Dammit, F U Doc, give the ball to Rondo @ the end of games

[IEcelticfan]

no more Paul. Rondo is GOING TO and WILL make something good happen for us on offense. he's gonna drive for a layup, a floater, or give it up to someone open, KG, Paul, RA, or Perks.

AND STICK TO EFFING PERK. No Sheed in there unless Perk has fouled out or we're down 3.

but damn you, Doc, you'll never learn ....

[greenbeans]

Did you watch the final 3 minutes? Perk was in and Rondo had 2 turnovers when the game was still close.

[IEcelticfan]

uh...they dont get up for these gms vs these bottom feeders lol

[celticfan42487]

When the game is on the line, you want a triple threat option.

Rondo is a single threat. What if, the defense stays home on their man and back off Rondo?

Then your game winning chance is off a Rondo jumper.

That's a dream gift for the opposing team.

[SichtingLives]

When the game is on the line, you want a triple threat option.

Rondo is a single threat. What if, the defense stays home on their man and back off Rondo?

Then your game winning chance is off a Rondo jumper.

That's a dream gift for the opposing team.

Rondo has shown a fairly consistent ability to knock down shots at the end of the shot clock and quarters, plus he's the quickest, craftiest dude on the team. I'm confident he could close the deal at the buzzer doing any of what IE said, and I think he would stick the midrange jumper too.....but right now that's a pipe dream.

As long as he can't knock down free throws, his role at the end of the game is going to be limited no matter what. You're gonna see hack-a-rondo until he can shoot better than 59% from the line. Also, Doc would never play against the percentages or give Rondo the ball ahead of Paul or Ray. Even if Rondo were shooting free throws at 70%, Doc probably still wouldn't give him the ball with the game on the line.

He'll never gain confidence if he never gets the opportunity though, and better off now than in the playoffs. If Rondo ever developed a killer closing ability he'd be a star in this league, not to mention infinitely more valuable to this team. This is the case where you have to throw him to the sharks and see if he can swim.

[FeedReed]

lmao i feel like me and op are the same person. i been saying this over and over, rondo needs to be behind the wheel at the end of games(and all other times), ray is sitting shotgun. kg, pierce, and perk are sitting in the back, and perks sitting bitch.

[sunshinekids99]

Problem with Rondo is if they do end up fouling him. While he is shooting much better from the line, I'd much rather see Ray or Pierce going to the line. Plus the fact that Pierce has hit a ton of big shots for the team.

[Kids Are Alright]

so he can dribble the clock down to 7 seconds and dump it to a double-teamed Ray Allen for the shot clock violation, like he did at the Nets.

Doc's gotta tell RR to keep the green light on until the end of the game, no stalling tactics as we have nobody named LBJ or DWade on our team.

[sully00]

Nobody takes the ball out of Rondo's hands he gives it up. He calls the sets, he gives up the ball because teams take away his ability to drive and create. He is easy to defend in that situation by any decent ball club.

Paul is the team's best scorer and he wants to take his defender off the dribble. He tends to do a pretty good job, what is the difference between Paul dribbling out the clock and Rondo?

[celticfan42487]

It's nice that Rondo has hit the mid range shot or a clock violation shot here and there.

The fact is he has miss wide open shots from these ranges over and over and over and over again. That's why he is never guarded against these shots. Because he is horrible. The defense doesn't have to worry about guarding him from there.

I know it's nice to think otherwise, but anything other then a layup and Rondo is essentially a poor 40% fg shooter. This is all on open stuff people. And right now he's a 60% free throw shooter... which is what Perkins shoots for his career at the free throw line.

If Rondo is our last shot option, then the defense is nothing but a simple wide open Rondo mid-range shot or Rondo shooting free throws. It's an extremely easy choice for the defense, and it's a much worse option for the Celtics then any of the players on our team that can make a free throw, get their shot off, or make an open shot.

[Dave_From_NB]

I think there are two types of players at the end of the game. The guy who wants the ball because he wants to be the guy scoring the game winning bucket. And the guy who doesn't want to be the guy that missed the game winning bucket. Rondo IMO is in that second group.

He has the capability of completely taking over a game by using his speed. And at times I think he wishes he was playing for Georgetown before the invention of the shot clock. Far too often he goes into protect the lead by killing the clock mode at the end, negativing his biggest asset, his speed.

He'll have the ball in his hands at the end of the game when (if) he makes the break between being the guy trying not to lose the game, and being the guy trying to win the game.

[stiles21]

Rondo has been knocking down that mid-range shot pretty consistently, if teams want to leave him open at the end if games you should let him take the shot because if he makes a few of the shots teams will have to stop leaving him open then he'll be able to do what he does.

[GreenDreamer]

so he can dribble the clock down to 7 seconds and dump it to a double-teamed Ray Allen for the shot clock violation, like he did at the Nets.

Doc's gotta tell RR to keep the green light on until the end of the game, no stalling tactics as we have nobody named LBJ or DWade on our team.

What the hell are you talking about? The Nets game was close until they went pick and roll with Rondo. Maybe you missed all of the shots that they actually did hit.

[GreenDreamer]

Well, I have been saying stuff like this for a long time. Taking the ball out of Rondo's hands is stupid. The dude is scoring or assisting 42% of our field goals, yet Doc thinks that it is a good move to take the ball out of his hands. That 42% is good for fourth in the league. He is the MOST IMPORTANT OFFENSIVE PLAYER ON THE TEAM. If you can't see that, then you just aren't very observant.

