say that the posters mentioning FIT seem to get it.

The others? Mostly baseless, biased Rondo-bashing. Nothing new on CelticsBlog.

At least Sully gets a break from the weight jokes (which I believe are unfair and cruel). And Marcus has redeemed himself (for now).

This blog HAS to keep a Whipping Boy. I have monitored you guys since like 2005 and it STILL rings true, LOL.

do you believe Rondo is immune to criticism because he did great things for us?

No player is immune to criticism, but I m certain that Rajon Rondo takes an unfair amount on CelticsBlog.

[Banner18now!]

Rondo may have been the WORST starting point guard the Celtics have ever had.  I have been a Celtics fan since 1964.

Bob Cousy NEVER shot better than 40% from the field. And no one EVER speaks of this.

And I love Cooze.

I suggest you do more research.

Such a broad, baseless statement would get most posters on here enflamed, but since it's Rondo it gets a free pass.

Just what are you basing your statements on? Stats? What?

There is no basis except maybe hate. Can't take a statement like  that serious.

[Ilikesports17]

I will say that the posters mentioning FIT seem to get it.

The others? Mostly baseless, biased Rondo-bashing. Nothing new on CelticsBlog.

At least Sully gets a break from the weight jokes (which I believe are unfair and cruel). And Marcus has redeemed himself (for now).

This blog HAS to keep a Whipping Boy. I have monitored you guys since like 2005 and it STILL rings true, LOL.

do you believe Rondo is immune to criticism because he did great things for us?

No player is immune to criticism, but I m certain that Rajon Rondo takes an unfair amount on CelticsBlog.

thats fair.

I loved prime Rondo, I wish Rondo the best, but he was a very flawed player. You need to be able to at least see some of his flaws or you are not much better than the "haters" biased in the opposite direction.

[Banner18now!]

Both came from different times. Rondo was the faciliator for a team whose time as a contender lasted longer than anyone could have expected. Thomas is the leader of a team that overachieves tremendously. To me its apples and oranges between those two because they are very different as point guards. When Rondo was motivated, he was a great defender/rebounder, something IT will never be. At the same time, IT is a much better overall scorer than Rondo ever was. Their ability to drive to the basket was pretty much even. Both have had issues keeping their cool but I would say IT is better at it than Rondo ever was. I can't honestly say who is better because both do things than the other one could.

I'm not going to pounce on the Rondo bashing because the Celtics don't get past the Bulls and push the Magic to game 7 in 2009, they don't make it to the finals in 2010, and they certainly don't push Miami to the brink of elimination in 2012 without the play of Rajon Rondo. I'm glad the Celtics have moved on from Rondo but I will always appreciate what he did for them.

Well stated. Rondo was the perfect fit for those teams and one of the top point guards in the league during that time. Celts moved on at the right time.

[Snakehead]

I loved Rondo with those teams but even as a big fan I could see how IT could have greatly improved the offensive numbers for those teams (which were not great except for the short time we had Shaq).  Problem is the fit in so far as him being happy not taking as many shots.  Rondo was an overpasser and thus could keep that kind of team happy.  But imagine if IT was out there having to be covered how space could improve for all the other players.  But those teams played slow.  Perhaps with IT they speed up (and then there are more shots to go around).  It's an interesting question.

Lets not forget the great performances of Rondo in the playoffs.  IT is just starting to make his mark there.

[GreenFaith1819]

I will say that the posters mentioning FIT seem to get it.

The others? Mostly baseless, biased Rondo-bashing. Nothing new on CelticsBlog.

At least Sully gets a break from the weight jokes (which I believe are unfair and cruel). And Marcus has redeemed himself (for now).

This blog HAS to keep a Whipping Boy. I have monitored you guys since like 2005 and it STILL rings true, LOL.

do you believe Rondo is immune to criticism because he did great things for us?

No player is immune to criticism, but I m certain that Rajon Rondo takes an unfair amount on CelticsBlog.

thats fair.

I loved prime Rondo, I wish Rondo the best, but he was a very flawed player. You need to be able to at least see some of his flaws or you are not much better than the "haters" biased in the opposite direction.

I've never said on CelticsBlog that he was NOT flawed. But I look back on the good times - especially from 09-12 and there were a TON of them.

I remember vividly when there was a LOT of speculation about a "Rondo-CP3 trade" - and how it would've been nearly EVEN, back then.

Rondo was "That" good.

I won't sit idly by and watch a former Celtics great get trashed by bias. I have as much right to remember the GOOD times as the OTHER side chooses to remember the BAD.

If posters see me on the other side of the fence, so be it. My choice.

[GreenFaith1819]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndyfsS0bFK8

Thanks for the memories, Rajon. I hope you have MANY more.

Looking forward to MORE memories from IT as well. This team has a bright future.

