Rondo suspended 2 games

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Originally Posted by Opalmerr

Bags has made his opinion on Rondo abundantly clear to all. He's also made it crystal clear there is nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that will ever change his opinion of Rondo

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What a load. I had him down as a better then 50/50 HOF in 2010. But he keeps tumbling into trouble due to his immaturity, and his shooting the last two full years was the most miserable of his career after his rocky rookie year. I'd have been happy to point that out once-in-a-while except for all the grief I got. You guys really don't understand me if you think throwing insults at me is going to get me to go away or shut up. Ain't happening. I had already written at least 4-5 good comments about him this year, after that very nice playoff he had last year (minus the stupid suspension).

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I do like to read what others have to say about Rondo. Unfortunately we do not get to enjoy the opportunity to freely express our opinion on Rondo because Bags inevitably interjects himself with the same old anti-Rondo diatribes and lists of grievances and transgressions.

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You seem to be expressing yourself just fine right now. So I'm so mighty all I need to do is say a few things against your position and your crawl off someplace? That doesn't sound like you.

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We know how Bags feels about Rondo. He has not altered that opinion and shows no inclination or willingness to ever do so.

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Again, rubbish.

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WE KNOW BAGS HOLDS RONDO TO A DIFFERENT STANDARD THAN HE DOES OTHERS - Pierce and Garnett in particular.

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When Rondo has attained the level of Garnett or Pierce, and his transgressions/time start to fade off to a level near theirs, then he'll be treated like them. He's not even close to that level.

Ok... I "put my money where my mouth is" and put him on my ignore list. Last resort type thing, but I don't want to feed his ego or contribute to the problem any longer.

My comments on Rondo back in 2008-2010:

12/5/08:

Yeah I like the list that has Rondo at #11. Between guys failing due to age and Rondo's development, a year from today he might make #6. I think the offense is being overly emphasized as usual in these things.

Have you read up on his defensive ratings? http://www.basketball-reference.com/...rondora01.html

He's rated at #3 in defensive win shares and defensive rating.

His FG is also at .514, which is pretty high for a guard that can't shoot.

He won't be 23 years old until Feb and is by far the best dollar for dollar player on any of these lists. I'm glad we have him.

6/23/09:

anyone that says Nash or Kidd is better then Rondo hasn't seen them head to head lately, Rondo owns them.

Rondo is probably in the #7-#9 range, and given his age, that's pretty fancy stuff.

1/16/10:

Well, I watch them a lot and Rondo is better then Pierce this year

3/22/10: (Rondo v Rose discussions)

Rondo is better at: steals, rebounds, general defense, and assists. He's brutal at the line, and hits the shorter FG's pretty well, but if he's taking the last shot with 2 seconds left in a tie game, it's a broken play.

Rose is a better shooter, better scorer, is learning to play the point.

Rondo is a more unusual player, and better pure PG at this time. Rose isn't such a pure PG, and has more comps - if that matters.

I don't watch the Bulls enough to know if Rondo would be better there then Rose, but for Celts he's better then Rose would be.

Not everyone is a fit everywhere guys. I'm glad you like your respective players, now, let's move on.

The last note is if Rondo gets his FT% up to over 72.5%, and is able to get comfortable with 16-18 foot shots and maintain the FG%, there is almost no way Rose will match him as a complete player, because he doesn't dig down as deep for it as Rondo - that's a fact.

5/25/10:

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I remember around December or so I was talking on one of the main boards about Rondo and said that he was about 25% of the way into a HOF career, and that he was a #4-#8 PG, and I took a lot of crap for it.

Nobody should be laughing anymore.

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6/3/10: (in answer to the question: is Rondo headed for the Celts all time big 3):

I'll go this far:

Rondo is about 23% of the way to the HOF. He needs to stay healthy, and and he has to remain productive after the big 3 are done.

As for top 3 in Celtics history? He's got to get by Jo Jo and DJ before he cracks the top 10. One thing at a time.

6/7/10:

I think for many of you Magic's comments went over your head. He means it in the way someone says a baseball player is a 5 tools player. If you rate all these guys across the board, Rondo is very strong because of the D, the passing (not a good passer? That's just plain blind), the rebounds, etc. His foul shooting is weak, but his jumper is rapidly improving. And do get a look at his age - 24 1/3 years old.

Meanwhile, while Nash has been great, Rondo kills him head to head, go look up the match-ups the past two years.

Meanwhile the other top PG's in the league are all much more deadly shooting the ball, and even for a PG that's huge, but all around, they are not. Sort of like 50 HR hitters that don't run the bases well, or have a good arm in the OF. It's not as important as the HR's, but, it raises Rondo up, and cuts some of those guys down a bit.

Something went wrong with Rondo's leg, and he still isn't the same since the first 3 games of the Orlando Series, if he starts to play like that again in this Series, hoist the flag.

Meanwhile I said in the winter that Rondo was 25% of his way to the HOF, and got whacked on PSD, well he's about 29% now, and if he leads the way to a victory in this Series and gets the MVP, make it about 32%. He's also signed up for years at a non max contract, fans of DW and these others candidates for #1 PG can't say that. Rondo >>> them in price/performance.

Who cares if he is the best, for the Celts he is the best, and his rate of improvement since his first game in the NBA to today (just short of 4 years) rivals or tops any PG of all time, never mind the guys playing today under discussion.

6/28/10: (trade Rondo for the likes of Camby idea):

Camby is young talent?

Training a guy to know when to pass, how to pass it, and to whom at NBA speed is a rare talent - check

getting a small, slightly built guy that has the ability to see rebounds, and the nose to go and get them - rare talent - check

a nose for playing big against great players and in the playoffs? Rare skill - check

quickness of mind, hand, and foot at such a high level that he's one of the best defensive guards in the NBA - rare skill - check

team leader with 3 elder HOF players surrounding him? Unusual.

All of the above and more at the tender age of 24 years and 4 months - and you want to move him when his biggest problem is shooting at the foul line - a skill that you could teach an average x high school athlete (non basketball) in a few weeks so that 25% or better would be 60% or better at the line? One of the easiest skills to learn for a lay person? He doesn't have the hand size problem of a Wilt or a Shaq, he's too damn mecurial, he needs to learn to breathe and focus better - which could be this off season - and get himself to the 68-69% range.

I might deal him, for say a 23 year old KG, Bird, McHale, Cowens, Parish, but for fractional pieces? Nuh unh. Take a look at this contract, it's one of the best mid 20's deals any team has on a near superstar or better - that alone almost bars any deal unless they are handing over huge.

I lost my passion for Rondo due to the 14 games siesta/pout fest he pulled off over the Perkins deal. That's when I started to dig up the dirt and see for my self that he would likely never grow into a leadership role here, or gain the consistency in effort and results needed to be a great/superstar level player.

I also lost my respect for Rondo as a player when his two seasons in 2010-2012 turned out to be so much weaker then 2008-2010. Between his play the last 20 games of last year plus the playoffs, and early this I had hopes he'd be able to regain what he had lost.

I don't trust him to realize the potential I saw in him.

Rondo will be back next game!!! :cheer:

One of the positives to come of this might be Doc learning to trust other players more. Lee certainly got more minutes and showed improved play in facets of the game. It also forced Terry to rediscover his passing ability. I had hoped Barbosa would get more of an extended run than he did.

I hate that it sometimes takes the unavailability of a player for Doc to give guys a go.

Makes me wonder what impact Pierce missing a game of two might have on Green.

It also makes me realize that KG missing a game or two... well, they have pinned their hopes on Melo's development. In this context, it is easier to understand why they have not signed someone like Martin- they need to find a legitimate 6'11"+ guy. Collins has shown he ... well, he does what he does which likely is nowhere near enough. I'm not convinced a free agent or bought out guy will suffice. I'm expecting a trade.

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Originally Posted by Opalmerr

One of the positives to come of this might be Doc learning to trust other players more. Lee certainly got more minutes and showed improved play in facets of the game. It also forced Terry to rediscover his passing ability. I had hoped Barbosa would get more of an extended run than he did.

I hate that it sometimes takes the unavailability of a player for Doc to give guys a go.

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So very true. I hate that it takes something like this for Doc to spontaneously find things out, rather than him being able to strategize and plan it on his own. We need a good core of players to begin to click and get minutes going into playoff time, or we're doomed going in like that. And if someone were to go down in the playoffs, regardless of which one, it puts us at a huge disadvantage, as Doc getting a monkey wrench thrown into his preferred lineups is a bad thing.

http://www.celticsblog.com/2012/11/2...le-rajon-rondo

Rajon Rondo responded aggressively on Wednesday night to a hard foul. He stood up for his teammate, took matters into his own hands and things escalated quickly. As the newly proclaimed leader of the Celtics, though, that reaction has sparked some much needed conversation.

He's the infallible leader. The one who led the Boston Celtics to the Finals twice as the point guard of a starting five surrounded by Hall of Fame-caliber players. In the past two years, he's started to take on a new mentality in Boston, one centered around being a leader both in word and in deed.

