Rondo: "I知 not the team leader"

[scaryjerry]

Theres a reason this team would've been in full blown rebuild mode and Doc would've been an average coach yet again had KG decided to retire or god forbid go somewhere else. He's the team leader and has been since he arrived and they were completely devoid of leadership before him. Because he came back we reloaded and 18 is obtainable.

Rondo is not a vocal leader..hes a top point guard and a great floor general and possibly as vital to the teams success as KG on the floor.

Pierce is not a leader in my mind

[Galeto]

All this talk from everyone, from PP to KG to Doc and Ainge, saying Rondo's the leader and best player I think is due to the criticism Rondo's received.  I can't remember another team going out of their way to declare that this guy, yes this guy, is their best player.  What's the point?  There's also some passing of the torch stuff as well.

In terms of who is most indispensable, I'd go KG, PP and then Rondo.  KG is tops because of his irreplaceable defensive impact but I'd give PP the edge over Rondo because he, KG and Terry can run the team if Rondo's out and the shooting will be better to boot.

[crimson_stallion]

KG's a great player and we clearly missed him more than Rondo last year. But I think that you're glossing over the impact of a weak rebounding team having the 19th best rebounding center. Also, while he's a skilled scorer from the inside and outside, he's not much for creating his own shot. He's near the league leaders in %assisted shots at 80%. I'm assuming your top 3 scorers were Al, Bargs and Bynum. Their %AST were 53%, 69% and 67% respectively. So, while KG's a great player, he's not without his flaws at this point in his career.

19th in rebounding among all centers in the NBA is pretty good all things considered.  Remember that rank is on a 48 minute basis which means it not only includes starters, but also pure role players (like Shelden Williams and Enes Kanter) who probably only have a job BECAUSE of their ability to rebound and not much else. 

If you include only guys players who played > 30 MPG he actually ranks top 10:

Rank | Player           | RP48
  1  | Dwight Howard    | 18.2
  2  | DeMarcus Cousins | 17.3
  3  | Andrew Bynum     | 16.1
  4  | Joakim Noah      | 15.5
  5  | Marcin Gortat    | 15.0
  6  | Greg Monroe      | 14.7
  7  | Tyson Chandler   | 14.3
  8  | Roy Hibbert      | 14.2
  9  | Al Jefferson     | 13.5
  10 | Kevin Garnett    | 12.7

Since that's pretty much a list of the top 10 centers in the NBA, I think that puts him in pretty good company!  Especially impressive when you consider that Tyson Chandler is the only other guy on that list who's 30 (and only two days over at that).

Now filter out all the guys from that list who aren't top 10 in scoring (again per 48) and the list is now:

Rank | Player           
  1  | DeMarcus Cousins 
  2  | Andrew Bynum     
  3  | Marcin Gortat     
  4  | Greg Monroe       
  5  | Roy Hibbert     
  6  | Al Jefferson     
  7  | Kevin Garnett   

Finally lets filter out the guys who aren't also top 10 in Assists per 48 minutes, that leaves us with:

Rank | Player           
  1  | DeMarcus Cousins
  2  | Greg Monroe     
  3  | Roy Hibbert     
  4  | Al Jefferson     
  5  | Kevin Garnett   

Now remove the guys who don't shoot at least 50% from the floor and 75% from the line, and you have:

Rank | Player           
  1  | Kevin Garnett   

So in other words, KG was the only center in the entire league last season who:

* Played > 30 MPG
* Shot > 50% from the floor
* Shot > 75% from the line
* Ranked top 10 (per 48) in points, rebounds and assists

Believe me that overall, KG is an elite player at the Center position even despite his age. 

Rondo is the most OBVIOUS leader on the court because he has the ball in his hands most the time and he plays with finesse (so the camera is always on him),but KG does all of those little things that the camera doesn't follow - set the ugly screens, fight for position, jump for loose balls, take charges, direct other guys into the right defensive positions, etc...that's in addtion to all the statistical stuff listed previously in this post.

Rondo leads by example - he leads moreso with his play on the court, not so much emotionally.  Pierce is the same. KG leads both on and off the court.