Rank Boston PGs: Rondo Kyrie Smart IT Kemba Ainge

[durantbird]

How would you rank the primes of the following players in Boston?

Rajon Rondo
Kyrie Irving
Marcus Smart
Isaiah Thomas
Kemba Walker
Danny Ainge

[SickMother]

Rondo (won it all as floor general)
Thomas (most impressive offensive season in the bunch)
Ainge (solid role player on Championship teams)
Smart (dislike his game/playstyle, but it was integral for a Finals squad)
Kyrie (2nd best offensive player, but no postseason success)
Kemba (deeper playoff run than Kyrie, but not as efficient in the RS)

[HeartBreakKid]

Rondo (won it all as floor general)
Thomas (most impressive offensive season in the bunch)
Ainge (solid role player on Championship teams)
Smart (dislike his game/playstyle, but it was integral for a Finals squad)
Kyrie (2nd best offensive player, but no postseason success)
Kemba (deeper playoff run than Kyrie, but not as efficient in the RS)

You mean when he was a 2nd year player winning a title with 3 all-nba teammates?

[SickMother]

Rondo (won it all as floor general)
Thomas (most impressive offensive season in the bunch)
Ainge (solid role player on Championship teams)
Smart (dislike his game/playstyle, but it was integral for a Finals squad)
Kyrie (2nd best offensive player, but no postseason success)
Kemba (deeper playoff run than Kyrie, but not as efficient in the RS)

You mean when he was a 2nd year player winning a title with 3 all-nba teammates?

Yeah, floor general is probably phrasing it too generously, but he topped the team in AST% (28.2 for Rajon vs 21.8 for Pierce/19.9 for Garnett in the RS and then 36.3 vs 22.5 for Pierce/18.4 for Garnett in the POs) while also being the point of attack defender for a #1 defense.

I've only watched these guys for a tiny portion of their games with Boston (& Ainge only when I was a little kid), how would you rank them as a Celtics fan?

[HeartBreakKid]

Rondo (won it all as floor general)
Thomas (most impressive offensive season in the bunch)
Ainge (solid role player on Championship teams)
Smart (dislike his game/playstyle, but it was integral for a Finals squad)
Kyrie (2nd best offensive player, but no postseason success)
Kemba (deeper playoff run than Kyrie, but not as efficient in the RS)

You mean when he was a 2nd year player winning a title with 3 all-nba teammates?

Yeah, floor general is probably phrasing it too generously, but he topped the team in AST% (28.2 for Rajon vs 21.8 for Pierce/19.9 for Garnett in the RS and then 36.3 vs 22.5 for Pierce/18.4 for Garnett in the POs) while also being the point of attack defender for a #1 defense.

I've only watched these guys for a tiny portion of their games with Boston (& Ainge only when I was a little kid), how would you rank them as a Celtics fan?

Well, he is the point guard so him having the highest AST% isn't saying much. Being the point of attack defender...again he is the point guard.

You're basically saying that no one else could have done what he did. Keep in mind literally every player here was in their prime on the Celtics - Rondo in 2008 was not. You think Marcus Smart cannot be the floor general on the 2008 Celtics or be a positive defender for the #1 defense? (he basically did both of those things in the past season).

You also listed Ainge as a solid role player on a championship level team which was exactly what Rondo was on 2008.

As for my rankings, Rondo would probably be last or second to last with Danny Ainge. If this was 2008 Rondo, then he would be dead last by a lot.

[Dr Positivity]

Rondo
Thomas
Kyrie
Smart
Ainge
Kemba

Thomas had the best regular season but I give credit for Rondo in playoffs

[SickMother]

Well, he is the point guard so him having the highest AST% isn't saying much. Being the point of attack defender...again he is the point guard.

You're basically saying that no one else could have done what he did. Keep in mind literally every player here was in their prime on the Celtics - Rondo in 2008 was not. You think Marcus Smart cannot be the floor general on the 2008 Celtics or be a positive defender for the #1 defense? (he basically did both of those things in the past season).

You also listed Ainge as a solid role player on a championship level team which was exactly what Rondo was on 2008.

As for my rankings, Rondo would probably be last or second to last with Danny Ainge. If this was 2008 Rondo, then he would be dead last by a lot.

I prefer Rondo over Smart because he is a more naturally gifted creator & I believe he is better at actually playing defense instead of trying to bait calls.

Rajon's role in 2008 (starting PG, 4th in MP) was a lot larger than Ainge's role in 84 (8th in MP). Danny started in 86, but at SG where I'd say he was still at best the 5th most important Celtic behind Bird, McHale, Parish and DJ. Walton also won 6th Man that year so a case could be made he was more vital than Ainge too.

[Dr Positivity]

Well, he is the point guard so him having the highest AST% isn't saying much. Being the point of attack defender...again he is the point guard.

You're basically saying that no one else could have done what he did. Keep in mind literally every player here was in their prime on the Celtics - Rondo in 2008 was not. You think Marcus Smart cannot be the floor general on the 2008 Celtics or be a positive defender for the #1 defense? (he basically did both of those things in the past season).

You also listed Ainge as a solid role player on a championship level team which was exactly what Rondo was on 2008.

As for my rankings, Rondo would probably be last or second to last with Danny Ainge. If this was 2008 Rondo, then he would be dead last by a lot.

I prefer Rondo over Smart because he is a more naturally gifted creator & I believe he is better at actually playing defense instead of trying to bait calls.

Rajon's role in 2008 (starting PG, 4th in MP) was a lot larger than Ainge's role in 84 (8th in MP). Danny started in 86, but at SG where I'd say he was still at best the 5th most important Celtic behind Bird, McHale, Parish and DJ. Walton also won 6th Man that year so a case could be made he was more vital than Ainge too.

Rondo being the arguable best player on run to G7 of ECF in 2012 is more impressive to me than being 4th starter on champion as a rookie.

[tsherkin]

Rondo (won it all as floor general)
Thomas (most impressive offensive season in the bunch)
Ainge (solid role player on Championship teams)
Smart (dislike his game/playstyle, but it was integral for a Finals squad)
Kyrie (2nd best offensive player, but no postseason success)
Kemba (deeper playoff run than Kyrie, but not as efficient in the RS)

A little surprising. Rondo actually has a whole thing named after him for "assists where the PG who delivered the pass did nothing but made an elementary pass after all the work was done by guys moving off-ball or setting screens." The Rondo Assist. He was remarkably less valuable than his raw APG. But in 2008 in particular, he was a 2nd-year player who (as he did his whole career) was a violent chunder artist at scoring, incompetent at the line and lacking in any range whatsover who was a 10.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 5.1 apg player. This is not something you want to sell as "won it all as a floor general." He was as replaceable as a player gets. A savagely inefficient waste of skin as a scoring threat who literally passed up open shots to make a pass to a properly competent player.

[Onlytimewilltel]

I remember Ainge as more of a shooting guard? Did he actually ever consistently play point? It’s been a while hah but I was surprised to see his name on this list with point guards.

[Statlanta]

Thomas
Irving
Rondo
Walker
Smart
AInge