Rajon Rondo apparently had a sitdown meaning with Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers in regards to the effort of his teammates in a recent loss to the Chicago Bulls. With the loss it gave the Bulls the top spot in the Eastern Conference and of course the homecourt advantage if the two teams happened to meet in the playoffs.With Rondo pointing fingers at his teammates the reality is the only person to blame is himself. For one Rondo is considered one of the best point guards in the NBA at both ends of the court.
Yet, the same issues continue to plague Rondo which keep him from being the among the top three point guards in the league. This is Rondo's fifth season in the league and yet he doesn't have a jumpshot, he relies on his ability to get to the rim and dish the ball off.
Besides not being able to hit a jumper, he's awful from the foul line. On the season he is hitting at 54.8 percent, he still hits for a rather high percentage from the field at 47.4 percent because he can drive to the hoop, but his inability to hit free throws drop his points per game average to 10.5 points, and Rondo from beyond the arc teams should just dare him to shoot as he hits 24.4 percent from three.
If Rondo is going to call out the effort of his teammates why can't he make better effort to expand his game in the offseason then? The Celtics are heading into the playoffs and teams are just going to dare Rondo to shoot much like the Lakers did in the Finals and if that happens the Celtics are going to be in more trouble.
Offensively Paul Pierce and Ray Allen can get it done and Kevin Garnett can still be a factor hitting midrange jumpers and going inside. The one man on the Celtics that is the most important to the team is the one that the Celtics cannot count on in a late game situation.
So, if Rondo is going to question the effort his teammates after one game, why isn't anyone questioning the effort of Rondo? When it's obvious he has not made any significant improvement on his jumpshot and free throw percentage.
For example against the Bulls, Rondo shot 3-10 from the floor and 1-3 from the free throw line. That means he shot just 30 percent from the field and 33 percent from the free throw line. He ended up with 7 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds.
While MVP candidate Derrick Rose torched Rondo and the Celtics for 30 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, on 9-16 from the field, 2-5 from three, and 10-10 from the free throw line.
The numbers don't lie and if Rondo is really calling his teammates out, he should be looking at himself first.
By Steven Resnick
