Rondo out indefinitely

[Writebloc]

Sorry Rondo, but this changes everything!

The Celtics' playoff hope:

[OBisHalJordan]

It was fun seeing Rondo look vintage for the first time in forever. But it will make the Bulls easier to hate.

He was actually great for the Kings last year but that entire team was trash so it was hard to appreciate. He also had some great games this year and finished off the season very nicely. Honestly, I wish DA kept Rondo, never traded for IT, and tanked in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Rondo would have been a great tank commander that could've led to us to the a future team anchored by KAT, Fultz and some other blue chip prospects rather than this overachieving team of underdogs. I know most people here have a very low opinion of Rondo but I always liked him and still do.

[Writebloc]

It was fun seeing Rondo look vintage for the first time in forever. But it will make the Bulls easier to hate.

He was actually great for the Kings last year but that entire team was trash so it was hard to appreciate. He also had some great games this year and finished off the season very nicely. Honestly, I wish DA kept Rondo, never traded for IT, and tanked in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Rondo would have been a great tank commander that could've led to us to the a future team anchored by KAT, Fultz and some other blue chip prospects rather than this overachieving team of underdogs. I know most people here have a very low opinion of Rondo but I always liked him and still do.

Apparently you don't remember the birthday incident? Rondo is in a different headspace now than he was before he was traded to Dallas. He's been humbled and had to settle for a make good contract in Sacramento. I have serious questions how he would have been in a tanking situation. I think Ainge had a very good handle on that situation, especially Rondo's mentality and his ability to function on this team.

KAT draft pick is also such a pipe dream.

[Slartibartfast]

The Celtics really do still have a rather steep hill to climb. MCW isn't the threat on offense that rondo is but he's more than a capable defender capable of giving IT problems. The rest of our team still needs to up their games in order to start winning

MCW is sort of a train wreck decision maker - he had some laughable possessions last game. But if they get him to calm down and focus on his strengths he could pose a lot of problems for us. He's such a huge guard and he's not unskilled once he gets in the paint.

I think it's more likely that they start Grant though. He was a spot starter for them for a good chunk of the season and they can have Butler and Wade take up more of the ball-handling burden.

Rondo wasn't shooting well in this series but he was making the best decisions that I have seen him in a long time. One can argue that assists are can be flukish and I have done so in the past since they are dependent upon players making shots but his lack of turnovers for all of his ballhandling was impressive even considering the C's defense on him has obviously not been good. Didn't seem to be handling the ball too much either.

Lopez sooner or later was bound to start missing more of those midrange shots with or without Rondo and same with Wade on the 3's. But a couple of more turnovers for the Bulls, a couple of less for the Celtics and the same thing on the boards, Boston if they play with energy is capable of winning tonight and getting back in the series.

With Rondo out after playing so well the first two games, a loss here would be more devastating.

If Butler/Wade have to handle the ball more, a little less energy for them on D/offense. Butler is young enough it may not matter much but it may help Wade finally miss some darn 3's.

Wade looked pretty awful trying to run PNR against Bradley. Outside of 3s and post-ups, he's looked toast offensively all series.

Jae for whatever reason has been pretty bad defensively this series - Zipser of all people blew right by him in iso - so I expect the Bulls to target him with either Butler or Wade and use Grant as an off-ball shooter after he crosses halfcourt.

If I'm Brad, I might take the risk of putting AB on Grant early with a full-court press. Yes that leaves IT on Wade which is bad but if we can rattle Grant early it can pay dividends.

[shackles10]

This is some crazy mind game Hoiberg is playing. He'll probably vault down from the rafters in a dark Celtics uniform just before tip off, Avery Bradley will proceed to give up again and Rondo will proceed to murder us with rebounds, assists and 720 reverse jams

One of those green Bulls jerseys that look like a ripoff of ours. If your prophecy is true then I see no choice but to change our jerseys forever. Fortunately, the basketball gods will not allow this to happen. They toy with us, but secretly root for us!

[AAU Teammate]

bulls fans were hopin to get a 2nd round pick for Rondo weeks ago, and now that he's gone it's like prime Jason Kidd just got injured

[ConstableGeneva]

Super tiny sample, but confirms eye test. IT did better with Rondo off the floor.

