The myth that the Celtics need a backup to Rondo who is a "true PG"

[no kidding]

Bud Celtic,

For the life of me, I can't understand how anyone gets to the NBA without proper defensive posture.  But it happens all the time, and yes, it certainly did with Rondo.

[kozlodoev]

Bud Celtic,

For the life of me, I can't understand how anyone gets to the NBA without proper defensive posture.  But it happens all the time, and yes, it certainly did with Rondo.

Rondo is a pest on defense because of his quickness and long hands. But this doesn't mean he's a very good defender when fundamentals are concerned. I guess his physical tools and good timing were compensating, so he could get away with it.

Don't get me wrong, rondo at his best can be a nightmare for opposing offenses even now, but he can become even better.

[TradeProposalDude]

Bucknersrevenge really hit the nail on the head. Nobody had a problem with Eddie House until a few turnovers in full & half court pressure in the Detroit series. I'm not saying that's a good thing, but every Celtics guard had problems with it. Including Ray and Rajon. So the "House has a poor handle" card is one that has been blown so out of proportion that people are actually claiming he doesn't have much of a handle because a few select posters keep on saying it, leading them to believe it's grounded in reality.

Eddie doesn't have to be a flashy finisher around the basket to be effective on this team. He doesn't have to be a great ball handler to know how to make the right play. Don't focus on his weaknesses, those limitations don't mean too much with regard to this Celtics team.

Honestly, I'm still perplexed as to why we lifted House out of the rotation to BEGIN with, seeing as how well we meshed with him logging minutes behind Rondo. You don't mess with what's working, even when more (potentially) satiable reserves can be integrated.

[no kidding]

Actually, there were quite a few of us who were very concerned about House as the point guard backup prior to the first Detroit game.  We certainly were discussing it well prior to the start of regular season.

As for not messing with what's working: the reason you occasionally do "mess" with things, is because you expect to be facing a far tougher challenge in the future (such as in the playoffs).

[butterbeanlove]

I think a lot of people here are missing the point.

Rondo, as a second-year player starting at PG for the first time, obviously needed an experienced back-up or two to help him out.

However, after starting 82 games plus 27 games in the NBA playoffs, Rondo is no longer a babe in the woods. Back-up PG is no longer a major weakness for this squad, because Rondo can easily play 40 minutes. Give him another 82 games under his belt before the playoffs next year and watch out!

House and/or Lue will be more than adequate. Trust me on this one.

[TradeProposalDude]

I think a lot of people here are missing the point.

Rondo, as a second-year player starting at PG for the first time, obviously needed an experienced back-up or two to help him out.

However, after starting 82 games plus 27 games in the NBA playoffs, Rondo is no longer a babe in the woods. Back-up PG is no longer a major weakness for this squad, because Rondo can easily play 40 minutes. Give him another 82 games under his belt before the playoffs next year and watch out!

House and/or Lue will be more than adequate. Trust me on this one.

That's nonsense.

Let's look at the Suns. They have a top 3 PG in the game in Nash. But their backup PG problems have been a HUGE issue for the longest time. So just because Nash is reliable doesn't mean backup PG problems are not a huge issue.

Barbosa doesn't function as the PG on the second unit. Banks was a colossal bust. Their best backup since Nash returned to Phoenix in '04 was none other than Eddie House.

Once again, as long as you do the right things... that's all that matters. House is far from perfect, but he does what he's supposed to.

[vjcsmoke]

Huh, what?  If anything Rondo looks to pass TOO MUCH before taking his own shot.
As a backup the Celtics should look for a PG with a better outside shot.
I understand that it's the big 3 out there, but Rondo deferred too much in the playoffs and passed up a lot of wide open shot opportunities.
The defenses in the playoffs were sagging off him so much, that the Celtics offense was basically playing 4 vs 5 and that really hurt our O at times.
It got to the point where Doc had to go with the 'shooting lineup' of House/Posey and yanking Rondo to open things up for our half court offense.

I'd like for Rondo to work on improving his jumpshot some more in the offseason and increasing his confidence in taking those wide open 15-18 ft jumpers that teams right now are flat out DARING him to make. 
Until he can do that, the Celtics Offense is going to run into more droughts like we noticed in the playoffs.
So no the Celtics do not need to acquire a 'pass first' guard to backup Rondo, that would be replacing an apple with an apple.
They need an orange.  A PG who can shoot the outside shot and force good/honest spacing by the defenses seeking to stop the Celtics O.

BTW, this is why I would have preferred Chalmers at pick #30 over Giddens.  He has a great outside stroke, and he is not afraid to take big shots.  See his play in the NCAA tournament.  If Posey leaves,  Chalmers would have made a decent replacement in the taking the big shot department, although he plays PG and not SF.