Regarding late game situations, Rondo needs to be put in those situations to develop a comfort level. He needs to be taking those shots when necessary, because you bet your bottom dollar that when we get into the playoffs that he, and ONLY he, will HAVE TO take them if we are going to WIN. Get it?

That means no more of Doc Rivers foolishly coaching this team trying to win games without looking at the big picture. That means getting Rondo fully comfortable with the role he will need to embrace if we are going to win. The Laker game was agreat example of the foolish coaching by Doc of this team. Taking the ball out of Rajon's hands so that Paul can set him up for catch and shoot jumpers? When the hell did we EVER do that before this season? The correct answer is ZERO times. If you NEED to do that, you do not START doing it in situations like that. The player has no comfort level with it. If Rondo had taken those shots off of picks, he would have been far more comfortable, because that is what he has been doing ALL SEASON.

The regular season is a testing ground for the strategies that will win you games in the playoffs. You don't do just whatever the hell you like, you install the offense and defense that will be there in the spring. If you are going to have Rondo go catch and shoot, then you have him taking those shots EVERY GAME. You do not START doing it at the end of a nationally televised game against our arch rival. This is not rocket science. The same goes for everything else that we do. Doc doesn't feel like doing something because he THINKS he can do better. Then when we actually NEED to do the thing that he didn't WANT to do, our guys aren't prepared for it.

[sunshinekids99]

Well, I have been saying stuff like this for a long time. Taking the ball out of Rondo's hands is stupid. The dude is scoring or assisting 42% of our field goals, yet Doc thinks that it is a good move to take the ball out of his hands. That 42% is good for fourth in the league. He is the MOST IMPORTANT OFFENSIVE PLAYER ON THE TEAM. If you can't see that, then you just aren't very observant.
.

I'd like to see how that works out when the Big three are done playing. Right now at the end of games I'd stick with what works.

[hard work]

GreenDreamer,

If the Celtics are down 1 or 2 points teams will defend like the Lakers did a week ago and force Rondo to take it himself. There are two problems with that...1) Kobe was on Rondo and he gave him about 6 feet. I know Rondo is quick, but quick enough to beat Kobe (or any quick guards) off the dribble with 6 extra feet to run? Even if Rondo does beat him for a layup and I am confident to say that the other team will throw a big body at him, especially if they're up 2 or 3. He's a low 60% shooter! 2) Everyone says it, Rondo can't shoot. I got your stat that %'s say Pierce and Rondo are the same in the mid-range. But again, if you put it in the hands of Rondo first then how is he going to get it back for a jump shot? I suppose you can draw a play for him, but that requires Pierce or Ray Allen to run a play. Would you rather have Rondo go Allen Iverson and create a jumpshot against his defender?

If the Celtics are down 3 or more, then what is Rondo going to do? He definitely can't shoot 3's, and teams will be sagging towards Pierce and Allen, making it tougher to create plays for them. That's why in the situations where you want good long range shooters Rondo is not in the game. In that sense, he is a liability. And again, even if he does beat his man for a quick layup I think there's a high probability that he gets fouled and gets sent to the free throw line.

You make great points, really, but I think your argument of giving Rondo the ball during crunch times assumes that the whole game is played the exact same way from minute one all the way to minute 48. In my opinion crunch time in the 4th quarter players are more intense, more focus, and more intentional. In the exception of breaking a tie game when all you need is a basket, if time allows Rondo can go in for a layup as he is one of the best at that, but if we're down I don't think there's anyway that you put the ball in Rondo's hands. His shooting deficiencies are exposed that much more in crunch time.

[GuyClinch]

but I think your argument of giving Rondo the ball during crunch times assumes that the whole game is played the exact same way from minute one all the way to minute 48.

Not only is it not defended the same way - its not called in the same way. I think at the end of games refs don't REALLY want to put a guy on the line for the victory or tie. So they will let a bit more slide. Thus a very slight player like Rondo runs the risk of getting shoved a bit and no one "noticing."

Again believe it or not Doc Rivers knows what he is doing..with regards to x's and o's and especially PGs. That's his former position. You need to be giving Doc more credit for hiding Rondo's flaws and less flack for "hurting" his game..

[Kids Are Alright]

so he can dribble the clock down to 7 seconds and dump it to a double-teamed Ray Allen for the shot clock violation, like he did at the Nets.

Doc's gotta tell RR to keep the green light on until the end of the game, no stalling tactics as we have nobody named LBJ or DWade on our team.

What the hell are you talking about? The Nets game was close until they went pick and roll with Rondo. Maybe you missed all of the shots that they actually did hit.

Sure, he made shots after the shot clock TO...but it seems that you're the one with the memory issues GD, let's go back to the 4th in the recent Lakers game......dribble the clock down, one and done.
My point is that Rondo is better than that, he needs to be coached to keep the ball moving, it isn't like I'm suggesting that the ball ought to be put into Perk's hands or anything.

[bigsheed30]

rondo should have the ball in his hands. doc really needs to start having sheed finish games. with kg and sheed up front the c's can really spread the floor and allow guys like rondo and peirce driving lanes. plus with sheed out there you have a guy who can post up and command a double team. when perk is doubled in the post he usually throws it away. plus having rondo and perk on the floor late in close games is a liability because they are both terrible free throw shooters. doc is not very good with his rotation. he is very predictable and almost seems like he has never heard the word matchups before.

[hard work]

Being predictable doesn't mean you're a bad coach.

And you'd really want Rondo or Pierce going 1 on 5 in crunch time?