[nickagneta]

Rondo's usual detractors will post lengthy diatribes in vain attempts to discredit Rajon Rondo's time here.

Some...change their spots like chameleons.

Yet others are caught up in the new.

Like Bruce Hornsby and The Range - "That's just the way it is. Some Things Never Change........."

I'm happy for IT4, Marcus Smart and BOS.

I suppose that the Sully Fat jokes and the perennial Trade Marcus threads are on hold - for now.

So, we'll dig up CelticsBlog favorite Whipping Boy - Rajon Rondooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhh...........

I loved Rondo.  I still love him.  He was overrated here.

And Sully is still fat.  He's been awful in the playoffs.  Good chance we let him walk this Summer.  If he's not careful, he's going to follow Big Baby's path out of the league.

Oh come on LB!! A vast majority of these posters who know you on this blog who are newer members might believe this but I was here for all those years and know for a fact you didnt love Rondo. Dang, you were calling for him to be traded for 5 years. You disappeared when Rondo was great and were the first person on this site criticizing him, his attitude, his shooting, anything you could criticize him for and then went into a diatribe about him needing to be traded if he went through a stretch where he didnt play at an elite level. I am not buying your Rondo love and neither should people who werent here for all those years

[LarBrd33]

Rondo's usual detractors will post lengthy diatribes in vain attempts to discredit Rajon Rondo's time here.

Some...change their spots like chameleons.

Yet others are caught up in the new.

Like Bruce Hornsby and The Range - "That's just the way it is. Some Things Never Change........."

I'm happy for IT4, Marcus Smart and BOS.

I suppose that the Sully Fat jokes and the perennial Trade Marcus threads are on hold - for now.

So, we'll dig up CelticsBlog favorite Whipping Boy - Rajon Rondooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhh...........

I loved Rondo.  I still love him.  He was overrated here.

And Sully is still fat.  He's been awful in the playoffs.  Good chance we let him walk this Summer.  If he's not careful, he's going to follow Big Baby's path out of the league.

Oh come on LB!! A vast majority of these posters who know you on this blog who are newer members might believe this but I was here for all those years and know for a fact you didnt love Rondo. Dang, you were calling for him to be traded for 5 years. You disappeared when Rondo was great and were the first person on this site criticizing him, his attitude, his shooting, anything you could criticize him for and then went into a diatribe about him needing to be traded if he went through a stretch where he didnt play at an elite level. I am not buying your Rondo love and neither should people who werent here for all those years

Not at all true.

I loved Rondo.  I still love Rondo.  Also, I've never disappeared from this forum.  I live here. 

I was likely one of the first to criticize him, but I always come from the same angle on this stuff.  My Celtic fandom comes first.  If there's a trade to be made to improve the team long-term, I'd trade anyone.  Paul Pierce is my favorite player of the modern era, but I wasn't going to play stupid when people here suggested he was better than LeBron.  I wasn't going to ignore it when the team's best big-picture move was to trade Pierce.   

The criticism of Rondo stemmed from a place of honesty.  People here wanted to say he was the best point guard in the league.  He wasn't.  Folks wanted to say he was better than Chris Paul.  He wasn't.   There was also mounting evidence that the team played well without him.  I argued all the way back in 2012 that while Rondo was playing phenomenally well racking up assists, the team might be better off with the injured young guard on Golden State averaging 14.7 points on 49%/46%/81% shooting.  Yeah, the guard didn't seem to display Rondo's pass instincts, had paper ankles and was seen as a vastly inferior defender to Rondo, but I had to wonder how our team might transform if you replaced an albatross offensive player like Rondo with a guy who could hold his own in the back court with Ray Allen.  Seemed to me, if that kid could keep up that hot shooting, it would make the team exceptionally dangerous.  The spacing would be incredible.  And it seemed to me we didn't necessarily need a traditional point guard.  We actually played better when the ball flowed through Pierce, and the initial plan when KG arrived was the have the ball flow through him.  Yeah, the guard out of Golden State would probably get less assists than Rondo, but I thought our offense would be better off.   

I was labelled a troll for those thoughts.  How dare I suggest moving Rondo for that guy?  That guy wasn't even close to being an all-star.  My whole thing was, the guard had proven to be an exceptional shooter and I thought he was being held back by Monta Ellis.  I would have traded Rondo for that kid. 

That player was Steph Curry.  No regrets. 

I loved Rondo.  I will not apologize for wanting to trade him for Steph Curry.   Supposedly Ainge did as well.  Rumor suggested Ainge tried moving Rondo for Steph back when Curry's stock was low and Golden State decided against it.

