Bill Simmons: "Rondo outplayed LeBron in 2010 playoffs"

C3H6N6O6 · Post #1 » by **C3H6N6O6** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 3:01 am

Go to 8:06 mark on the video
https://youtu.be/mBMFN89jxOE?t=486

Did people feel that way. I watched that series but didn't feel that way at all but I am not from the US and I only started following American Sports media in 2013. Did people actually think that back then?

LeBron: 27-9-7 on 43% shooting
Rondo: 21-12-6 on 55% shooting

Young gun 6 · Post #2 » by **Young gun 6** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 3:05 am

Could argue he did. Rondo had a lot more assistance though.

skones · Post #3 » by **skones** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 3:09 am

You'd be crazy to say he didn't. Rajon Rondo was out of his mind in that series.

21/6/12 55% from the field, 41% from distance, 2 steals a contest.

James got A LOT of flack for "quitting" on Cleveland that series among the Delonte West stuff swirling at the time. He was 18/53 in the final three games of that series. All losses. He certainly didn't shoot 50% in that series as the OP states.

C3H6N6O6 · Post #4 » by **C3H6N6O6** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 3:15 am

skones wrote:You'd be crazy to say he didn't. Rajon Rondo was out of his mind in that series.

21/6/12 55% from the field, 41% from distance, 2 steals a contest.

James got A LOT of flack for "quitting" on Cleveland that series among the Delonte West stuff swirling at the time. He was 18/53 in the final three games of that series. All losses. He certainly didn't shoot 50% in that series as the OP states.

corrected the 50% thing. Typed his 3p% from game 1 by mistake.

Statlanta · Post #5 » by **Statlanta** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 3:15 am

He didn't.

The narrative exists because they have similar roles as the volume play initiator while the Celtics where winning with their superior talent.

The media did overdo the Rondo narrative, though his play warranted some praise, with the Jason Williams highlight in the previous series and the LeBron chasedown highlight.

Watch on YouTube

CIN-C-STAR · Post #6 » by **CIN-C-STAR** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 3:16 am

Yeah definitely felt like Rondo outplayed him that series.
At no point did I think he was the better player than James, but it did even seem possible that he could emerge as that 4th superstar as the Big 3 faded and keep that Celtics run going. Of course it didn't turn out that way, but it didn't feel crazy at the time.

Air Apparent · Post #7 » by **Air Apparent** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 3:49 am

bron was checked out mentally

Dupp · Post #8 » by **Dupp** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 3:50 am

He clearly didn’t.

However Rondos play was the difference In the series and was probably the most costly thing. Letting him go off like that killed any chance of the cavs winning. KG dominated them too but he was always going to.

leolozon · Post #9 » by **leolozon** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 3:51 am

Outplaying is a strong word. He was at least as good as him and no one expected it. But if Lebron and Rondo switch team, Boston are still winning and Lebron doesn't "quit". I still can't believe that in year 7 of Lebron, all the Cavs had around him was Mo Williams, Jamison and the corps of Shaq... WTF. That team needed a Jerry Krause badly. The team building was so bad for so long.

Looking at basketref, Delonte had a 79 ORtg to 110 DRtg. Yish...

Triples333 · Post #10 » by **Triples333** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 3:57 am

Well he was better offensively, defensively and actually had fight. So yes, clearly.

Lebron's numbers also look better than his actual impact if you remember the series.

Fencer reregistered · Post #11 » by **Fencer reregistered** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 4:00 am

But Shaq laid out Rondo on at least one layup attempt, and Rondo stopped attacking the basket forever after. So that was peak Rondo.

On the other elbow, Lebron so hated being (rightly) viewed as a choker or quitter that he tried hard never to deserve the label again.

Greyhound · Post #12 » by **Greyhound** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 4:04 am

leolozon wrote:Outplaying is a strong word. He was at least as good as him and no one expected it. But if Lebron and Rondo switch team, Boston are still winning and Lebron doesn't "quit". I still can't believe that in year 7 of Lebron, all the Cavs had around him was Mo Williams, Jamison and the corps of Shaq... WTF. That team needed a Jerry Krause badly. The team building was so bad for so long.

Looking at basketref, Delonte had a 79 ORting to 110 DRtg. Yish...

Delonte only had a 79 ORting, but his scoring was too much for LeBron.

It clearly had an effect on him midway through the series.

reflex35 · Post #13 » by **reflex35** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 4:09 am

That probably was the best series of Rondo's career and one of the worst of Lebron's.

I am not sure about "outplayed...", but it's close and an argument can be made.

jfs1000d · Post #14 » by **jfs1000d** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 4:31 am

C3H6N6O6 wrote:Go to 8:06 mark on the video
https://youtu.be/mBMFN89jxOE?t=486

Did people feel that way. I watched that series but didn't feel that way at all but I am not from the US and I only started following American Sports media in 2013. Did people actually think that back then?

