The Blueprint

by Jeff Clark on Jan 5, 2009 8:37 AM EST in News/Links Comment 28 comments

We've said it all along: This team goes as Rondo goes. So it stands to reason that good coaches are going to start gameplanning for him. The Lakers put Kobe on him. The Knicks put Jared Jeffries on him. Opposing teams now have "the blueprint" on how to beat us. Just ask Ray Allen (h/t RA):

“That’s now the blueprint on how to beat us, so we just have to counter that,” Allen said. “Put a big guy on (Rondo) and just force him to shoot.”

Or listen to D'Antoni:

Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni used center Jared Jeffries to defend Rondo, who was held scoreless after converting a 3-pointer on his first shot of the game.

"We laid off him but he killed us on layups," D'Antoni said of Rondo's performance in the Celtics' 124-105 win Dec. 21. "If you lay off him and make him a jump shooter, that's probably the lesser of the evils out there. You have to choose which of those is going to hurt you. But, if you lay off him, you don't want to give up layups. We let him get to the basket in the third quarter - he got seven layups and he killed us."

Rondo finished 1 of 7 from the field with three assists and two turnovers in 26 minutes.

So what's the answer? How do we fix this? You know, other than feeding Rajon some magic beans that teach him how to hit a 20 footer. Doc has some thoughts.

Said Rivers of Rondo's way of confronting that type of defense: "By driving. I think, just because someone gives you a jump shot doesn't mean you have to take it. I think that's been his biggest improvement.
"I think it gives you a running start when [opposition players] do back off, and that's what he's done."

So he has to get back to doing what he does best. He's quick enough to get by guys even when they back off him.

Still, I can't help but wonder if having a guy like Marbury wouldn't have helped on a night like last night. It would have at least given us another look from that position and another guy that could create his own offense.

This is a rough patch for Rondo and the team as a whole. We keep talking about him being an All Star candidate. If he deserves to be there, he'll get through this and help the rest of the team get back on track. I have full confidence that he will.

But right now he's got some work to do because teams are starting to target him. That's actually a really big compliment to him, and also a really big challenge. We need him to be on his game.

0 recs | Comment 28 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

I agree with Doc. If they sag off Rondo, he still needs to drive it. Otherwise the opposition gets to stay in place, foul less, and give up fewer offensive rebounds.

I generally don’t like to see anyone taking a medium to long-range jumper on any possession until somebody’s challenged the paint and made the defense move.

by no kidding on Jan 5, 2009 8:59 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

So how about...

Gabe?

Isn’t he a good shooter? Won’t it help to give him a lil’ more playtime? Just throwing some thoughts here, not sure.

by Kiorrik on Jan 5, 2009 9:10 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

enough with gabe

and rondos biggest problem is playing on the road, he consistently struggles there, hes a different player there, its frustrating

by TheAncientRivalry on Jan 5, 2009 9:12 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree 100%

Rondo doesn't believe in easy buckets...

by ManUp on Jan 5, 2009 11:20 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

you are so right and seems like the group keeps missing that. Rondo has no problem except on the road.

therefore we are in great shape except on the road. A hate it now, but a Marbury signing gets us a much better back up pg, which really will make a big difference on the road, and it also gives us this: Marbury, House, Ray, PP, KG=House, Ray, PP, Pose, KG. As Doc figures it out, I bet Marbury takes more minutes from TA than House. Its clear now Marbury is what we have to do as absurd as it seems. If we can hold home court and have Marbury and a big back up here and playing well, we can win it again

by wahz on Jan 5, 2009 11:29 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

This is exactly why Marbury in Boston would be a problem...

because Rondo is just going to have to work these problems out. He couldn’t shoot last year, and Boston won it all. Some commenter here bagged on me for saying Steph was better than Rondo, now if he were to be bought out (which I don’t think will happen anyway) and sign with the Celtics, Marbury would know he’s “needed” more by the Celtics than he needs them, and it would only be a matter of time until the Cancer would be put in crucial situations when Rondo is throwing up bricks. Do you want a quick fix to ruin Rondo’s confidence? No. Have faith, and let him work it out.

by wondahbap on Jan 5, 2009 11:52 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

This team goes as Rondo goes

It’s a scary mantra. I don’t think it’s true – this team won a title with Rondo MIA for 2/3 of the games; but, if it was, we’d be in trouble. Rondo is still very inconsistent, he’s not AS material as of now. I don’t think he’ll be until he improves his jumper. Doc is just spinning, btw; Rondo can drive all he wants, but there’ll be somebody waiting for him down low.

by cordobes on Jan 5, 2009 9:18 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

this team

really does go as rondo goes, because the big 3 are no longer in their prime…they need a good push from the young guy, and like I said above, he is not a good player on the road, the same thing in the playoffs, when he didnt play good on the road, they lost, and panic ensued….then they’d come home and he would dominate

by TheAncientRivalry on Jan 5, 2009 9:21 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Different team?

Perhaps, for Rondo, it’d be best to have played on some other teams than just this Boston squad, to learn how to feel at home when he’s playing elsewhere.

Sounds odd, but that might have been good for him.

- Dirk

by Kiorrik on Jan 5, 2009 9:24 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

"Rondo can drive all he wants, but there’ll be somebody waiting for him down low."

