Comments on: 7 Keys To Understanding The Celtics Championship Hopes

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 20 May 2008 03:03:55 +0000

I don’t know all that much about the NBA but I’ll be sick to my stomach if the Celtics win it all, I can’t stand Boston sports.

By: J-Dub

J-Dub — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:14:48 +0000

Yeah, there’s definitely still some holes in his game, but he’s got such great potential. Billups will defitely outplay Rondo in a 7 game series (if he’s healthy), but as long as Rajon doesn’t get absolutely killed defensively and makes Billups play defense in turn, I think the Celtics will be alright if they get to Detroit.

By: JL

JL — Fri, 09 May 2008 03:03:31 +0000

Agreed - Rondo is playing out of his mind for a sophomore PG. I honestly believe it will be easier to see the holes in Rondo’s game if/when he plays a top notch PG like Billups. Granted, he’s matched up well with Nash, Parker, and CP3, but none of those guys are known as good defenders. He may have gotten the best of Billups once, but in a best of 7 it will be a different story.

Too bad Chauncey might be hurt…

By: J-Dub

J-Dub — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:54:51 +0000

Why yes I have seen him play. Did you see Sammy playing in Atlanta? Obviously he’s not always hot.
Rondo’s presence was not hurting the Celtics at all. Last night for some reason, it was Paul Pierce and Ray Allen’s inability to score. Rondo just wasn’t as aggressive in the second half. It wasn’t like Cleveland was doing anything different against him. Guys like Rondo and Chris Paul and Tony Parker are too fast to keep out of the lane when you give them a pick and roll situation. But in that third quarter, you could tell that Boston was trying to get Pierce and Allen more involved. It just wasn’t working. I was dissapointed they went away from the high screen and roll with Rondo, cuz it was really breaking down Cleveland’s defense. They tried going under and over the screen, but nothing was working. I don’t know whether it was Rondo or Rivers who made the playcalling in the second half; all I know is that it was a poor choice to go away from Rajon as much as they did.
Back to Cassell. If you watched the Celtics all year, you’d know that Rondo usually sits out the first 6 minutes of the fourth quarter. But the Celtics needed shots and Sam was on fire. So I don’t mind Doc keeping Sam in this time, but if they are ahead in the last few minutes, I’d bring in Rondo to keep the offense flowing. When Sam is in the game, Pierce and Allen sometimes gets screwed over because Cassell dribbles so much to find his own shot.
I look at this like a Tony Parker/Speedy Claxton situation a few years ago. Rondo is obviously more talented at this point, but Cassell is used for his experience in late game situations, and his clutch shooting ability. It’s not like Rondo’s being benched for Eddie House. Cassell has more than just shooting ability. He has experience and savvy that Rondo has, understandably, yet to achieve. But for a second year player who should still be a senior in college, Rondo is handling the playoff pressure fantastically. He just needs to keep being aggressive and that will open up things for Pierce and Ray Ray. But once again, it was clearly not Rondo’s presence that was hurting the Celtics; it was the inability of Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to score the ball.
Rondo would not have cost the Celtics by staying in the game. Like I said, as long as Cassell is hitting his shots and not taking too many, than I’m fine with him being in the game. But if Rivers wants to win this championship, he’s going to give his talented sophomore point guard a chance in some pressure situations.

By: JL

JL — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:20:33 +0000

J-Dub - We can argue this all year, but in my mind it’s very simple. Rondo’s first half in last night’s Celts/Cavs game was great, but when the Cavs decided to start denying Rondo the lane, he dried up. Cassell closed out the 4th quarter because, unlike Rondo, he’s got shooting range. Rondo’s presence was hurting the Celtics in the 2nd half because the Cavs were playing off him and crowding the lane. Rivers had to pull him out if they wanted to win.

Cassell doesn’t get “hot” btw - that guy is always on (or haven’t you seen him play before)?

By: J-Dub

J-Dub — Wed, 07 May 2008 03:31:10 +0000

Dude, it doesn’t matter cause you can’t stop him from getting into the lane. Chris Paul would struggle mightily as well if he couldn’t get into the lane. You seem to forget that Rondo is the 4th option on this team in terms of scoring, so he’s gonna be incosistent. Second, he didn’t struggle at first, he missed one shot. You are underrating him on severely on offense, purely on his numbers. You obviously never really watched him play during the year.
You also don’t get how important he is to this offense. Did you notice how everything goes stagnant when he came out of the game? He is the general of this offense, as KG has said. Behind Paul Pierce and KG, he’s the most important player on this offense. The Celtics went away from using him on the pick and roll in the third quarter and what happened? The Celtics could barely score.
He is vastly more talented and more important than Perkins. Perk shoots 62 percent? Thats cuz he doesn’t take much more than five or six shots per game and they are ALL within 3 feet. But Rondo shoots about 10-plus shots a game at a 48 percent tick, which is one of the best FG% in the league. He also averages a rebound about every 6 minutes, which is great for a PG.
You want to talk about defense? Rondo is up for consideration for FIRST TEAM All-NBA Defense (just ask John Hollinger, among others). He is one of the, if not the best defensive point guard in the league. He gets steals AND he plays great on ball defense.
And of course Sam Cassell was in the game at the end. He is no slouch coming off the bench. As a starter, he scored 39 versus Cleveland earlier this year. The Celtics needed to make some shots, and Sam was on fire. Docs not gonna take him out if he’s hitting shots. But Rondo WAS in there on a key offensive possession; the one where KG hit the layup for the lead. Sure, all he had to do was come down and pass, but it shows that Doc still has confidence in him and that he is needed to run this offense. Perkins is in there to get offensive boards. He plays a much smaller role than Rondo, so its a little unfair to compare the two in the first place.
I don’t want to get into a Perk/Cassell versus Rondo battle, though. The fact of the matter is,the Celtics don’t really have a weak starter, and if you had to choose one, itd be Perkins based solely on ability. Well, Rondo just put up another great night, but whatever. You’re still going to underrate him, because all some people do is look at stats. I see that he can score at will, take care of the ball better than most point guards in the league, and play defense better than most guys in the league. Good player in a few years? He’s good right now. Very good and very underrated.