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[KG Living Legend]

 I used to think that Rondo was going to be better than Super Jason Kidd in those years with the Nets where Kidd was really something to watch. Now I just don't know. I don't think he get there.
 Will Rondo ever be a top five player in the game.

[Kiorrik]

Let me check my tea leaves.

[Kiorrik]

Here you go:

[bfrombleacher]

That's a yes. Nice.

[Kiorrik]

That's a yes. Nice.

Oh carp, it's a mirrored image.

Here's the correct one!

[Smokeeye123]

His jumper is looking good this year. I dont know if he'll ever be a top 5 player in the league but who cares, he is improving each year.

[PaulPierce34G]

As long as he is a specialist at passing, I'll take it.  Shot needs work, but it is getting better. 

I think once Pierce and KG are gone, his true colors will come out. 

And by true colors, we will really see what he is about.  He will have to step it up a little more.  Not saying true colors in the terms of, "he won't be s**t."

[mgent]

In what universe is he not pretty much already there?  Passing, rebounding, and defense are all easily comparable.  Equally streaky shooters.  Kidd might have had a slight advantage at posting up and getting to the line, but overall Rondo is a much more efficient scorer.

It's not like he needs this giant leap or anything.

[celtsfan84]

In what universe is he not pretty much already there?  Passing, rebounding, and defense are all easily comparable.  Equally streaky shooters.  Kidd might have had a slight advantage at posting up and getting to the line, but overall Rondo is a much more efficient scorer.

It's not like he needs this giant leap or anything.

Yeah, I'd say he's pretty close already.  I think he is missing one thing.

Magic Johnson constantly talks about, as a point guard, feeding guys at the appropriate times for a variety of reasons (maybe to build their confidence, maybe to get them to work harder on defense, etc...) and also the skill in finding the right guy with the right pass - some guys are better at catching different passes and like the ball in different spots. 

Rondo has some of this skill, but not to the level of Kidd.  Look at how much money Kidd made for Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson, and even Mikki Moore due to his ability to feed them with the right pass in the right place at the right time.  He made Mikki Moore look so good he got an $18 million contract with the Kings!  Rondo would've never made Mikki look good enough to get $18 million.

It is hard to describe exactly, because it is so innate, immeasurable, and intangible, but I'd say Rondo is very close but is a bit lower on the "floor general", let's call it, scale than Kidd.

[CelticsFan9]

In what universe is he not pretty much already there?  Passing, rebounding, and defense are all easily comparable.  Equally streaky shooters.  Kidd might have had a slight advantage at posting up and getting to the line, but overall Rondo is a much more efficient scorer.

It's not like he needs this giant leap or anything.

Yeah, I'd say he's pretty close already.  I think he is missing one thing.

Magic Johnson constantly talks about, as a point guard, feeding guys at the appropriate times for a variety of reasons (maybe to build their confidence, maybe to get them to work harder on defense, etc...) and also the skill in finding the right guy with the right pass - some guys are better at catching different passes and like the ball in different spots. 

Rondo has some of this skill, but not to the level of Kidd.  Look at how much money Kidd made for Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson, and even Mikki Moore due to his ability to feed them with the right pass in the right place at the right time.  He made Mikki Moore look so good he got an $18 million contract with the Kings!  Rondo would've never made Mikki look good enough to get $18 million.

It is hard to describe exactly, because it is so innate, immeasurable, and intangible, but I'd say Rondo is very close but is a bit lower on the "floor general", let's call it, scale than Kidd.

TP.  Great analysis.

I'd ask this question again once Pierce and KG are gone.  We'll see what Rondo can do without future HOF'ers.  After one or two seasons, I think it'd be fair to compare the two.  Right now, it isn't, because if you look at who Rondo's playing with and who Kidd played with, there's a huge gap in talent.

[ianboyextreme]

In what universe is he not pretty much already there?  Passing, rebounding, and defense are all easily comparable.  Equally streaky shooters.  Kidd might have had a slight advantage at posting up and getting to the line, but overall Rondo is a much more efficient scorer.

