Why Do People Consider Westbrook to Be Better Than Rondo?

[greensamurai]

Alright, so something that has been bothering me lately, and peaked this morning when I was watching ESPN and Tim Legler didn't even include Rondo in the Top 5 for Point Guards.

I don't like the fact that Rondo is dismissed so easily because he doesn't score well from outside the paint. Legler said the reason he didn't include Rondo was because he doesn't believe he would be very good without the Big 3 and because he doesn't think he can take over a game.

Now I realize that I may be looking through green colored glasses, but I think Rondo can take over a game and on both sides of the floor. The fact that Legler put Westbrook at #2 ahead of D-Will boggled my mind. So it made me think, why do a lot of people rate Westbrook ahead of Rondo?

I was looking at Westbrook's stats...

This Year:
Westbrook is averaging 22ppg, 8.5assists, 4.7rebounds, 1.8steals on 44.5% shooting.

Last year was worse, and so was his rookie year. Westbrook has upped his stats in almost every category and that is impressive but the one thing that bothers me is that he needs the ball in his hands a lot to be that effective and he is averaging taking about 17shots a game.

For comparison Rondo this year is averaging 10.5ppg, 11.7assists, 4.4rebounds, 2.4steals on 49% shooting.

Now the point of this rant is that besides the fact that Rondo has been playing well below our standards for him lately, he is better than Westbook. Sure he has 2 years more experience, but he has already led us through the playoffs the past two years. One year without KG and last year with everyone healthy, but Rondo was clearly running the show.

If you are going to classify the top 5 point guards, you need to clarify what standards you are basing your decision on. If you are looking for a scoring PG, than I understand choosing Rose or Westbrook or Williams. But if you are looking at Point Guards and you don't clarify what you are basing your rankings than they are just your opinion and I can't find you credible.

I understand in today's NBA, we expect our point guards to be able to score and to run the floor, but I think in terms of all around PG when Rondo plays like we know he is capable he is just a level below Williams and Paul. He creates havoc on defense with his long reach and active hands. You play off of him, and you give him space to set up whichever Celtic he wants. You play tight on him and he blows by you for a layup or an assist. I want my PG influencing both ends of the floor.

Maybe I am just old school, but I like my point guard running my team and moving the ball around so we aren't one dimensional. I grew up watching PG's like Stockton and Payton and JKidd in his prime. Those guys can dish, rebound and score when needed, but they always looked to get their team involved first. That is a PG to me, even in today's NBA.

Sorry for the novel guys...

[Megatron]

Because hes better then Rondo.

Rondo is a top 10 point guard, the only thing Rondo does better then any of the other point guards is pass the ball.

All the rest are better shooters, scorers, penetraters, finishers, etc, the list goes on.

Rondo is good and has potential to be one of the best, but his lack of game outside of passing is starting to show and weaken his case for being a top point guard.

[ejk3489]

Because hes better then Rondo.

Rondo is a top 10 point guard, the only thing Rondo does better then any of the other point guards is pass the ball.

All the rest are better shooters, scorers, penetraters, finishers, etc, the list goes on.

Rondo is good and has potential to be one of the best, but his lack of game outside of passing is starting to show and weaken his case for being a top point guard.

How are any of those guys significantly better finishers than Rondo? His FG% at the rim is 66%. In comparison to:

Westbrook: 60%
Rose: 58%
Paul: 63%
Deron: 62%

Rondo is also a better defender and rebounder than most/all of those guys.

[Megatron]

Because hes better then Rondo.

Rondo is a top 10 point guard, the only thing Rondo does better then any of the other point guards is pass the ball.

All the rest are better shooters, scorers, penetraters, finishers, etc, the list goes on.

Rondo is good and has potential to be one of the best, but his lack of game outside of passing is starting to show and weaken his case for being a top point guard.

How are any of those guys significantly better finishers than Rondo? His FG% at the rim is 66%. In comparison to:

Westbrook: 60%
Rose: 58%
Paul: 63%
Deron: 62%

Rondo is also a better defender and rebounder than most/all of those guys.

All four of those guys drive to the hoop way more then Rondo, thats why.

Rose attacks the hoop like 20 times a game.

Rondo attacks the hoop once a week.

[jambr380]

There have been an infinite amount of Rondo threadog around lately, but I do think yours is pretty well thought out...tp.

I tend to agree with you, but you have your Rondo-lovers and your Rondo-haters. The Rondo-lovers see everything intangible he brings to the game, while the Rondo-haters see that he still does not have a consistent outside jumper (or free throw shot).

