As I am writing this I’m watching Daniel Paille, a 4th liner from the Bruins, fighting for a puck against the boards as if his life depends on it. Two minutes later, Nathan Horton, who should probably be dead after last year, scored the game-tying goal with 4 minutes to go in the 3rd period. I’m reminded how much better of a product the NHL gives all of us, as opposed to its counterpart the NBA.
I love basketball, and I love the Celtics, but I just can’t stand that I have to root for people like Rajon Rondo. First of all, the NBA is the only league where less than 5 teams can win the title every year. Who can honestly say they can win the NBA championship going into this year? Miami, Oklahoma City, Lakers, San Antonio? Who else? In baseball there are at least 10 teams that could win any given year, and we get a new champion every year. Football and Hockey? Same ish. Even the Celtics, who nearly made the NBA finals, really had no shot from the beginning.
The NBA and their promoters at ESPN glorify dooshnozzles with no souls, like Rondo, Dwight Howard, and Chris Paul. It’s pretty much common practice for them to pout when they don’t get their way, take a dive when they want a foul, cry to the referees when they don’t get their way, overplay injuries for the cameras, and demand to be traded to a warm-weather city whenever their sensitive feelings get hurt. ESPN is just as guilty. What’s on Sports Center every night? CRAZY DUNKS YO!!!!! They never tell us who won the games that these incredible dunks happened in, but they make sure to show it to us 30 times an hour, and then make a list of the best slama-dama-ding-dong dunks.
Oh snap!!!! 2 points….
They always tell us the crazy stat lines they put up. We’re constantly reminded that Dwight Howard had 20 rebounds and 10 blocks. Likewise we’ve been reminded time and time again that Rondo has 18 career triple-doubles (double digits in pts, rebounds, and assists)!! As if this matters at all. The Celtics are 2-3 in those amazing games of his this year. And who can forget Rondo’s streak of 37 straight games with an assist? We know he didn’t forget!! During this fraudulent and meaningless streak he constantly passed up open layups and shots in order to make more dangerous passes. He even insisted that he bet left in a game on November 19th, when the Celtics were down 20 points in the 4th quarter with 2 minutes to go, because he had 9 assists.
Yes, in a game when the Celtics were losing by 20, Rondo’s mind was on a meaningless streak. What a leader!!!
Think of how stupid and meaningless “double-digits” mean for stats. Why is 10 so much better than 9? Because it requires 2 digits to write it out? Man, if the NBA used binary numbering just think of what Rondo’s stats would look like!!!
As Herm Edwards famously told us, “You play to win the game”. Rondo? He plays to set meaningless records that some other selfish fraud will go out of his way to break in a couple years.
I just can’t take it from all the Rondo supporters anymore. I apologize to my friend StePHen Charest, Magic Johnson, Chris Broussard, and Michael Wilbon. I get that Rondo’s numbers are out of this world. His athletic ability is as good as anyone in the NBA. He should be the best player on a team that wins 75% of its games. He may be the best overall player on the Celtics, but he’s not leading them to victories, and he certainly seems like winning is as much of a priority to him as acting is for Channing Tatum. It’s not on his priority list. Tim Duncan wins. But Chris Broussard doesn’t obsess about The Big Fundamental’s, fundamentals. Instead Broussard is constantly reminding us (in the most annoying voice possible), that RAAAjon RONNdo is a triple-double machine that the Celtics can’t replace. He never mentions that Rondo is a donkey who hasn’t produced victories for the Celtics this year. Chris must not look at the standings and notice that the legendary RONNNdo has led the Celtics to a record below .500.
What Magic and Morons aren’t mentioning is that the NBA is filled with players that can score. Given that, the great players are those that can both score AND stop their man from scoring. Rondo’s defense is atrocious. Yet FSR (for some reason) he is regarded as a top defender by NBA fans. To show you what a joke NBA awards are, he has made the NBA All-defensive team 4 times. I’ve never seen anyone with his physical ability do less defensively on a basketball court.
Want specifics of what makes Rondo such an overrated foolchild? The Celtics are 22-13 without Rondo, which is roughly the same winning percentage they have with him in the lineup. Here are 5 classic Rondo games from this year. I’ll give you Rondo’s stat line vs. the opposing teams point guard (you know, the guy he’s supposed to defend) All were Celtics losses:
( +/- is a team’s point differential when a player is on the floor)
1. January 22nd; Cleveland 95, Boston 90.
- Rondo: 17 points, 10 boards, 13 assists (triple double), 5 turnovers, 0 steals, 2 fouls -10.