And he can do no wrong. At least that's what it seems as if we've come to believe. Rajon Rondo, the acerbic point guard whose behavior has always been aberrant, has become the poster child for perfection in Boston. When he's passing up open layups to pad stats, the argument becomes focused on the fact that the all-time greats did it as well. When he lackadaisically allows other point guards to beat him off the dribble and doesn't fight hard over screens on the pick-and-roll, a blind eye is batted.

But after what transpired on Wednesday night in Boston, with the Celtics already losing to the Brooklyn Nets by a large margin, the "do no wrong" mentality needs to be examined. Kevin Garnett was fouled by Kris Humphries as he drove to the basket, Garnett fell to the floor and then things got out of hand. Rondo shoved Humphries, a gesture Kris didn't appreciate, and a glorified seventh-grade cat fight broke out underneath the basket. It spilled over into the stands for a few moments, and when it was all said and done, Rajon Rondo, Gerald Wallace and Kris Humphries were ejected from the game.

Had the reaction taken place two or three years ago, it would have been expected. Rondo would have been painted as the young, immature point guard that just doesn't seem to understand when and how to display his emotions properly. But this isn't 2010. It's 2012, and Rajon Rondo has, by his own admission, taken charge as the leader of the 2012-2013 Boston Celtics.

His task is tall, and likely always will be, as the cast surrounding him is aging and, simply put, hasn't been nearly as good as anticipated at the beginning of the season. But the blind eye being turned to Rondo's every fault cannot happen any longer. Craven behavior like what was displayed in Boston on Wednesday night is exciting and motivating at the surface. His actions surely infused fire into a seemingly emotionless and struggling Boston team, but beneath the surface it counteracted the new image Rondo had worked so very hard to portray this season.

When all is said and done, Rondo will be suspended for a few games. He will be fined, the Celtics will be forced to play a few games with an extremely weird lineup and he'll return and likely jump-start Boston's season again. It's happened before. But allow this to be the moment where Rajon Rondo is finally understood as fallible. He makes mistakes, and his absence will, though for only a few games, hurt the Boston Celtics. Why? Because he's actually playing on another level this season.

Rondo's growth as a leader and a player has taken shape in a number of ways. On the positive side, Rondo has posted his highest true shooting percentage of his career, 55.2. His Player Efficiency Rating (PER) is the highest it has been at any point during his career as well, 21.06.

He's finishing at the rim better than he has at any point during his career, 66.1 percent, and he's also shooting extremely well from 16-23 feet and hitting the most three-point shots than at any other point in his career. For a guy who has been painted as a terrible shooter for so long, maybe he's finally shaping that part of his game.

He's been rather exceptional on offense as the pick-and-roll ball handler, averaging .83 points per play and shooting 51.8 percent on shots coming out of those plays, according to MySynergySports.com. Rajon has been even better as a spot-up shooter. So far, though all of these statistics are a product of a small sample size, he has averaged 1.03 points per play in spot-up opportunities, and is shooting 48.4 percent.

He's averaging 13.6 assists per game, a number largely augmented by a couple of 15+ assist games. Still, he's been superb when it comes to getting his teammates open looks. He's turning the ball over at a much lower rate than in years past. But there's more to his game that needs shaping.

As much as Rajon wanted to enter the 2012-2013 season as the overall leader of the Boston Celtics, it's clear that there is still a lot of growing yet to occur. Sure, it's easy to sit from the outside looking in and note that the brawl should have never happened. It's understood that emotions get the best of players sometimes. It happens. But for Rajon Rondo, it cannot happen like it did on Wednesday night. Not as the leader of the team, not as the team's only true point guard, not now, not ever.

In a day and age where simply stepping foot onto the court and coming off the bench during a fight will earn at least a one-game suspension, Rondo simply cannot respond the way he did on Wednesday night. Perhaps a better reaction would have been to exchange words, stare Humphries down, pick Garnett up and walk away. A leader doesn't react before he reads the situation. A proper leader understands the impact his actions could have on his team, both positive and negative.

Those who hold to the old school approach will voice complaints at the way the brawl unfolded. Players got away with far worse than a few shoves and scratches in previous eras. But that was then. As frustrating as it may be, times have changed.

The last time Rondo was suspended it happened because of an immature, bonehead move. He bumped an official during the playoff series against Atlanta and the Celtics were luckily able to win the series despite missing perhaps its most important player for an entire game. Many thought that a new leaf had been turned over this season, that a lesson had been learned. Maybe Wednesday night's reaction will be the catalyst to a newer, mature Rondo.

Whatever the outcome, his actions should be observed without green-colored glasses. I'd want Rajon Rondo on my team during a fight. I'd prefer him on my team as a point guard. But I don't want my leader reacting without thinking. Perhaps it's just another piece to the enigmatic puzzle that is Rajon Rondo. But it has to change if his perception is ever going to be altered outside of Boston.