Proselytizing Rajon Rondo

Rajon Rondo is one of the best players in the game, yet also one of the most critiqued and criticized. Even Magic Johnson (who's a big fan) can't help but want to tinker with his game. Me? I kind of just like him just the way he is.

I'm a sucker for pass-first point guards, so I'm obviously in the tank for Rondo from the start. I generally tend to see the whole package of Rondo as greater than the sum of his parts. Or rather, what limitations he has are either insignificant or irrelevant as a result of his more impressive positive attributes.

But not everyone sees that. Some people can't get past what they see as traditional flaws so they are incapable of appreciating what he does. You can roll out whatever evidence you want and some people just aren't going to see it.

This phenomenon is very eloquently put by Scott Leedy at Hardwood Paroxysm.

Skelethon & Aesop Rondo | Hardwood Paroxysm

This is the place I’ve found myself more often than not with Rajon Rondo. Arguing incessantly, defending his brilliance, trying to convince others of the inviolable truth that Rondo is among the league’s elite point guards. I get frustrated with the detractors. Tired of hearing the same boring, monotonous criticism over and over again. And yet, what’s really the point? Does my enjoyment of Rondo increase if I convince everyone else of his greatness? Do I gain some sort of karmic sports points for bringing others into the light? I guess Rajon Rondo matters to me, and I wish he mattered to you. This feels so much more objective than my opinion on Skelethon, so much less like a preference and so much more like the "truth."

I haven't the foggiest idea what Skelethon sounds like, but I do know Rondo and I can see the author's point. We argue and discuss sports all the time. That's part of the fun of it. At the core, it is all really just a game and not really "worth" getting all that bent out of shape over. There's a fine line between "passionate" and "obsessed" and this is a good reminder to (for lack of a better, or less kitschy phrase) let haters hate.

Of course, this perspective isn't going to stop me from backing Rondo. I will defend him to all doubters - not because I can't see his faults - but because I believe in him as a basketball player. But at the end of the day, all I can do is shake my head, sit back, and enjoy the Rondo Show. Because that makes me happy. (Well, at least when we win)