- Kyrie Irving: 40 points, 16-24 (67%) field goals, +11
Conclusion: The Cavs are terrible, and despite Rondo’s triple double, he failed to play any defense as seen by his 0 steals, 2 fouls, and absurd field goal percentage for Irving. The Celtics lost by 5 in a game when they were outscored by 10 points with Rondo on the floor.
Don’t worry Kyrie, I promise I won’t put my hands up on defense!!
2. January 20th; Detroit 103, Boston 88.
- Rondo: 8 points, 9 boards, 15 assists, 9 turnovers!!, 4-16 field goals, 0 free throws, -3.
- Brandon Knight: 15 points, 5 assists, 6 rebounds, +14.
Conclusion: The Pistons are terrible and Knight is young and unproven. Rondo nearly had a triple-double and the Celtics lost by 15. The 9 turnovers resulted in multiple scoring opportunities for Detroit.
3. January 16th; New Orleans 90, Boston 78.
- Rondo: 7 points, 11 assists, 3 rebounds, 0 fouls, -5.
- Grievis Vazquez: 15 points, 11 rebounds, +10.
Conclusion: Riding a 6 game winning streak and playing at home against one of the worst teams in the NBA led by a guy named Greivis, the Celtics lost by 10. Oh yea, but Rondo got double digit assists!! That’s what’s important. He was really aggressive on defense too, as you can see from his 0 fouls.
Airing of grievices. Who wants it more?
4. January 2nd; Memphis 93, Boston 83.
- Rondo: 11 points, 10 assists, 0-4 from 3 point line, 0 steals, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, -5.
- Mike Conley: 23 points, 9 assists, 8-15 field goals, +15.
Conclusion: Memphis is a better team than the Celtics because they have a better point guard than the Celtics. Another double-digit assist night that was good for nothing because he created no turnovers and didn’t play aggressive defense as evidenced by his 1 foul and Conley’s scoring line and plus/minus.
brb Rondo
5. December 30th; Sacramento 118, Celtics 96.
- Rondo: 2 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 1 steal, 1 foul, 1-6 field goals, -25!!
- Isaiah Thomas: 27 points, 5 assists, 4 boards, 10-15 (67%) field goals, +20.
Conclusion: This was Rondo’s worst game of the year. Not coincidentally this is the worst loss for the Celtics this year. The Kings are a disgrace to basketball. The only time we should hear their name is when they are threatening to be moved to Seattle. The plus/minus says it all, and proves what a joke Rondo is. Thomas is a 5’ 9” second year player. You don’t have to watch the tape from this game to realize that Rondo gave absolutely zero effort towards playing defense in this game, but made sure he got that double digit assist total.
This is called “offense”
…and THIS is called “defense”
This is just a small sample of how overrated Rondo is. Will the Celtics be a playoff team without him? Maybe, maybe not. Bottom line is though, if this were really a big loss we’d all be a lot more certain that they won’t be. Sorry Philly fans, this might actually work against you!!
Number 1 Rondo fan appears at 1:22: http://www.csnne.com/sportsnetNewEngland/search/v/38786396/ss-hey-felger-tanguay-1-31-10.htm
Rondo may be a talented basketball player, but give me the desire, passion and lock-down defense of StePHen Charest any day of the week over this chump!!!
Do you think Rondo is as useless as I do? Share your thoughts and feel free to tell me how wrong I am!!
The Celtics will be a better team without Rondo. fact. more ball movement on offense.more set plays. They will be more exposed on the full court press and will miss his reboundingthough. my only wish was they had traded him not lost him to injury.i
On a side not im trying to get into hockey this year (mostly do to betting) but i cant say its any better then bball. Both sports have half there games that are meanigless and teams take long stretches at a time off then crank it up for the playoffs. i also find it hard to respect getting rewarded just because you make o.t. a loss is a loss
This is great info. I love the stat breakdown on the opposing PG’s…something I’ve noticed since last year.
I think the C’s are better off without him, but I don’t think their record is going to be any different because they could and should have gotten something for him via trade. Now they are just missing a player.