This debate will probably go on forever, as Rondo [who should improve a little] will never be Ray Allen. Rondo is as solid of a distributor and defensive pg as you will find in the NBA, but he isn't the offensive threat that the new age of PGs are. I disagree that he can't take over a game, though. Even though they didn't go very far in the 08-09 playoffs, he was consistently the best player on the floor and it is no fault of his that they didn't go further.

[letsgoblue86]

Cause he can make a jumpshot.

[KCattheStripe]

All the rest are better shooters, scorers, penetraters, finishers, etc, the list goes on.

The list may go on and on, but I guarantee you it doesn't cover any defensive elements.

[outcry]

Because he can shoot better than Rondo. Rajon is a better distributor, rebounder, and has the talent to slice through defences better than Westbrook.

[ejk3489]

Because hes better then Rondo.

Rondo is a top 10 point guard, the only thing Rondo does better then any of the other point guards is pass the ball.

All the rest are better shooters, scorers, penetraters, finishers, etc, the list goes on.

Rondo is good and has potential to be one of the best, but his lack of game outside of passing is starting to show and weaken his case for being a top point guard.

How are any of those guys significantly better finishers than Rondo? His FG% at the rim is 66%. In comparison to:

Westbrook: 60%
Rose: 58%
Paul: 63%
Deron: 62%

Rondo is also a better defender and rebounder than most/all of those guys.

All four of those guys drive to the hoop way more then Rondo, thats why.

Rose attacks the hoop like 20 times a game.

Rondo attacks the hoop once a week.

Points at the rim:

Paul: 90-141
Deron: 156-249
Rondo: 146-221
Westbrook: 272-450
Rose: 231-394

Westbrook and Rose go to the basket more than the other three, but Deron and Rondo have around the same amount of attempts at the rim despite him playing less games this season.

Rondo's also had two back to back seasons attempting 400+ shots at the rim. He's usually a pretty aggressive player.

[GrandTheftRondo]

I love Rondo as much as the next person but until he develops a consistent outside shot...I don't know what to tell you.

[OsirusCeltics]

You didn't even have to make this post. It's obvious Rondo is better than him. People always talk about shooting and able to score 30 or whatever. Well that's not a point guards job. THAT IS A BONUS

Westbrook is a shooting guard playing point guard and doesn't get his teammates involved at all. His stat sheet looks nice cause he gets most of his assists from 2 on 1 or 3 on 2 fastbreaks. Rajon Rondo PLAYS THE POSITION better than Westbrook. But obviously Westbrook is a way better scorer

[soap07]

Last year was worse, and so was his rookie year. Westbrook has upped his stats in almost every category and that is impressive but the one thing that bothers me is that he needs the ball in his hands a lot to be that effective and he is averaging taking about 17shots a game.

Westbrook needs the ball in his hands to be effective? Rondo is virtually useless without the ball.

[soap07]

His stat sheet looks nice cause he gets most of his assists from 2 on 1 or 3 on 2 fastbreaks.

Do assists only count when you want them to? Should we throw out the vast majority of Steve Nash and Magic Johnson's career?

[OsirusCeltics]

His stat sheet looks nice cause he gets most of his assists from 2 on 1 or 3 on 2 fastbreaks.

Do assists only count when you want them to? Should we throw out the vast majority of Steve Nash and Magic Johnson's career?

I'm making the point that Westbrook DOESN'T PLAY THE POSITION as good as Rondo because he doesn't get his teammates involved in the offense. Not saying his assists don't count

[BballTim]

Because hes better then Rondo.

Rondo is a top 10 point guard, the only thing Rondo does better then any of the other point guards is pass the ball.

All the rest are better shooters, scorers, penetraters, finishers, etc, the list goes on.

Rondo is good and has potential to be one of the best, but his lack of game outside of passing is starting to show and weaken his case for being a top point guard.

How are any of those guys significantly better finishers than Rondo? His FG% at the rim is 66%. In comparison to:

Westbrook: 60%
Rose: 58%
Paul: 63%
Deron: 62%

Rondo is also a better defender and rebounder than most/all of those guys.

  Yes, but if you ignore defense, rebounding, penetrating and finishing the only thing Rondo does better than those players is pass the ball. Well, maybe direct an offense and control the pace of the game, but that's it.

  And don't forget Rondo's been playing through some injuries. That means that he's a bad pg, because people haven't seen enough of him in his 4-5 years as a starter to figure out that his play is affected by his health.