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Wish Hoiberg brought the Payne instead but he's apparently going with Grant then MCW off the bench.

[Homerclease]

bulls fans were hopin to get a 2nd round pick for Rondo weeks ago, and now that he's gone it's like prime Jason Kidd just got injured

Playoff Rondo is a different animal though. The guy takes his game to a new level, wish some Celtics on this team could do the same

[Darth Celtic]

Super tiny sample, but confirms eye test. IT did better with Rondo off the floor.

Read on Twitter

Wish Hoiberg brought the Payne instead but he's apparently going with Grant then MCW off the bench.

That's a pretty big difference.

[soxfan2003]

MCW is sort of a train wreck decision maker - he had some laughable possessions last game. But if they get him to calm down and focus on his strengths he could pose a lot of problems for us. He's such a huge guard and he's not unskilled once he gets in the paint.

I think it's more likely that they start Grant though. He was a spot starter for them for a good chunk of the season and they can have Butler and Wade take up more of the ball-handling burden.

Rondo wasn't shooting well in this series but he was making the best decisions that I have seen him in a long time. One can argue that assists are can be flukish and I have done so in the past since they are dependent upon players making shots but his lack of turnovers for all of his ballhandling was impressive even considering the C's defense on him has obviously not been good. Didn't seem to be handling the ball too much either.

Lopez sooner or later was bound to start missing more of those midrange shots with or without Rondo and same with Wade on the 3's. But a couple of more turnovers for the Bulls, a couple of less for the Celtics and the same thing on the boards, Boston if they play with energy is capable of winning tonight and getting back in the series.

With Rondo out after playing so well the first two games, a loss here would be more devastating.

If Butler/Wade have to handle the ball more, a little less energy for them on D/offense. Butler is young enough it may not matter much but it may help Wade finally miss some darn 3's.

Wade looked pretty awful trying to run PNR against Bradley. Outside of 3s and post-ups, he's looked toast offensively all series.

Jae for whatever reason has been pretty bad defensively this series - Zipser of all people blew right by him in iso - so I expect the Bulls to target him with either Butler or Wade and use Grant as an off-ball shooter after he crosses halfcourt.

If I'm Brad, I might take the risk of putting AB on Grant early with a full-court press. Yes that leaves IT on Wade which is bad but if we can rattle Grant early it can pay dividends.

You have some good suggestions here and are probably right about Wade. Now that Rondo is out, the C's have more of a depth advantage at guard. Doesn't hurt to make the game tougher with some pressing that realistically wouldn't work against Rondo but may in his absence.

I am no psychologist but I wouldn't be surprised if Jae is slipping a little athletically for whatever reasons -- I realize he isn't that old but he wasn't the best athlete in the first place-- and his level of effort has declined a little bit. I am not arguing he is pulling a Mark Blount after Blount got paid but I think it may be human nature to not give the crazy effort that he gave 2 years ago in the playoffs.

Why?
1) IT has probably been getting a little too much credit for the teams success. He had a truly great regular season on offense but the MVP talk was insane IMHO because he is a major defensive liability. It really has been Rondo on offense exposing IT's defense so much that IT's biggest fans can't really deny it. Crowder may not have been the C's best player the past 2.5 years but a solid argument is he has been the teams best two way player since joining the team.
2) Ainge for some valid reasons not trying to make the team better. As a veteran, Jae probably knows the C's are no match at all for Cavs.
3) He realizes he is underpaid even if one just considers him a great bench player
4) He may have come to believe no matter what he does this post season, he is a bench guy next year(Hayward) or traded....

I am not saying these 4 things justify less than max effort but combine them all together it makes it much more understandable.

[meatball sub]

Double. Agent.

[Homerclease]

Double. Agent.

Your screen name makes me hungry every time I see it

[OFWGKTA]

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[soxfan2003]

Super tiny sample, but confirms eye test. IT did better with Rondo off the floor.

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Wish Hoiberg brought the Payne instead but he's apparently going with Grant then MCW off the bench.

That's a pretty big difference.

Seems like Rondo's length on defense combined with his bball IQ is especially problematic for IT combined with a decent amount of traps from players like Butler. And obviously no major offensive threat to take the pressure off of him makes life tougher. Some top notch offensive players like Lebron/Harden/Curry/Westbrook could handle what Chicago is doing much more but even if there was no family tragedy, I think its asking too much out of Thomas to be extremely effective on offense with this supporting cast against a team like the Bulls.