LeBron: 27-9-7 on 43% shooting
Rondo: 21-12-6 on 55% shooting

Rondo absolutely killed that series. And yes, people. It only thought that, they knew that.

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jfs1000d · Post #15 » by **jfs1000d** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 4:38 am

Statlanta wrote:He didn't.

The narrative exists because they have similar roles as the volume play initiator while the Celtics where winning with their superior talent.

The media did overdo the Rondo narrative, though his play warranted some praise, with the Jason Williams highlight in the previous series and the LeBron chasedown highlight.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Did you just call Rondo = Jason Williams?

Is that a joke?

Rondo was. Flawed player. He was a ridiculous poor jump shooter and also was notoriously stubborn. He didn’t do the easy things well.

But, the hard things, such as setting the tempo. Organizing the offense, creating havoc, etc....he was truly elite.

Said this a million times on the Celtics board. Rondo is t the the type of player that raised a players
Level of play. Think Jordan making Steve Kerr and John Paxson better. Rondo wasn’t able to do that.

Rather, Rondo was elite at maximizing what you offered. When he had all-stars Ray, Pierce and KG he was able to turn them into devastating players. He maximized their strengths and made the game easy for them.

I looked as rondo as a master conductor of an orchestra. Get him conducting Boston Pops? It is incredible.

Got him conducting a high school band? It would be a really good sounding high school band.

Rondo, in his prime, maximized the talent with him on the floor.

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Pennebaker · Post #16 » by **Pennebaker** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 4:38 am

C3H6N6O6 wrote:Go to 8:06 mark on the video
https://youtu.be/mBMFN89jxOE?t=486

Did people feel that way. I watched that series but didn't feel that way at all but I am not from the US and I only started following American Sports media in 2013. Did people actually think that back then?

LeBron: 27-9-7 on 43% shooting
Rondo: 21-12-6 on 55% shooting

Simmons is a Celtics fan.

No, most people did not feel that way. But people were too obsessed with LeBron's elbow, body language and free agency to think about Rondo.

Triples333 · Post #17 » by **Triples333** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 4:45 am

Pennebaker wrote:
C3H6N6O6 wrote:Go to 8:06 mark on the video
https://youtu.be/mBMFN89jxOE?t=486

Did people feel that way. I watched that series but didn't feel that way at all but I am not from the US and I only started following American Sports media in 2013. Did people actually think that back then?

LeBron: 27-9-7 on 43% shooting
Rondo: 21-12-6 on 55% shooting

Simmons is a Celtics fan.

No, most people did not feel that way. But people were too obsessed with LeBron's elbow, body language and free agency to think about Rondo.

Yes, literally everybody thought 'Bron was being outplayed, including Mike Brown if he were being honest.

Pressed for his impression, Cavs coach Mike Brown took the Fifth.

"You'll have to talk to him," Brown said, "and ask him what his mindset was throughout the course of the game."

James admitted he was off, but didn't explain his wavering focus.

"It was uncharacteristic of myself," James admitted afterward. "I was inconsistent sometimes."

He's been inconsistent for the entire series and it's wearing on the Cavs, who clearly need him playing at a high level to beat the Celtics.

Meanwhile, he's been getting outplayed. After Rajon Rondo's 29-point, 18-rebound, 13-assist Game 4, the whispers have become shouts: Rondo has been the series' best player, leading the Celtics in scoring (21.8), rebounding (8.3) and assists (13.0) and shooting 52 percent.

https://www.espn.com/nba/playoffs/2010/columns/story?page=cavsgame5pregame-100511

Those were the comments/consensus sentiments just before game 6, where Lebron went 8-21 with 9 turnovers (he was gobbling up all the rebounds, but clearly did not have what it took). Rondo put up 21 and 12 on 9 of 15 from the field with 5 steals in the deciding game. It was a series Lebron and his fans would love to forget.

Lalouie · Post #18 » by **Lalouie** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 4:56 am

the celts WON

dhsilv2 · Post #19 » by **dhsilv2** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 5:14 am

Dunno if Rondo was better over the series but he was better from game 4-6 and that's when the celtics won so it's a reasonable narrative.

Triples333 · Post #20 » by **Triples333** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 5:21 am

dhsilv2 wrote:Dunno if Rondo was better over the series but he was better from game 4-6 and that's when the celtics won so it's a reasonable narrative.

Lebron was also terrible in game 2, where half his points came in garbage time down 25 in the 4th quarter.

He was just not good in the series, and it's definitely one of his playoff black marks.