Amazingly talented, but Ainge was over zealous to hitch the franchise to him before he knew what he was getting. He’s not a franchise player, just a piece.
I think the injury will make Rondo a better player…he’ll see the error of his ways and realize that to be a super stud you can’t mail in games. Whether or not the Celtics will be better without him is debatable. What’s not debatable is whether or not they will be more or less entertaining. Dude was the most entertaining player in the league…when he wanted to be.
Who cares the Bruins are 5-0-1.
Aidan,
First off, thank you for the plugs lol. Secondly, how the heck did you find the Hey Felger video?! Lol, I tried to find it before, but I was under the impression that it was gone forever. For those who are seeing it for the first time, just know that was my drunken impression of Ronnie from Jersey Shore!! Lol, I don’t normally talk like that (not entirely anyway). On a side note, I ran into Tanguay at the Garden about 10 months later. I asked him if he remembered me, and he couldn’t remember!! Lol, how do you forget about a night in which you filled in for Felger and fist-pumped?!! Lol, he felt bad tho. Anyway, thanks again, Aidan. Finally, I will address the points in this article which I feel are most significant.
I completely agree that ESPN (and the NBA for the most part) glorifies many of the worst things that the sport of basketball has to offer. I think Blake Griffin was a great example– but I think Chris Paul and Rondo were awful examples. I think your opinion that Paul and Rondo have no souls is completely inaccurate. EVERY player in the league pouts when things don’t go their way. My biggest problem with the NBA is the refs– they are AWFUL. The only thing they are consistent with is being inconsistent. They make it VERY difficult for the players to keep their composure. With that being said, I still hold Rondo accountable for getting out of line with the refs. That is probably Rondo’s biggest problem– not that he has ‘no soul,’ but that he is overly passionate on the court. ESPN’s problem is that they show all of these highlights and ‘Top Plays,’ and they ignore everything but the physical plays in themselves. I think that 90% of Blake Griffin’s in-your-face dunks come with offensive fouls. He tends to throw his off-hand onto the defenders’ shoulders, and/or directly into their faces. They show it, but they ignore it and comment on the dunk– which, like you showed earlier, is merely two points in the box score. In ESPN’s defense, however, they are reporting entertainment. So, I see why they choose to report the way that they do.
If you think that Rondo does not want to win games, then you are out of your mind!! If you equate Rondo’s desire to keep his streak alive to Ricky Davis’s infamous tenth rebound, then you are clearly just a Rondo-hater. I took a look back at Magic and Stockton’s streaks, and I noticed that their streaks continued with games of only 10 assists on several occasions. I can’t say that I remember watching any of those games, but I am willing to bet that both of those men were desperately seeking that 10th assist in the 4th quarter a few times each. In Rondo’s case, that game in question was already out of reach. The Celtics were not positioned to come back and win that game. So, he decided to keep his streak alive– what’s wrong with that?? As a fan (a BIG fan lol), I was rooting for him to break the record. Without that last assist, he wouldn’t have been able to do so. The theme of this season had been (for me) prioritized as such: First, Celtics win, and second, Rondo keeps streak alive. When the streak ended, it shifted to: First, Celtics win, and second, Rondo gets a triple double. Let me be clear– RONDO WANTS TO WIN AS BAD AS ANYONE IN THE LEAGUE. WHEN HE CAN’T WIN, AND THE GAME IS OUT OF REACH, THEN HIS INDIVIDUAL GOALS COME INTO PLAY.
Rondo’s triple-doubles is the next issue I will address. You conveniently pointed out the fact that the Celtics are 2-3 in Rondo’s FIVE trip-doub games this season. You ignored the previous 13 games– and the MANY games during which he was only one rebound, one assist, or even one point away from another triple-double. Traditionally, Rondo’s statistical production led to W’s for the Celtics. This season has been different, mostly because of one of your other points– Rondo doesn’t play defense anymore. I look at Rondo’s situation in the same light as Kobe’s situation. When you play defense, you give up a lot on the offensive end. Look at the deflation in Kobe’s scoring numbers since he’s started playing defense. That is just the way the game works. NOBODY, outside of maybe Lebron, is capable of playing 100% on both ends of the floor (efficiently). Rondo is no less human than anyone else. To criticize a man for having too many triple-double is stupid– you should be criticizing the coach for asking too much from a PG. To say that Rondo passes the ball too much is like saying that Kobe shoots too much.