It's not like he needs this giant leap or anything.

Yeah, I'd say he's pretty close already.  I think he is missing one thing.

Magic Johnson constantly talks about, as a point guard, feeding guys at the appropriate times for a variety of reasons (maybe to build their confidence, maybe to get them to work harder on defense, etc...) and also the skill in finding the right guy with the right pass - some guys are better at catching different passes and like the ball in different spots. 

Rondo has some of this skill, but not to the level of Kidd.  Look at how much money Kidd made for Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson, and even Mikki Moore due to his ability to feed them with the right pass in the right place at the right time.  He made Mikki Moore look so good he got an $18 million contract with the Kings!  Rondo would've never made Mikki look good enough to get $18 million.

It is hard to describe exactly, because it is so innate, immeasurable, and intangible, but I'd say Rondo is very close but is a bit lower on the "floor general", let's call it, scale than Kidd.

I disagree. He made Hollins look like a good player last year and made Quis look pretty good as well. Those are just end of the bench guys. Obviously he makes everyone better.
IMO, hes already at the same level and even better when the playoffs come around.

[LarBrd33]

Rondo is great and he's definitely like a poor man's version of Jason Kidd in his prime.  I don't think he'll ever be a legimate "top 5 player" in the game, though.  He's definitely a top 5 point guard right now, though.

[BballTim]

In what universe is he not pretty much already there?  Passing, rebounding, and defense are all easily comparable.  Equally streaky shooters.  Kidd might have had a slight advantage at posting up and getting to the line, but overall Rondo is a much more efficient scorer.

It's not like he needs this giant leap or anything.

Yeah, I'd say he's pretty close already.  I think he is missing one thing.

Magic Johnson constantly talks about, as a point guard, feeding guys at the appropriate times for a variety of reasons (maybe to build their confidence, maybe to get them to work harder on defense, etc...) and also the skill in finding the right guy with the right pass - some guys are better at catching different passes and like the ball in different spots. 

Rondo has some of this skill, but not to the level of Kidd.  Look at how much money Kidd made for Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson, and even Mikki Moore due to his ability to feed them with the right pass in the right place at the right time.  He made Mikki Moore look so good he got an $18 million contract with the Kings!  Rondo would've never made Mikki look good enough to get $18 million.

It is hard to describe exactly, because it is so innate, immeasurable, and intangible, but I'd say Rondo is very close but is a bit lower on the "floor general", let's call it, scale than Kidd.

  Aside from the fact that I'd say that Rondo is a somewhat better passer and floor general than Kidd was, you have to consider a few things. First of all Martin was a pretty good player and there wasn't any dropoff of note to his game when he went to Denver, the dropoff happened after he had a serious knee injury. More importantly, Rondo's still a few years younger than Kidd was when he joined the Nets and 6-7 years younger than Kidd was when he got Moore that contract. I'm sure that the experience between now and then will improve his passing.

  If you compare Rondo and Kidd up through the age Rondo was last year, the numbers were pretty comparable, in fact Rondo's were probably a little better.

http://bkref.com/tiny/BAGLI

[BballTim]

Rondo is great and he's definitely like a poor man's version of Jason Kidd in his prime.  I don't think he'll ever be a legimate "top 5 player" in the game, though.  He's definitely a top 5 point guard right now, though.

  Not during the regular season, definitely top 5 in the playoffs when healthy. I can live with that.

[Celtics18]

 I used to think that Rondo was going to be better than Super Jason Kidd in those years with the Nets where Kidd was really something to watch. Now I just don't know. I don't think he get there.
 Will Rondo ever be a top five player in the game.

He's got a very good shot to be a top five player, if he's not already there.  He finished eighth in MVP voting last year, got better in the playoffs, he's off to close to a top five start this season (and he hasn't really had any monster games yet), he's well in the lead for ECF All-Star starter, and he's only 26. 

Yeah, I think that by season's end Rondo will be considered a top five player.  He's probably about 7th or 8th right now, but rising.