Yeah, that’s the point. You want the other team to have to be constantly worried about having somebody waiting down low, waiting for Rondo. It opens other guys up, even if only marginally.

by no kidding on Jan 5, 2009 10:40 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

err..

The other guy won’t literally wait there, static under the rim. That would be a defensive 3 second violation. He’ll be roaming around making things much more difficult to everybody. A good defense should find ways of rotating to close out Rondo’s penetrations once he starts a drive. This can be overcame by very good execution, but that’s the problem, Rondo is not consistent doing that, because he’s not that good yet.

The best solution to this is using Rondo as a cutter, just like Doc did often last season. This year it’s less effective because we don’t have a big that can play behind the line.

by cordobes on Jan 5, 2009 10:46 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, yeah... I'll make this simple.

If you’re the opposition, would you rather the Celtics play Rondo or Eddie House at the point?

Yes, a team can prepare for a penetrating point guard. But they’d rather not have to deal with it. (And by the same reasoning, I’d rather the Celtics play Pruitt than House.)

by no kidding on Jan 5, 2009 10:53 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Uh?

Now we’re discussing if Rondo is better than House? I don’t think that’s the point of this thread.

by cordobes on Jan 5, 2009 10:55 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

What we’re discussing is whether or not Rondo should keep on aggressively driving. And I’m arguing that he should.

by no kidding on Jan 5, 2009 10:57 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Drive past who? Why isn’t he driving then? Is he quick enough to drive past someone who’s 7ft ahead of him? Aren’t the other guys fast enough to move to the spot before Rondo when they have that advantage?

Sometimes it sounds like a team could align all their players shoulder-by-shoulder around the restricted area semi-circle and people would still want Rondo to “drive aggressively!!”.

by cordobes on Jan 5, 2009 11:05 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

C’mon, be serious, I know you know basketball better than that. Don’t ask me to waste time this morning explaining basic basketball as if you don’t understand it.

by no kidding on Jan 5, 2009 11:20 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

That’s an interesting question about Rondo on the road, because to date that has clearly been a pattern. Could it be that he follows a much more certain routine in Boston? That changes in the officiating bother him? The less supportive noise disrupts his offensive play? His opposition plays that much better when they’re at home and he doesn’t rise to the increased challenge? Again, the kid is 22: what he has mastered by now and his trajectory of improvement are both impressive. It seems his nervous energy is more positively channeled when he’s darting about at whip speed on offense or defense and it’s harder for him to control when he slows for a jumper or free throw, so maybe that’s a greater factor on the road too, and it’ll just dissipate over time.

by clover on Jan 5, 2009 9:42 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Rondo can make the 18 footer, but someone has to make him take it.

The Celtics thought they would win last night just by showing up. It never works that way.

I’m still waiting for Gabe Pruitt to get some burn.

by Brickowski on Jan 5, 2009 10:03 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Gabe would not have made a difference last night, and hes not gonna make a difference this season. he should be in the d league

by TheAncientRivalry on Jan 5, 2009 10:34 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

rondo is young and still learning on the job. he will adjust and so will the team. i think gabe deserves a bigger shot than he’s getting. it’s a long seson and the old guys look old but they also are proven vets and know how to win. we need length more than anything-really.

by nazzbo on Jan 5, 2009 11:03 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Gabe Pruitt

Look, Gabe Pruitt is not God’s gift to basketball, but he’s shown he can play, and I do not like the way the second unit operates when House is in there. When Eddie is hitting a flurry of shots the second unit is ok, but when he is not, the offense stagnates. Too much standing around. Pruitt is also taller and a better defender.

Why not give Pruitt a chance before bringing in Marbury or someone of that ilk? If Marbury comes in, House’s minutes will be severely cut anyway.

And if Pruitt is in there, they won’t be able to cheat off him. He CAN make the 18 footer and WILL take it when it presents itself.

If House were getting it done, they wouldn’t be talking about Marbury. But he isn’t.

by Brickowski on Jan 5, 2009 12:40 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

when has Pruitt proved he can play? in that case POB is a future all star

by TheAncientRivalry on Jan 5, 2009 12:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Pruitt proved it at least in Preseason

POB had one or two good games in preseason before fading away quickly

"Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me." Michael Scott

by Jeff Clark on Jan 5, 2009 1:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Perhaps the only thing that particularly faded away with O’Bryant was his playing time. If Perkins hadn’t been considered injured at the beginning of preseason, I suspect O’Bryant wouldn’t have had those first two games to impress anyone with.

And I swear, if Doc starts playing O’Bryant for some meaningful minutes, and the guy stinks the place up, then I’ll totally shut up on the matter after stating how wrong I was.

by no kidding on Jan 5, 2009 1:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I dont remember Pruitt proving too much in the pre-season myself, and who cares, eddie house also looked like he was back at Arizona state capable of going for 61…and then the regular season started

by TheAncientRivalry on Jan 5, 2009 2:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

On house...

Tbh, I think House’s dribbling skills are below par, and he shouldn’t be at PG. He should be a shooting guard, and only when there’s a true PG on the field to give him looks. He’s not good at creating when he has the ball, he is good at getting looks off screens.

Just my 2 cents :x

- Dirk

by Kiorrik on Jan 5, 2009 12:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs