Help Me Rondo

Posted by Mike Giardi June 9, 2008 at 5:19 pm

16 assists. 2 turnovers. If that wasn’t the very definition of what you want from a point guard, than I don’t know what is. Rajon Rondo didn’t shoot very often - reluctantly hoisting up just 4 shots - but he was, arguably, the reason the Celtics built up a 24-point 4th Quarter lead. It was a Jason Kidd type performance, except from a man much smaller than the aberation that is the Mavs floor general.

But I’m not here to toast Rondo. I treat point guards exactly the way Doc Rivers does. And if the second-year playmaker from Kentucky deserves praise for getting the C’s way out in front, he also deserves criticism for not seizing the leadership mantle and preventing the Lakers from making a nearly miraculous comeback. I mean, run the offense! Almost that entire final quarter was spent pounding the ball on the perimeter and watching the shot clock and the game clock. That took the C’s out of an incredible offensive flow.

It also sucked some of the energy out of the Green Team at the other end, and the next thing you know, Vladimir Radmanovic is the next coming of Larry Bird, dropping in 3’s like they were uncontested layups. To say it got uncomfortable in the Garden would be an understatement. There was a nervous buzz, a “this can’t really be happening” feel. Point the finger at the player with the rock in his hands.

I’ll tell you what, I would not want to be Rondo today and in tomorrow’s walk-through. That film session probably caused some bruises…physical and mental. One example of “here’s how you did it right,” followed by two of, “and this is what you did wrong.” Rondo has proven confident enough to handle it, and handle the responsibility of running a team that features three All-Stars. All he needs to do now is do it well two more times - simply by running the offense -and he’ll likely be feeling pretty good as that parade trickles down Boylston Street…