As far as those five games you brought up, let’s take a closer look. Kyrie Irving– YES, he destroyed Rondo that night. He was taking it to Rondo all night. Did you want Rondo to hack away at him and get in foul trouble early? That is exactly what Irving was trying to do. The Celtics run a team-help defense. What about everyone behind Rondo? How did Irving get to the basket so many times and not get touched? That speaks to the Celtics defense as a whole. I was pissed at Doc for sitting Bradley for the entire fourth quarter of that game, when we needed AB the most. I agree that Rondo was owned that night tho. The Kings game was a wash, and it wasn’t because Rondo was getting owned in half-court sets. That was like a pick-up game for both teams, and we lost to a younger, faster team. The NOH game– don’t dismiss Vazquez!! He has been doing that to people all season long. Maybe Rondo underestimated him– maybe not. Either way, I am pretty sure that we lost that game in the paint. Brandon Knight– I’ll give you that one, even tho we ALSO lost that game in the paint. Detroit, NOH, and Sacramento ALL took advantage of our age. Rondo was suckered into playing games at our opponents’ pace, and, as a team, we weren’t prepared for that. Mike Conley is a stud and has games like that at random. He is smart enough to know that Rondo has slacked off on defense, and he took full advantage of it.
Rondo has minimal leadership qualities. I feel like they gave him that title in an effort to motivate him to mature a little faster, and/or because they thought he’d probably blossom under that kind of pressure. That has backfired for the most part. They gave him the power to run the team as he has seen fit. Rondo is not a coach lol, and he is supposed to still be COACHED– even as a leader. To imagine that Rondo is supposed to lead a team that already has TWO real leaders on it is absurd. That was a bad idea from the get-go, and our record has been impacted by it.
Last, but not least, are the Celtics better without Rondo?? Hmmmm.. That is such a loaded question. Our record would indicate that the answer is yes. The Lakers, without Kobe, during the Gasol era, have a winning pct of somewhere around .800. So, the small-scale record can’t be taken with too much weight. With that being said, I think we are a MUCH better team defensively without Rondo. I like having Bradley on the floor as often as possible. Also, going into this season, I thought we had the best bench I’ve ever seen– literally, in NBA history. However, because Doc is OCD about his distribution of minutes, we haven’t been able to see much of our bench yet. Now, with Rondo out, we will be able to see these guys work together with fresher legs. Offensively, we have looked lost at times, without Rondo on the floor. The ball would get to Pierce’s hands and never come back. Our ball movement would be minimal at best, and we are an old team who relies on ball movement. These guys will get minutes together over the next few months. They’ll be able to work on a NEW and improved game plan. Doc can get his head together– because, NOW he has the “I didn’t have Rondo” card in his pocket, which will take some pressure off of him. We will DEFINITELY miss Rondo’s rebounding edge, which sets him apart from all other PGs in the league. I have faith that Danny will make the long-awaited move for a true Center– or at least a solid rebounder. So, to answer the question, YES. I think we will be ‘better’ this season without Rondo– with time. When we get to the Playoffs (yes, I said WHEN, not IF), then we will see whether or not we are REALLY missing Rondo. One of our biggest advantages having Rondo: refer to the Playoff series against Cleveland, in Lebron’s last season there. Not only was Rondo a rebounding, triple-double machine– BUT, he also forced Mike Brown to put Lebron on Rondo, defensively. THAT is the kind of value that Rondo brings to the Celtics (when he is used correctly), and THAT is what we might be missing in May 2013.
Sorry for the long comment, Aidan!! You must have seen this coming tho lol. Thanks again for the kind words and the free advertising haha!!
StePHen
I looked up the rule a while back; the inftinie tunnel is the right interpretation. A look at the case book clarifies this: I think there is an approved ruling along the lines of, a pass that goes through the tunnel is out of bounds, but one that goes over the tunnel, or under it, is not. Presumably the same would go for a shot.By those standards, I think Kobe’s shot was good (passing entirely over the tunnel), but it was darned close.
Just reread my comment, What horrific grammar and spelling. No more commenting from my cellphone, Mrs. Martello would be very upset.