The Reality of Rondo
First thing first: Fantastic game by Rondo against the Bulls. Fantastic.
That is the Rondo us fans know exists and the one we want to see more often. His effort doesn't have to produce a triple-double for us to know he's on his game and playing with focus and energy. He could end up with 9/13/4 in his next game and be just as successful. It's not his final numbers. It's his energy and focus. It's him attacking the basket in the fourth quarter and getting to the free throw line (where it was nice to see him hit his free throws). It's him setting up teammates and rewarding those that run the floor. It's him focusing enough on defense to keep his hands up, fight around picks, and get in the passing lanes. It was a great all-around game by Rondo.
But, he has to do it consistently in order for his 'critics' to stop 'criticizing' his game. For 'inconsistency' is his critics' main critique. And, one brilliant game does not equal consistency.
We all know Rondo can produce those types of games, but he doesn't do it consistently. He has sporadic games of brilliance (like yesterday and certain infamous playoff games), but he sprinkles those throughout a season of up-and-down, inconsistent play. Sometimes he's lethargic, sometimes he seems unfocused. Sometimes he just seems out of it and his defense will suffer due to his offense or vice versa. Defenses (like the Lakers) can get inside of his head and completely take him out of a game. If he is as transcendently good as some of you claim he is then he wouldn't suffer from such inconsistency.
When fans (and GMs) look for a cornerstone for their franchise, which is what we (and Ainge) are judging Rondo as [the future cornerstone of the Boston Celtics!], they look for consistency. Fans and GMs want Tim Duncan and Steve Nash, not Michael Beasley and Baron Davis. All the talent in the world and all the sporadic games of brilliance do not equal a cornerstone player. A cornerstone player needs to bring it every game. Even in 'off' games, which every player suffers, they have to bring the energy and focus, if not the points and rebounds. Some of you will probably complain that I'm never happy with Rondo and I'll continue to critique him regardless of how well he plays... That's not true. I'm critiquing him as the future cornerstone of this team, as is Danny Ainge, and one brilliant game doesn't change that. If Ainge doesn't believe a championship team can be built around Rondo, then he will attempt to trade him (which he has multiple times). Consistency is the key.
Rondo has the capability of being the best player on the team and a top-5 NBA PG (as someone on this site declared he is), but until he delivers the goods on a consistent basis, he is not.
Rondo's Strengths:
- Distributing the ball and court vision
- Attacking the basket
- One-on-one man defense
Rondo's Weaknesses:
- Shooting / Free Throw shooting
- Defensive gambling
- INCONSISTENCY
When Rondo is focused and energized, he runs the floor, distributes the ball, and attacks the basket (i.e. he highlights his strengths and masks his weaknesses). His shooting will always be a weakness, but if he's attacking the basket he can usually balance his game out (against taller teams - like the Lakers - that's considerably more difficult because he can't get to the rim). Attacking the basket and getting into the lane softens the opponent's defense and allows for better spacing for KG, Pierce, and Allen to work. This team needs spacing for their offense to work. Since Rondo cannot consistently hit a shot, he needs to penetrate the lane at will in order to create that spacing. He usually does this wonderfully in the first half and then stops doing it in the second half. We've all seen it. He doesn't consistently attack. When he does (like in the Bulls game), the team is much better. He has to do it every game.
His gambling on defense will always be a weakness. I know CJ Watson shot only 8-23 yesterday, but 18 of those shots were wide open looks where Rondo had abandoned him to either attempt a low-percentage steal or partially double a wing player on the perimeter. I was yelling at the tv screen every time Rondo let Watson effortlessly get around a pick, or leak to the weak side, or cut backdoor without even an effort from Rondo to close out on a shot. If Watson was a more capable shooter or simply had a better game shooting, the Celtics would have been torched by Rondo's gambling. Watson isn't that good and had a bad game, so Rondo's gambling paid off. His gambling also paid off with two late-game steals that helped seal the victory, but remember that when you 'gamble' you can win or lose. Next time, his gambling may not pay off. We've seen Rondo get torched by PGs before and, in my opinion, someone as defensively talented as Rondo should never get torched by a lesser opponent. If he's focused and on his game, no PG in the NBA should be able to torch Rondo. Just last Friday, Calderon put up 17 points and 14 assists on Rondo, in a game where Rondo played highly-uninspired basketball.
Also, top-5 PGs don't usually make a horrible, basic mistake on back-to-back possessions, in this case that mistake would be picking up your dribble in the back court because of a soft trap. Those two possessions led to two Bulls steals and four points. I'm surprised Thibodeau didn't do it more often, as Rondo did not seem prepared to handle it. Doc actually had Pierce bring the ball up the court the next few possessions, taking the ball out of our supposed 'superstar' PG's hands.
Even in a game where Rondo played mostly brilliant basketball and earned a triple-double, there were baffling mistakes and a few unfocused miscues that almost led to a loss. [And, I know that Pierce and others had 'off' games and committed turnovers, etc, but we're discussing Rondo here, not other players. If you want to write an article on Pierce then go do it. But it would be far-fetched for you to call Pierce inconsistent.]
Before we declare Rondo the best player on this team and a top-5 NBA PG, let's see him deliver the energy and focus every game (or at least four out of every five). Until he becomes a consistent player, he will not silence his critics or calls for him to be traded. It's the nature of the beast when you flash brilliance but don't deliver it consistently. I'm not even seeking brilliance on a consistent basis - I know that's not sustainable, unless you're MJ or a few others. I'm seeking for Rondo to be a solid, very good player on a consistent basis. He hasn't proven he can be.
Finally, a lot of people who criticize my analysis of Rondo believe that I don't like him as a player and have always wanted him traded. Untrue. I love Rondo as a player. And, I love Rondo as a Celtic. Only this off-season did I begin recommending Ainge consider trading him if he cannot prove he can bring his 'A-game' consistently. If Rondo was consistently very good, I would never mention trading him. I would be ecstatic to have a top PG locked up at his deal for the foreseeable future. But, he does not deliver consistently. Rondo is sporadically brilliant. He is also consistently inconsistent. His maturity, attitude, and leadership have all been openly questioned by Doc and Ainge over the past few seasons. He is considered somewhat of an enigma or even a savant. He is so highly-talented that he almost gets in his own way. I fear entering the next era of Celtics basketball with a highly-talented yet highly-inconsistent team leader.
"As Rondo goes, so go the Celtics." That's what scares me. But, I'd love nothing more than for Rondo to prove me wrong.
Be respectful and keep it clean. Thanks.
35 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Well-written.
Part of the reason why we have “weird” expectations from him is that we really don’t know what to expect. Are we expecting a triple-double every night? Are we expecting just a ho-hum scoring and assisting game, yet with consistent defense? Honestly, I don’t know.
Sometimes, I think if he’d just focus a bit more (and maybe, JUST MAYBE, not look to dominate everything), he’d be everything we wanted.
But that’s just an unfounded opinion by yours truly.
Stole my thunder
for a post I was working on, but very well-written. Good job!
I try my best to know what I am talking about. Follow me on Twitter - @JoshZavadil
Agree
The only consistent thing about Rondo is his passing ability and his lack of shooting ability. That said, your post can be summarized by the following: You have to know what your getting on most nights from your cornerstone players, so you can better compliment them with supporting players that fit their strengths. From one night to he next, whether its Rondo or a poor fit with surrounding cast of players, can we afford to build around that uncertainty? That is why the Bass injury may let us see how the infusion of JJJ and Wilcox will compliment Rondo’s skills. If this tempo is what he needs to energize him every night, it will go a long ways in deciding next year’s roster additions / subtractions
Rondo’s is at his best when the pace of the game is fast. Against the Knicks last year Rondo was phenomenal but against the Heat not so much. In the playoffs the pace of the game slows down and more possessions are played in the half court. Rondo inability to shoot free throws consistently and knock down shots consistently hurts the team. The reason the Celtics have problems scoring in the forth quarter of games is because the pace of the game slows down. Teams like the Lakers and Heat play of Rondo and stay with every body else. Rondo gambles way to much for my liking and turns the ball over often. He has the capability to dominate games against bad teams but in half court set late in game the Celtics have had problems scoring in the forth quarter for the last three years.
we dont need to "build around rondo"
he doesnt need to be the cornerstone of the franchise. he makes 11 million a year. theres room for 1 or 2 max guys to be on the team with him. his contract is what makes him so valuable to the team. you can win a championship with him as your 3rd best player and his contract allows the team to have 2 players that are better than him making more money than him on the team
Yes, as 3rd option/3rd best player
Rondo is ideal. He is not the cornerstone of the next great era. He can be a vital piece depending on who are the first 2. I would like to see him be consistent game in and game out as the original post says so that you can count on what you’re getting from him. Sure, he’ll have an off game one in 10 but for the other 9 games, let’s say, he is on point. Not that stats are the final word, but a 14/9/4 line would be fine for a season’s average, if it’s the consistent average not a 30/15/10 followed by a 6/6/2 and then a 11/6/3 and so on. That’s what makes great players great, they bring the intensity every game and if their shot is not falling they do other things to make up for it by looking to pass more or being extra aggressive on the boards. A popular concept in the working world is continuous improvement and the great athletes do that from year to year always adding something new to take them to the next level. 15/8/3—That’s DJ’s line during the 5 year run from ‘83-84 to ’87-88 shooting 45% on fg and 85% on ft; 3 pt % really low<20%; but he filled his role perfectly, is in the HOF and won 2 rings. What do we remember about DJ? Clutch play when it really mattered. The Rondo portrait is still in a working draft stage. And while I have stated previously that trading him is an option depending on who we get back and whether it provides a solid shot at making a run now, I am also fine with keeping him if we can build around him with the proper pieces; not as the prime piece but as a solid piece of a championship puzzle; much like a DJ. I was really hoping to catch the Suns/Warriors game last night to see how Nash actually looks nowadays since he is someone who has been discussed but my satellite kept giving me a “loss of signal” message for that channel so I never did get to see him. Any one see how he looked last night? I do still have faith that Danny and Doc will make the best decision for now and the next seasons. Would like to know if they really think we can make a run this year or if they’re just willing to play it out and see what happens both for the season and then come the off season. My feeling is as currently constructed we have a very outside chance < 10 % of winning a title. I guess my conditions for trading RR would be if what comes back gives us better odds at winning now and while also retaining our flexibility this summer; so very unlikely.
by bigislandbob on Feb 14, 2012 12:47 PM EST up reply actions
i feel like i have read this before... oh yeah!
Jeff Clark posted a oddly similar article hours ago on how interestingly frustrating and remarkable rondo can be.
Last week its the same trade Simmons posts.
Next week.. A. Sherod should be careful !!
Wow.
Are you talking about the article “Rondo Is A Square Peg Thriving In A Round Hole (Usually)”, which was posted THREE HOURS AFTER mine?
Or, are you talking about his 100-word game summary from yesterday afternoon, where he barely touches on anything I wrote about?
And, I wrote my past article before knowing anything of Simmons’, and I was the one that brought Simmons’ article to everyone’s attention by linking it into the Comments.
You’re an arrogant little s$*t to be accusing plagiarism.
dont want rondo traded BUT
if ainge believes the team cant be a contender with rondo after KG and ray are gone then what can you do??? if thats the case tehn i hope he can convince deron williams to sign here with teh understanding that we will also sign dwight (or try too). it would take trading rondo though.
rondo to the kings for their lottery pick, kings are under the cap enough to absorb rondos full contract. with bass likelyto opt out of his contract of only $4m next year it would give us about $35.5m in cap space. or about $0.5m short of two max deal according to hobbs.
williams, pierce, jj, moore, bradley, howard, three 1st rounders and a 2nd rounder….sure the team would try to keep a few vets for the min like pietrus, daniels, maybe add a few. would be a fun team to watch
by craziness@analltimehigh on Feb 13, 2012 4:10 PM EST reply actions
who?
evans? much better off ball.
fredette? better as 3rd guard off the bench.
by craziness@analltimehigh on Feb 14, 2012 6:45 AM EST up reply actions
I SORT-OF disagree
Rondo is consistently very good, but he is inconsistently the best PG in basketball. Rome wasn’t built in a day. If we had Felton or Augustine (or one of the middle of the road guys), we would be looking for consistency from them which would be WAY below what we have come to expect from Rondo.
"rome wasn't built in a day"????
Rondo has been in the league for 6yrs, pretty long day, lol…maybe one “day” Rondo will consistently make a jumpshot or shoot a reasonable ft%…
Exactly my point...
He is already arguably the best distributing (pure) point guard in the league. When he has good games, he is putting up all-time great numbers. When he has off nights, he is putting up numbers better than 90% of other point guards in the league.
The grass ALWAYS looks greener. If we got someone like Felton or Ellis it would quickly become obvious that we had suffered a major loss. His jumper will come, his free throws will come: the positives of his game are so incredible you have to weight them in against his faults.
Rome was not built in a day, or a few years. Rondo is years from his prime. When he is 30, people are going to be talking about whether he will ever get his 3 to be consistent; they will have totally forgot about that elbow jumper.
free throw consistency is a direct result of...
Practice, focus, and consistency, whoops, there’s that “C” word again, if after 6 years of practice and coaching at a professional level, you still shoot free throws at a 59% rate, you are more likely than not, to average that rate for the rest of your career. The free throw shot is the easiest shot that you can take, no one is defending you, no one is coming at you at to block your shot or disrupt your sight lines, block your shot, put a body on you etc… it is you standing in the same spot every time, going through the same routine, focus on the goal, shoot the shot, follow through… my son is 11 years old and he makes 73% for his youth league…
oh, one other point before i go...
Having a state line of 5pts, 7 ast, 5 turnovers in a game against the TORONTO RAPTORS is NOT better than 90% of the point guards in the league, please tell me the last time a starting point guard had a state line similar to that against the raptors??? That WAS about bringing it, being consistent, not checking out of the game mentally, your top pgs bring the effort every game, they might not be shooting great, not passing great or rebounding great, but they find ways to help the team win by bringing their best effort… how many times have we seen Rondo totally on fire for 2/3 of the game, then shift to his passive,walk it up,Mr. Indifferent game, stand at the top of the key pound it for 10-15 seconds and throw the ball to someone, anyone, just to get it out of his hands…
All examples
Have a counter example. Toronto game was his worst all year, by far. Now, think about his GREAT games (triple double beast).
laker game...
As a team we took and made 5 free throws…. Rondo did not take any hmmmm, when was the last time you saw cp3, d. Will, westbrook, rose, Nash, etc… have ZERO free throw attempts in a game, let alone a game on your home court, against your biggest rival…you won’t find a game where that happened, that is all about consistency, effort and the WILL to win…
so, you're disagree with my premise???
You think Rondo brings 100% effort every time he steps on the floor?
You think Rondo is a consistent free throw shooter?
you think Rondo is a consistent jump shooter?
You think Rondo is consistent in attacking the rim?
OK, that’s your opinion and your entitled to it….
lets be fair.
Where is kg and pierce and ray’s stat lines during these losses. Is it that they are bringing it every night and rondo isn’t. Or is rondo just the easy Target cause no one can question the effort of pierce/ray/kg or the talent level of those three at this time. Maybe those 3 are hurting the team just as much as rondo does at times. How about the physical shape of the team in the beginning of the ye
you can't fault the big 3's effort...
THEY consistently bring their best effort EVERY game, they might not get the pts, rbs, etc…that we would like to see from them, BUT, even at the ages of 34,35,36… They still try hard every game… it is unexcusable that Rondo, our defacto young all star, DOESN’T bring his best EFFORT every game, that is what frustrates us about rondo, the game against the Lakers, at home, most hated rival,on national TV and your all star point guard doesn’t get to the free throw line ONE time….just saying
So the one point loss had nothing to do with kg going 6-23. Or ray having a off night shooting..
You mentioned free throws. How many did the celtics get as a team?
It all falls on rondo. He is the worst player in the league.
i mentioned how many free throws the celtics got...
I also asked a valid question, in which I said how many of the top pg’s in the game (and the Rondo defenders have rondo as the 3rd/4th best PG in the league against their BIGGEST RIVAL, ON NATIONAL TV, AT HOME NO LESS, had ZERO free throw attempts in the game, a game we essentially lost by any singular free throw attempt by our (at least in your eyes) all star PG???
by greensince72 on Feb 14, 2012 10:32 PM EST up reply actions
to be fair...
The Rondo lovers keep saying Rondo is a top 3pg, IF you are a top 3 PG, then surely in a game on your HOME FLOOR, you should be able to get at least ONE trip to the line….
by greensince72 on Feb 14, 2012 11:37 PM EST up reply actions
I never put a ranking on rondo you did.
I don’t like ranking players, no one ever agrees.
It’s difficult to go from role player just steer the ship cause we have hall of fame players. To its your ship we’ll steer, you run. Ask bynum, the lakes want him to do the same thing. You don’t have to answer to pau and kobe ad much, we want you to drive and give them rest. And he has been up and down with his play. It helps that he is 7 foot.
did you watch the knicks vs raptors game tonight???
Lin played his heart out, EVEN when he wasn’t doing well…is this the same raptors team that the Celtics played…when Rondo moped, pouted and gave 50% EFFORT and scored 5 pts, 7ast, 5 to… Lin scored 27?pts,11 ast, 8 to, BECAUSE he brought 100% EFFORT…just saying…DEFEND Rondo all you want to, Lin has been with the Knicks a month, but he plays @100% EFFORT…Rondo DOESN’T!!!
NO WAY!!!!!!!
that nyk accept that
by JuJuan some moore on Feb 14, 2012 10:37 PM EST up reply actions
AGREED, NYK would ask for us to throw in PP, RA...
Plus a pair of future 1sts…
it comes down to effort !!!!
PP=HOF
KG=HOF
RA=HOF
RRondo=Not a chance
It all comes down to commitment&effort….

by 































