Monday, April 18, 2011

Rondo Still a Mystery

Or is he a paradox wrapped up in a conundrum.  Your guess is as good as mine.

Like last night’s game:  how can a player have such a seemingly great game and at the same time have such a deeply flawed game. Just look at the box score:  Rondo had 9 rebounds, (3 offensive), 9 assists, and 10 points, while shooting 35% from the floor – from the line he shot 0%, 0 -2.  He got credited for one turnover and should have received credit for two.  

Looking at his line, it’s a near triple double, a bench mark for a real good performance.  But I saw the game and he did not play that great from what I saw, but what got me most excited was watching him steal rebounds, scratching and clawing his way through the bigs, and the few times he took it straight to the hoop and converted.

But did he look .. .  tentative, out there at times, befuddled – he looked like that to me?  When Billips was playing 10 to15 feet off him he seemed to not know what to do at times and then sometimes he looked as if he was reluctantly shooting the ball.  Lucky the first couple went down or we would have been in trouble.  Didn't all 10 points come in the first half? 
 
I've never seen him have so much trouble finishing at the hoop as recently, and I wonder if it’s because Doc is urging him to take it strong more, when Rondo usually gets those on break-a-ways or else takes them when they are there in the flow of the game.  Maybe now he is being asked to be more aggressive and to create more so the trouble finishing is when he’s out of his comfort zone and trying to force it.

Doc basically put the ball in Ray’s hands starting the 2nd quarter and on into the 3rd.  I know it was partly to get Ray involved, as he had no shot attempts in the 1st qtr, but was there some other reason behind it as well? There were times when Rondo was walking the ball up or else slowing up at the 3 pt line when there should have been a constant effort to push the ball up the court before the defense sets.  That would help negate the strategy of Billips sagging off Rondo.

Rondo’s body language and his facial expressions tell another story.  I don’t know what’s troubling this great young man.  Was Perk being traded so utterly devastating to him that it affected his entire game?  I read that they were as close as brothers.  I wonder if he reads too much press.  I hope he never reads these types of discussion boards. 

Rondo remains a great point guard, and when he has it all going on he is unique among point guards.  Once he gets through this troubled time I think he will break through his shooting woes from distance and from the line.  So much of that is mental.  And I think of lot of his problems now are mental as well.


I love how KG gave Rondo hugs and many kisses to the top of his head after last night’s win.  Maybe love is all he needs, but I hope his needs are being taken seriously and the whole team is involved in getting him on track.  It’s a delicate situation.

I still believe, as many others do, as goes Rondo, so go the Celtics.  

I think he has yet to flip the switch, but I have a feeling that it’s coming.

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