Rondo's Shooting Still Needs Improvement

Ya think!

We’ve all seen him make the most ridiculous buzzer beating jump shots time and time again. But it’s been noted that when he over thinks things or hesitates, he usually misses. So why does he hesitate? Maybe because Doc and Danny can’t seem to make up their minds about what they want him to do. One day, you’d read from them about how Rondo needs to make those shots. The next day, you’d read about how Rondo needs to stay aggressive and not take jumpers when the defense sags off him. So which should it be? Compound that with so many options for who to throw the ball to, and behind the scenes stuff about so and so not getting the ball enough, and you get a point guard who never looks to shoot. His free throws on the other hand…totally a mystery to me.

Tons of PGs have improved their shooting and become very proficient -it’s really the process of developing new skills that shows what his work ethic is like. On the court there is no doubt he hustles and plays hard, but so did Iverson, and off the court Iverson had questionable work ethic during his pro career – at least from an outsider’s perspective. I guess we will see what Rondo’s commitment to improvement is next year because the jumpshot is really the only glaring flaw in his game right now.

I recall Tim Hardaway having a terrible shot early in his career but he worked on it over and over and became a deadly shooter.

Yes: Weight.

Ray: dribbling, he sometimes loses the ball when he tries to go to the hole.
Glenn Davis: finishing inside, extending his range
Paul and KG: Shot selection, too many jumpers not enough drives..

watching don chaney go from a terrible shooter to a passable shooter, gives me hope rondo can and will improve.

It’s been pointed out before but his elbow is sticking out way too far. When I was in high school I had almost the exact same shooting motion that he has now and I was wildly inconsistent. Sometimes I could go red hot but I could never stay that way because the ball never really comes off the same. I met Pete Carril at a basketball camp and he helped me get comfortable with getting both my elbows in and it drastically changed my %. I don’t think repetition will do Rondo that much good, or the Celtics for that matter it’s probably the motion. He could at least try changing it, I doubt he’ll shoot worse.

But I would be very surprised if Rondo ever develops a reliable jumper from anywhere on the floor. I just think that his jump shot had so far to go even from college (it was seriously in the Ben Wallace-Rodman category) can it would be unreasonable to expect it to get much better. He obviously never had the knack for shooting (for whatever reason) and it’s simply too late for him to become a good shooter.

Yes, many will call this absurd but I firmly believe it is true. No player, regardless of who you name has ever had to come this far with his jump shot. Nobody.

If Rondo could improve his mid-range jumper, that would be great. And I think his shooting has improved over the years and will probably still keep improving. He’s a point guard in an offensive system that means that when nothing develops, he often has to take a desperation shot. His jump-shooting percentage will often suffer because of that.

But, frankly, it’s good enough now. I don’t think I saw the C’s lose a single game last year because of Rondo’s poor shooting.

What he NEEDS to improve is his free-throw shooting. Not just because he goes to the rim constantly and can wind up shooting a lot of penalty shots, but because teams need to fear sending him to the line. That will improve his ability to get to the rim, to dish unexpected assists near the basket as he fakes going to the rim, and generally allow him to wreak more havoc in the paint.

Plus, if teams are more hesitant to foul him, he’ll be more likely to avoid injuries. Also important.

So to hell with the jump-shooting, Rondo. Spend 90% of your time working on free throws.

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/michael_jordan/index.html

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/rajon_rondo/career_stats.html

Rajon is shooting better from 3 point land than Jordan did, and indeed he is better or nearly as good in all other areas except blocked shots…and freebies

Later Jordan shot over 40% from three after being as low as 17%. he was very erratic wasn’t he…that is a huge swing at the end of his career where he regressed on his 3 % by over 15 points.

Rajon would become an all time great if he shot 80% and 35% assuming he kept doing all the other things he does

Everyone knows rondos shooting still needs impovement, but he wont emerge as the celtics most important player this year…that change clearly already happened this past season

he’s gotta work on his shot..baby gotta work on dunking the ball and not getting blocked..everybody else except ray and some of the younger guys (the few we have) need to work on their conditioning..this is why perks injure is gonna hurt him because he should be the first on the treadmill

If Glen Davis getting blocked 10 times a game isn’t an obvious flaw then I don’t know what is.

Does anyone remember during all star weekend when Rondo went head to head with Durant in a game of horse? They went on for what seemed like minutes, back and fourth, back and fourth, both hitting nothing but net, from DEEP three point range. Rondo looked confident and relaxed because it didnt matter. I think he just needs to have that state of mind during games and he will be ok.

Just take the NBA Finals as an example.

Rondo went 3-9 from the stripe in the 1st 2 games of the series. From there, he averaged only 2 free throw attempts per game over the last 5 games. He is a great rebounder, runs the offense well and plays great defense, but is it too much to ask the guy to make about 70-75% of his FT attempts when it counts? I was at that Clipper-Celtic game in December when he missed both free throws at the end of the game that led to Baron Davis’ game winner. I posted something similar in another thread.

Btw, he only made 2 free throws TOTAL in games 3 thru 7. When the $ is on the line, I think he’s got to attack the basket a little more which would happen if he improved his free throw shooting.

For what it’s worth, I am a huge Rondo fan and he is my daughter’s favorite player.

I think we all recognize that Rondo could improve. I’ll leave it to Doc, the coaching staff, his teammates and any hired trainers (i.e. Price) to give him specific advice.

Results wise, I actually don’t need Rondo to become a killer outside jump shooter AND a great FT shooter.

If he could just become ONE of those, I’d actually prefer he became a decent FT shooter. WIth his speed, in theory he should be able to get to the line 10-15 times a game. If he could convert those to points at a 66% clip, that would be a very good thing.

But whatever. Every great player needs to recognize and work on improving their game, not matter at what stage of their career they are at. Look at how Pierce has dramatically improved his own 3PT shot as well as his FT shot these last few years. Look at how Ray has worked on his man-to-man defense. These guys are veterans but never satisfied. That’s why they are headed to the HoF.

He was amazing in the Playoffs…big play after big play…

And he was responsible for the Celtics 13 point lead in the final game….but Doc didn’t give him a rest in the 3rd qtr….( one of Doc’s rare mistakes ) — but he still almost saved the game, but they didn’t call a foul on Kobe when he had the ball stolen from him..

I for one enjoyed Rajon Rondo last season..he is definitely the future of the Celtics when Pierce, Garnett & Allen retire. As for his jump shooting…does anyone remember the HORSE competition with him and Kevin Durant…some said it was boring..but to me as a NBA fan for over a decade, I enjoyed it. Rajon Rondo showed right there that he can improve his jumpers…i cant remember how many baskets each of these guys made but they are two of my fave youngsters in the game right now. This season I say should be the shooting breakout season for Rondo, he has major potential to be a top star in years to come.