I still love Rondo.  There's pretty significant evidence Thomas is a better offensive player.  Last year alone there's evidence the team played better with Thomas than it did with Rondo.  It is what it is.   That doesn't take anything away from how I feel about Rondo.  It's ok to like flawed players.  I'm loving what I'm seeing out of Isaiah Thomas.  He's flawed as well.   I'm not going to pretend Isaiah Thomas is the best guard in the world now just because I'm a fan of his.

[nickagneta]

Rondo's usual detractors will post lengthy diatribes in vain attempts to discredit Rajon Rondo's time here.

Some...change their spots like chameleons.

Yet others are caught up in the new.

Like Bruce Hornsby and The Range - "That's just the way it is. Some Things Never Change........."

I'm happy for IT4, Marcus Smart and BOS.

I suppose that the Sully Fat jokes and the perennial Trade Marcus threads are on hold - for now.

So, we'll dig up CelticsBlog favorite Whipping Boy - Rajon Rondooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhh...........

I loved Rondo.  I still love him.  He was overrated here.

And Sully is still fat.  He's been awful in the playoffs.  Good chance we let him walk this Summer.  If he's not careful, he's going to follow Big Baby's path out of the league.

Oh come on LB!! A vast majority of these posters who know you on this blog who are newer members might believe this but I was here for all those years and know for a fact you didnt love Rondo. Dang, you were calling for him to be traded for 5 years. You disappeared when Rondo was great and were the first person on this site criticizing him, his attitude, his shooting, anything you could criticize him for and then went into a diatribe about him needing to be traded if he went through a stretch where he didnt play at an elite level. I am not buying your Rondo love and neither should people who werent here for all those years

Not at all true.

I loved Rondo.  I still love Rondo.  Also, I've never disappeared from this forum.  I live here. 

I was likely one of the first to criticize him, but I always come from the same angle on this stuff.  My Celtic fandom comes first.  If there's a trade to be made to improve the team long-term, I'd trade anyone.  Paul Pierce is my favorite player of the modern era, but I wasn't going to play stupid when people here suggested he was better than LeBron.  I wasn't going to ignore it when the team's best big-picture move was to trade Pierce.   

The criticism of Rondo stemmed from a place of honesty.  People here wanted to say he was the best point guard in the league.  He wasn't.  Folks wanted to say he was better than Chris Paul.  He wasn't.   There was also mounting evidence that the team played well without him.  I argued all the way back in 2012 that while Rondo was playing phenomenally well racking up assists, the team might be better off with the injured young guard on Golden State averaging 14.7 points on 49%/46%/81% shooting.  Yeah, the guard didn't seem to display Rondo's pass instincts, had paper ankles and was seen as a vastly inferior defender to Rondo, but I had to wonder how our team might transform if you replaced an albatross offensive player like Rondo with a guy who could hold his own in the back court with Ray Allen.  Seemed to me, if that kid could keep up that hot shooting, it would make the team exceptionally dangerous.  The spacing would be incredible.  And it seemed to me we didn't necessarily need a traditional point guard.  We actually played better when the ball flowed through Pierce, and the initial plan when KG arrived was the have the ball flow through him.  Yeah, the guard out of Golden State would probably get less assists than Rondo, but I thought our offense would be better off.   

I was labelled a troll for those thoughts.  How dare I suggest moving Rondo for that guy?  That guy wasn't even close to being an all-star.  My whole thing was, the guard had proven to be an exceptional shooter and I thought he was being held back by Monta Ellis.  I would have traded Rondo for that kid. 

That player was Steph Curry.  No regrets. 

I loved Rondo.  I will not apologize for wanting to trade him for Steph Curry.   Supposedly Ainge did as well.  Rumor suggested Ainge tried moving Rondo for Steph back when Curry's stock was low and Golden State decided against it.

I still love Rondo.  There's pretty significant evidence Thomas is a better offensive player.  Last year alone there's evidence the team played better with Thomas than it did with Rondo.  It is what it is.   That doesn't take anything away from how I feel about Rondo.  It's ok to like flawed players.  I'm loving what I'm seeing out of Isaiah Thomas.  He's flawed as well.   I'm not going to pretend Isaiah Thomas is the best guard in the world now just because I'm a fan of his.

Not buying it LB. Not one single bit, and neither should anyone else

[Hemingway]

I am shocked that the poll is at 50-50. To me it is obvious, that even though IT is playing very well now h e isnt as good as Rondo in his prime. But, I know this board and a lot of fans in general HATE rondo now. I thought it would be around 80-20 in the poll.


I really wonder what terms Danny and Rajon left on. I know I am in the minority on this one, but there are a lot of scenarios this summer where I would want Rondo back. He could be a steal of a deal. I think we could play small with Rondo and IT on the floor. In a lot of ways we could just replace Turner's role with Rondo. The only problem might be if Danny really thinks we have something special with Rozier and Hunter and also wants Turner back. I don't know, If RR wants to come back, I would always want him.