Got my SI NBA Preview issue today. One of my favorite features is the Enemy Lines analysis by opposing teams' scouts. Now it is even better because you can see the expanded comments here (the stuff that didn't fit in the sidebar in the print version).
One of my favorite parts involves Rondo:
When they brought in Sam Cassell in midseason, I wondered if they would lose faith in Rondo. But Rondo held up terrifically. The veterans appeared to back him up and help him get better as a floor leader, and I look for him to show even more improvement this year. His quickness gets him over the top and creates room for him to be a distributor. He's never going to be a great shooter, but they've got other shooters and he's able to score going to the basket because of his quickness. They can initiate plays through Allen and Pierce, and they can run offense through Garnett, so they aren't depending on Rondo to be a traditional point guard. What they need from him is to get the ball up the floor fast and to hawk the ball defensively, where he can be a pest. But their help defense covers up his deficiencies -- he's a slight guy who takes a beating out there. Most teams have the ball in the point guard's hands a lot of the time, and that means a little guy like Rondo is getting smacked by the Yaos and Shaqs while fighting through screens in the pick-and-roll. But you always see Rondo getting up, and he's a pretty durable guy.