I hope Steven's talks to IT about the added importance in this series of limiting turnovers. If you aren't getting beaten on the boards so much, a bit easier to overcome a turnover deficit.

[London2Boston]

I'm not getting carried away. He's been great, but their bigs are still going to son Kelly and Amir.

[Big Baby]

Strange. It was weirdly good to see Rondo being Rondo, reminding us what great teams we had when he was at his peak, but incredibly maddening to see the C's get shredded by one of our own at the same time. Oh, well. Now the C's have a shot because Rondo was easily their best player thus far. No more excuses. Go out there and control the tempo. One game at a time and who knows? Won't feel good about the series win if we do comeback but it'll be f*cking great to meet the Wizards in the second round. That's the series (if it happens) that I'm most looking forward to. C's vs. Wiz. Speaking of...If Pierce was still with the Wiz and we faced him in the second round after facing Rondo, this would've been the weirdest playoffs ever.

It was fun seeing Rondo look vintage for the first time in forever. But it will make the Bulls easier to hate.

He was actually great for the Kings last year but that entire team was trash so it was hard to appreciate. He also had some great games this year and finished off the season very nicely. Honestly, I wish DA kept Rondo, never traded for IT, and tanked in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Rondo would have been a great tank commander that could've led to us to the a future team anchored by KAT, Fultz and some other blue chip prospects rather than this overachieving team of underdogs. I know most people here have a very low opinion of Rondo but I always liked him and still do.

Apparently you don't remember the birthday incident? Rondo is in a different headspace now than he was before he was traded to Dallas. He's been humbled and had to settle for a make good contract in Sacramento. I have serious questions how he would have been in a tanking situation. I think Ainge had a very good handle on that situation, especially Rondo's mentality and his ability to function on this team.

KAT draft pick is also such a pipe dream.

And Rondo was looking for a max contract, no? Just wasn't going to happen.

[Slartibartfast]

Strange. It was weirdly good to see Rondo being Rondo, reminding us what great teams we had when he was at his peak, but incredibly maddening to see the C's get shredded by one of our own at the same time. Oh, well. Now the C's have a shot because Rondo was easily their best player thus far. No more excuses. Go out there and control the tempo. One game at a time and who knows? Won't feel good about the series win if we do comeback but it'll be f*cking great to meet the Wizards in the second round. That's the series (if it happens) that I'm most looking forward to. C's vs. Wiz. Speaking of...If Pierce was still with the Wiz and we faced him in the second round after facing Rondo, this would've been the weirdest playoffs ever.

He was actually great for the Kings last year but that entire team was trash so it was hard to appreciate. He also had some great games this year and finished off the season very nicely. Honestly, I wish DA kept Rondo, never traded for IT, and tanked in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Rondo would have been a great tank commander that could've led to us to the a future team anchored by KAT, Fultz and some other blue chip prospects rather than this overachieving team of underdogs. I know most people here have a very low opinion of Rondo but I always liked him and still do.

Apparently you don't remember the birthday incident? Rondo is in a different headspace now than he was before he was traded to Dallas. He's been humbled and had to settle for a make good contract in Sacramento. I have serious questions how he would have been in a tanking situation. I think Ainge had a very good handle on that situation, especially Rondo's mentality and his ability to function on this team.

KAT draft pick is also such a pipe dream.

And Rondo was looking for a max contract, no? Just wasn't going to happen.

Rondo was putting up 8ppg on terrible percentages and playing stationary defense for a bad team. He wasn't getting a max even if he wanted one.

The catastrophe in Dallas obviously deep-sixed his value but he was already heading for disappointment on the market with his struggles on both sides of the ball post-ACL.

Look at what he got after leading the league in assists for a bad team in Sacramento - an Amir Johnson level deal.

[Edug27]

I would start Zeller. And give Mickey some spot minutes over Amir. Amir provides absolutely no value in this series. If he wasn't a veteran, he wouldn't see the floor.

[GreenBloodedC]

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2 key players Olynk has taken out in his playoff career.

[truth18]

Wtf? Is he actually a double agent? Lmao.